My name is Chad NeSmith, and I am a professional golfer. I also happen to be completely blind. My hometown is Brentwood, Tennessee, where I practice with my golf teacher and friend, Andy Church. I didn’t always play golf, though. When I was younger, I played football and basketball, thinking one day I would be an NFL star. Then I started to lose my vision and completely lost my sight to retinitis pigmentosa at the age of 35. My wife was the person who insisted that I find a hobby…
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Following the loss of my sight, and about five years of total blindness, I developed a gorgeous, technicolor visualization of myself and reality which my neurologists call non-optic sight, or a type of adaptive synesthesia – but let me back up. Even as I progressively lost my retinal vision, my mind was full of light, and my heart was full of music. I embraced non-visual perception, low vision, double vision, and, difficult as it was, the very abstract phase before final retinal loss. This journey has been one, not into…
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My name is Brian Switzer. I am deafblind as a result of a condition called Usher Syndrome. As a child, I attended a couple schools for the deaf before switching into a public school. I progressively went blind. I was diagnosed with sight loss at age 4, became legally blind at age 16, and now only possess some light sensitivity. I hold a Master’s degree in Public Policy. I am a co-author on a book on living with deafblindness called, “Walk In My Shoes: An Anthology On Usher Syndrome.” And…
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The Ramble Tag is a guidance aid, designed specifically to improve the experience of guided walking and sport for visually impaired people. It was invented April 2018 by Laura Maclean and Tom Forsyth. Here’s their story. Laura: Tom is my neighbour, and because he is visually impaired, I’ll help him walk his dog when his partner is away. During these walks we have built a fun, creative friendship – always sharing a love for problem solving. We are “chalk ‘n’ cheese,” but we inspire each other and make each other…
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As a blind woodworker, the blueprints for any of my projects start forming as a picture held in my mind. As someone who previously had vision, it allows me to visualize the design and change it any way I need until it feels right. In my own way, I still use sight by forming a physical object that originated from an imagined diagram. The journey in my own wood shop has mirrored my journey through blindness. Each project has brought its own challenge, much like navigating the landscape of a…
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My name is Aishwarya and I lost my vision later in life after being diagnosed with brain tumor in 2008. My hobby was painting at that time. I gave it up as I thought I wouldn’t be able to pursue it without vision. But little did I know I was wrong! I was introduced to rehabilitation services in the later years and got a job as a rehabilitation counselor in 2013. As a result, I became more independent and now achieve things that I thought I wouldn’t be able to…
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My name is Hilda and I’m the mother of a child born with septo-optic dysplasia. I started an Instagram account to share about what it’s like raising a little boy who is blind – and how amazing he is. I changed the name of the page to @OurBlindSide because I’d like to change the way others see raising a child who is blind. When Ashton was born and I was told he was blind and had septo-optic dysplasia, I was heartbroken thinking about all the challenges and all the things…
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Imagine having limited side vision – also known as tunnel vision – where you are not able to see what’s on your sides or what’s coming from up-and-down, such as a step off or a dangerous snake on the floor. This is where the white cane comes in handy. Canes are great because they can feel whether something is in front of you or if there is a step off on the sidewalk or stairs. Well, let me tell you about my experience with using a cane and how it’s…
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It has always been the case where, if someone told me I couldn’t do something, I would go out of my way to prove that I, in fact, could. Despite going to a residential school geared toward supporting students with visual impairments, nearly all the teachers discouraged me from following my dreams of studying medicine at university, saying that it simply wasn’t possible for visually impaired people like myself to do. So when I dismissed this advice, and finally got accepted into medical school following my interview, I was elated….
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I’m Elin, a 20-year-old blogger and student from the UK. Some of my passions include helping others, writing, beauty, fashion and music, just to name a few. I’d consider myself to be your average 20-year-old since I like to do a lot of the things that others my age do, I just happen to be blind. I was diagnosed with a degenerative condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa when I was six years old – three years after my parents noticed that I couldn’t see certain things, especially in the dark. I…
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