It’s a boy! Meet Mylo, my new Seeing Eye dog

Haben and Mylo are sitting on a bench. Mylo is a black and tan medium-sized German Shepherd dog. He’s wearing a leather harness, and Haben is holding his leash. Behind them is a large grassy field with trees in the distance

“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

Voice, Sign, Type: The Lively Communication Dance

Haben Girma, Treshelle Edmond, and Carmen LoBue are smiling and leaning in for the camera. Haben holds up the sign for “I Love You” in American Sign Language. Photo by Treshelle Edmond.

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

Maxine is looking up at Haben with her paw on Haben's arm. Haben is kneeling beside Maxine

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

The Helen Keller Achievement Award

Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Haben Girma, and Jeff Wieland are each holding up a Helen Keller Achievement Award in front of a blue backdrop that says AFB American Foundation for the Blind. Photo by AFB.

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

Houston, Prepare for Astronauts with Disabilities

Haben speaking with Buzz Aldrin at Super Bowl LI

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

People with Disabilities Drive Innovation

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

Maxine Makes the Cover of the ABA Journal!

Haben & Maxine on the cover of the ABA Journal

Maxine, the  little legal rebel, is on the cover of the ABA Journal! It’s America’s leading legal affairs magazine. ABA journalist Stephanie Ward wrote this wonderful article about my disability rights work. Image Description: Maxine, a German Shepherd guide dog, sits front and center. Around her neck is an orange bandana that says, “Legal Rebel.” … Read more

Videos: Black Girls Rock Making A Difference Award

BET and Black Girls Rock produced an amazing video celebrating my disability rights work. If you missed it on TV yesterday, you can watch it here. Also, here’s the video of actress Rutina Wesley honoring me with the Making A Difference Award. This award would not be possible without an incredible community of family and … Read more

Excited to be on the Black Girls Rock Awards Show

Haben smiles as she receives her diploma from Dean Martha Minow

I’m excited to announce that I will be on the Black Girls Rock Awards Show. Black Girls Rock is honoring me for Making A Difference. Solange, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Issa Rae, Roberta Flack, Yara Shahidi, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna, and many other amazing women will be celebrated. Tune in to BET, the Black Entertainment Television … Read more

Calming Fears & Sparking Connections with the Abilities We Have

Calming Fears & Sparking Connections with the Abilities We Have | Haben Girma

My deafblindness can be isolating, so I actively develop ways to connect with people. One solution is to offer people a keyboard paired with my braille computer, and as they type I’m able to easily read their words in braille. But what if a person who wants to talk to me has dyslexia?

During the Q&A after my keynote at The Shine in Los Angeles, a young man came on stage to ask me how I connect with people. The video above captures that fun conversation, including an audience laughing at our playful banter.