Editorâs note: Vision Rehabilitation Therapist Appreciation Week is observed annually over Anne Sullivanâs birthday, April 14th. Are you interested in learning more about vision rehabilitation therapy (VRT) as a possible career? Visit Get Learning â AER (aerbvi.org) to read about the roles and responsibilities and Directory of University Professional Programs in the U.S. and Canada … Continued
APH ConnectCenter is launching a new quarterly webinar, Employment Connections, focusing on topics related to employment. For our first edition, we discussed when job seekers should disclose their disability with Russell Shaffer, Executive Vice President of Strategy & Programs at Disability:IN. Russell Shaffer has a lot of experience with the topic of disclosing a disability … Continued
Ann Chiappetta, M.S., has heard people say that everyone has three careers in their life. Although she reveled in her first two careers, sheâs clearly thriving in her third and current career as a poet and author. Her first career was in retail, initially in the textile industry and then at an acrylic design company, … Continued
Editorâs note: Hunter Duncan is a long-time dog guide handler who shares with sighted individuals the best practices for interacting with a dog guide in a workplace. Dog Guides at Work: Navigating Workplace Etiquette and Interactions Whether youâve recently started a new job or worked at the same company for years, each day brings new … Continued
When you consider the distinguished career Kim Charlson, M.S. has established in the field of library science, itâs hard to believe she ever wanted to do anything else. But the fact is that she began her college studies planning to become a disability rights attorney. In her last year in college, however, she began to … Continued
Zelda Gebhard doesnât identify as a person with low vision, because sheâs so much more than that. âIâm a whole person,â she says. âAlong with my career, Iâm a wife, Iâm a mother and a grandmother. I have a full life with interests and hobbies. Iâm not that much different than a person who doesnât … Continued
What if I told you thereâs a place you can listen to individuals who are blind or low vision share about their current employment and how they prepared for it? There, you can ask your pressing questionsâhow did they know the career field is what they wanted to pursue; how did they navigate disclosing blindness/ … Continued
Steve Dresser had a solid career working for 30 years as a computer programmer for the state of Connecticut. But after he retired from the position in 2002, he started his own business: Jennco Productions, which is dedicated to producing high-quality braille materials from electronic documents. Blind since birth due to retinopathy of prematurity, Steve … Continued
Joe Strechay has the kind of career many people dream about: working in the entertainment business. His job? Making sure that blindness is represented accurately, especially by actors who are sighted. Born with retinitis pigmentosa, Joe later developed cataracts and has been legally blind since he was 19. Heâs always been interested in media and … Continued
Orientation & Mobility (O&M) training is essential so people who are blind or low vision can move through life independently at every age. O&M specialists are trained to help people âknow where they are in space and get where they want to go safely,â says Kassandra Maloney, an O&M specialist and founder of Allied Independence, … Continued