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Chandler Miller Professor Camargo ENGL 1102 April 5, 2014 Think About It from Their Perspective Going to college is the usually considered to be the best time for a teenager, I know I was excited to get away and finally experience life on my own. On the other hand going off to college could be the most stressful time for a person. After going through life with the same support system, and friends and surroundings life without those support systems could be extremely scary for a teenager who has been living with deaf-blindness and that support their entire life. After reading that how could you possibly think that a person that is suffering through deaf-blindness could ever enjoy the college experience like a regular college student could? The obstacles that a deaf-blind college student overcomes are tremendous in comparison to the ones that usually come to mind for a college student. Do you think you could do it? Learning a new campus, having new surroundings and making new friends is scary enough not being deaf or blind so I could not imagine how much more scary or overwhelming it is for one who is deaf or blind. Once they have reached a university majority just want to fit in with everybody else and be seen a just a normal teenager, they just want to be accepted by everyone. Depending on the university they choose, there will be plenty of help available to those students to help them have the most normal college experience they could possibly have. Deaf-blindness is having simultaneous hearing and visual impairments. The combination of the two causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they

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cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness. To present the differences between a college student and a college student suffering from deaf-blindness a study was conducted. Katrina Arndt, Ph.D, a professor at St. John Fisher College was leader of the survey and found that there are three main things that a deaf-blind college student usually experiences while in college. One of those 3 major points is Students struggled at times with their social relationships. They had little free time, did not always feel welcome in the college's strong deaf community, and had difficulty starting conversations with others (Arndt, 1). Suffering from deaf-blindness could sometimes prevent those from coming out from their shell and truly showing who they are because they sometimes feel they would not be accepted. During my primary research I was able to watch how the person I shadowed interacted with others throughout his day. What I observed agrees with what was found in the study conducted by Dr. Arndt on some levels but it also displays some differences in the study and what his daily life was. He interacted well with those who are also in the deaf-blindness community at UNC-Charlotte, he had friends who like him were partially blind and he was able to start and hold a normal conversation with them with ease. When it came to talking to me for example, he struggled, which goes along with what the survey proved. In comparison to the normal college experience, which is when people usually come out of their shell and change and become who they want to be, those suffering from deaf-blindness experience the opposite, which is sad when you think about it. As a college student technology is extremely vital in our everyday lives. Constantly on our phone checking emails, texting, and the occasional tweet or posting a status to Facebook. Without the use of technology, live would be very different. While we act like technology is the

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center of our world, for those college students who are suffering from deafness or blindness the use of technology actually is the center of their world. Texting or the use of email is sometimes the only medium for them to be able to get through to those who do not suffer from deafness or blindness and struggle to understand them. While doing research I found a video that explains in detail some college experiences from a young man who is consider to be deaf-blind, his name is Josh and he is a student at the University of Toledo. During his interview he tells of how much technology helps in his day to day life, he explains that, technology has allowed him to break barriers, email helps as well to get my point across (Interview. 2009). Without the use of technology Josh would not be able to break that barrier with some people, for example when I was listening to his interview I was having a hard time understanding everything he was saying and had technology been used to help interpret what he saying it would have been much easier to understand all he was saying. After learning about how important technology is to people who are deaf-blind I thought it would be interesting to research the different devices that are available to them to help them within the classroom. When those who are suffering from deaf-blindness are not trying to communicate with others they use various forms of technology to read or to take notes for example. The devices that one could use include a desktop Prodoigi electric magnifier which allows for the font in a book or whatever the student is trying to look at, be blown up to a size that a person could see without a problem (Humanware. 2014) Another device that is considered to be helpful is a Sci-Plus Calculator. This is a large display calculator that allows those who have a vision impairment to scientific, statistical and trigonometric functions. These are just some of these devices that are available to those who are deaf-blind. The cost of these devices range from $1999-3000, which is not cheap at all but most insurance companies cover majority

