How A Blind Advocate Does Her Job

by Tonia Trapp

I have been working as an advocate at P&A for about a year. I may have worked with some of you readers, though you may not have known that I am totally blind. Those who have had the chance to work with me know the quality of work that I do, that my work is comparable to that of my sighted colleagues. When people consider my disability, they sometimes wonder how it is possible for me to do my job effectively. People say to me, "You're amazing!" or, "I could never do what you do." Nothing could be further from the truth. I am always glad to answer people's questions about my disability and how I do things. But often, people decide not to ask questions because they feel uncomfortable doing so. That is why I wanted to write this article, to share with you about the most significant tools that I use in order to get my job done well. I want to shed some light on the mystery of how I function as a blind worker in a sighted world.

The White Cane. What a simple, unsophisticated object this is. Yet it is one of the most invaluable pieces of assistive technology that I own. I can travel independently by using my white cane, listening and using memory skills. I worked with several Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Specialists throughout my schooling to learn to use the cane. O&M Specialists taught me to do such things as cross busy streets, take buses, use subway systems, navigate within large buildings, and trek across college campuses. Whenever I travel anywhere, my cane goes with me. Being able to travel safely and efficiently is one of the basic skills of blindness that empowers me to do what I do every day.

Braille. Braille is the system of raised dots used to create numbers, letters, punctuation marks, and other symbols in a format that blind people can read using their index fingers. Braille is not a language; it is simply a code used to represent languages. I began learning to read and write Braille when I was approximately five years old. I continued to perfect my reading and writing skills in Braille over the next several years, while my sighted peers learned to read and write print. I was taught Braille by successive Vision Impairment (VI) Specialists.

My Braille skills are well-developed. This is very important, because for me and for most other people who become partially or totally blind at a young age, knowing Braille is essential for us to be able to both read and write proficiently. I use a low-tech device called a Slate and Stylus to produce Braille on Post-It notes so that I can label papers and folders. The Slate is about the size of a ruler and has a hinge at one end. It is fashioned so that you can clamp a piece of paper between its top and bottom halves, then use the pointed Stylus to punch Braille dots into the paper.

I use a more high-tech device called a Braille Lite to write reports, input case-notes, give presentations, generate lists of tasks, maintain contact information, and much more. The Braille Lite is like a laptop computer but with a Braille keyboard and a Braille screen. The Braille screen contains a Refreshable Braille Display, consisting of tiny electronic pin-like objects that move up and down to form the Braille dots. The screen has just one line of forty characters, very small compared to the monitors that sighted people use.

The Adapted Computer System. At my office, I have a regular desktop computer containing all the typical Windows programs for word processing, Internet access, and so on. In addition, my computer is equipped with a screen-reader program and a speech synthesizer, which operate together to allow my computer to read parts of the screen aloud to me at the touch of a keystroke. Using this technology, I can access most of the same programs that sighted people use such as Word and Internet Explorer. My computer also contains a text-processing program designed for the blind that works in conjunction with a regular scanner. This program allows me to scan pages of type-written text, then have the computer process the pages and read them to me from a stored file that I can access as needed. I can read most books and brochures using this method, along with some faxes and other documents sent to me in the course of my work.

Reader-Drivers. I work with several reader-drivers who transport me to meetings and client visits, help me scan through files for key information, assist me with completing forms, and provide me with information based on their sighted observations of clients and their environments. I am responsible for hiring and scheduling my reader-drivers. I am thankful to be working at an agency that pays for my reader-drivers as a reasonable accommodation to assist me with work-related activities. At this time, I have two regular reader-drivers plus two backup reader-drivers.

Assistance From Colleagues. I want to give credit to my colleagues for taking the time to help me do things such as identify my mail, read my messages, or quickly find a key document in a file. My success has come from combining skills and tapping into resources that were made available to me. Many

people with a disabilities can become successfully employed if they are equipped with skills, infused with confidence, and given opportunities.