Hawaii’s Deafblind community held a “Talk Story” where we shared our experiences. Thank you to everyone for the warm welcome, and a special thank you to Mellanie Lee for bringing us all together.
Mylo visited a beach for the first time this week, and the experience inspired a new spin on a holiday classic: Dashing through the sand My guide dog will never stray Harness in my hand Laughing all the way Collar tags bounce and ring Large waves roll ashore A four-legged pal can always bring A … Read more
I am Deaf-blind, and I almost missed my first lesson about Helen Keller. In second-grade U.S. history, my teacher scheduled Helen Keller’s story after a lesson in square-dancing. I remember my heart racing as I danced a do-si-do with my not-so-secret crush. So when our teacher told us about Keller, I was not-so-secretly distracted. But … Read more
Last week the Texas State Board of Education took a step to remove Helen Keller from the K-12 social studies curriculum. The second largest state in the nation may soon stop teaching students about one of the most widely admired disability rights heroes. She is often the only disability rights advocate kids learn about. Kids … Read more
“You just came back from dog jail, huh?” Aunt Nunu nudged my arm. I laughed. “Exactly!” I’d just spent three weeks training at The Seeing Eye, the world’s oldest guide dog school. “We had to wake up every morning to take our dogs out at 5:30 AM.” “Are you kidding me?!” “I wish. We worked … Read more
My friend Treshelle Edmond is a Deaf actress and phenomenal communicator. We met up after her performance in “Children of a Lesser God,” now playing on Broadway. The play spotlights Deaf culture, and many Deaf actors, directors, and community members contributed to the show’s success. Treshelle introduced me to her friends. One after another, each … Read more
Maxine, the sweetest, smartest, sneakiest Seeing Eye Dog died on Monday April 16, 2018. Maxine loved wearing her harness and going on adventures. If I wanted to walk with her, though, I had to earn that right. In our first week together she crashed me into planters, chairs, and even stairs. “It takes time to … Read more
On April 4, the American Foundation for the Blind presented me with the Helen Keller Achievement Award! Helen Keller has had a huge influence on my life — her books, her advocacy, and especially her incredible spirit. Receiving this award is a tremendous honor. I’m determined to devote my life to advocacy, just like Helen. … Read more
Chris Hadfield is a retired Canadian astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station. During one critical spacewalk, floating anti-fog got into Hadfield’s eyes, making him temporarily blind. Later, in his TED talk, Hadfield described his thought process: “Okay, I can’t see, but I can hear, I can talk, Scott Parazynski is out here … Read more
Unbeknown to most employers, people with disabilities sparked the creation of many of the technologies we use today. Through my work as a disability rights lawyer, and my personal experiences as a deafblind woman, I have spent a significant amount of time studying the disability experience. The biggest barriers in the workplace are architectural, digital … Read more