I was born deaf, but with 20/20 vision. I’ve always wanted to be an actor. My favorite actors were John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Burt Lancaster, Jon Voight, Robert Mitchum, Doug McClure, and Kirk Douglas. When I was a kid, I played sports like football, basketball, and track. When I was at the Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind, I was a good player, but I kept thinking about wanting to act! I went to a community college for a while in Arizona. I made the honor roll one…
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Over the years, I have grown into an independent, successful young woman with dreams of helping other blind and visually impaired children grow into successful adults. This wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, my family, Iowa Department for the Blind, Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired, National Federation of the Blind and other blind services that have helped me. These services helped me figure out who I was as a visually impaired person, and I’m hoping that what…
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My name is David, I’m Spanish, and 20 years ago I moved to Finland. So currently I’m a hybrid, everyday a little bit more Finnish, which is not bad actually. I worked for 15 years as a researcher in acoustics, sound propagation and sound perception, the so-called psychoacoustics. Two years ago, I wanted to do something different than what my boss was ordering me to do all the time. (I could not stand him any longer to be honest.) So I tried to create my own research project. In that…
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My name is Karlee and I am a 17-year-old blind sprinter in the sport of Track & Field. I compete for my state New South Wales, and I have also represented Australia. Since starting two years ago when I was 15, I have broken many Australian records in the 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m events. I was born with Lebers Congenital Amaurosis and Macular Coloboma – two eye conditions that resulted in me being classified as legally blind. When I was younger, I could see colour, light and shadows, as…
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There has always music in my life, for as long as I can remember. Mom was a professional singer, and dad was an avid vinyl collector who was always making us mix tapes of his favorite songs. Between the two of them, and the piano and guitars we had at the house, I became a musician without really even being aware of it. I admit though, I never expected to play music professionally when I grew up. I’ve been visually impaired/legally blind since birth, but my parents didn’t realize until…
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Your stories are jhe foundation of the #BlindNewWorld community – and there is no limit to who can join us here. Our 2019 contributors came to us from all over the U.S. – and around the world. They’re stars from Hollywood and hip-hop. Champion athletes. Savvy young adults. Internationally recognized gamers. Eloquent bloggers. Published poets. Accessibility-minded inventors. Talented craftspeople. Passionate artists. Innovative businesspeople. Determined doctors! Staunch advocates and committed allies. And above all, they are change-makers. These are people who are willing to share their voices and their stories to…
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At my first meeting with the TEDx Minneapolis team, I met six speaking coaches – all professional speakers. They shared what the next four months of editing, refining and training would be like. It’s a very rigorous process and I quickly understood why all of those TED Talks I’ve seen are so good. Then they launched into their first and most important piece of advice. They said there would be three monitors at my feet – one monitor with a clock, one with my notes, and the final monitor with…
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I’m excited to publish my first book of poetry this year. As I complete the circuit of local news talking about my poems, I keep coming up against the same question: “Do you think of your blindness as a superpower?” My answer is always, “No, I don’t think of my blindness as a superpower.” Instead of taking me at my word — or even asking, “Why not?” — each host invariably insists, “But it makes you special, offers you nuance, helps you overcome challenges.” These routine objections force me to…
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My name is Blake Stadnik. I was born and raised in Western Pennsylvania. When I was six years old, I began having trouble seeing the chalkboard in school. After a number of visits to the doctor, I was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a degenerative genetic condition that affects the light-sensitive cells in the retina. I was legally blind within nine months. I had been starting to play sports like many other children in my hometown, but I could no longer see the ball. My mother thought I might enjoy taking…
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This past April, I started my 50th year of working with and for persons with disabilities. With a goal of becoming a teacher out of undergrad, I started out as an O&M instructor at a state rehab center Kentucky, and then went to graduate school to become an O&M Specialist. From there, I moved on to private rehab services in Charlotte, the Veteran’s Administration in Texas, state rehab in NC, then to UNC Chapel Hill. I retired from UNC in 2013 and now consult for the Association on Higher Education…
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