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of the cost which allows for those to be able to receive the technology that they need to succeed in school. Studying is something that every student struggles with while in college, there is always something else that will jump out in front of you and distract you whether it be parties, friends, or even television. For a deaf-blind college student the obstacles that come with achieving academic success are much greater than deciding whether to study or go to a party. Dr. Arndts study points out that, being underestimated, getting the correct accommodations and feeling overwhelmed (3) are just a couple of examples of the obstacles that those in the deaf-blind community have to face. After finishing the shadowing aspect of my primary research I was able to ask some questions just to gain more insight into just how different his experience in classes and college life is to my experience. He explained how frustrating it is that in some of his classes he is not able to fully get everything he feels he could out of the class because the right accommodations have not been made for him which goes along with the findings in the survey. He went on to tell me that it has to be more than the accessibility services requesting a note taker for the different classes he takes, he is very appreciative of the notes and the note taker but he also wishes that more could be done for him. On the other some students feel as if them being offered too much help is underestimating their abilities. A student who participated in the survey states, People always seem to underestimate what we can and cannot do in a college classroomthey thought that I would not be able to keep up. But is it your right to say that I cant do without giving me a chance? (qtd. In Arndt 2). While others prefer the extra help or cushion, there are also some who want to have the chance to prove that they can do everything that somebody who does not suffer from deafness or blindness can do.

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Something interesting that I found while doing my primary research was all of the help that was avabible on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I always hear about how helpful disability services is, and quite frequently receive emails asking for note takers in different classes so I know that they really try their best to give a student with a disability the most normal college experience they can. During my primary research the person that I was shadowing made trips to the disability center quite often throughout his day. While some of those visits were just to say hello to those who work in the office, there were times when he visited to receive assistance. From listening to him talk to those who work in the office I was able to learn where a lot of the different assistive technology on campus is. Here at UNCC there is JAWS, Kurzweil 1000 & 300, and Dragon Naturally Speaking located in Atkins library and these are all different computers that help those with deaf-blindness (Interview. 2014) Without having shadowed the student, I would have never known about all of the technology that is available on campus because it something that really has never crossed my mind to inquire about. After doing all the research I have come to the conclusion that while those who suffer from deaf-blindness indeed do have an experience that is nothing close to the what those who do not suffer from deaf-blindness. They have to overcome the regular obstacles that every college student faces, on top of the ones that are presented because they are deaf or blind. As a result of the differences between the two experiences, the experience gained by those who are deaf-blind is one that is considerably more valuable to that person because they are able to learn things about themselves that one who does not suffer from deaf-blind could never experience. The experience that I was able to gain came from my mini-interview during my primary research, out of everything that we discussed relating back to his disability the thing that I will always

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remember will be his response to my question, If you had the opportunity to change your circumstances, for example be born without suffering from deaf-blindness, would you change? knowing myself and how life has been being able to see and hear all of my life I was expecting his answer to be yes with no hesitation but in fact it was the complete opposite. He sat there for a minute and then he gave his answer, No, this disability has presented me with not only so many different opportunities, but it also has given me strength and turned me into strong independent man you see before you and after he said that it clicked that people suffering from deaf-blindness do not see it as something holding it back, they see it as something to overcome and to prove to others as well as themselves that they are stronger than you think.

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Works Cited John Doe. Interview by Chandler Miller. February 25, 2014. "Deafblind ." Perkins-School for the blind . Perkins , 03 April 2000. Web. 10 Mar 2014. http://www.perkins.org/inside-perkins/deafblind-program/ N.p.. HumanWare. 04 September 2012. Web. 5 Apr 2014. <http://www.humanware.com/enusa/home>. Josh. Interview by Sarah Cook. The Perspective of a Deaf College Student. The Perspective of a Deaf College Student, 2010. Web. 04 November 2010. Katrina , Arndt Ph.D. Fisher Digital Publications , 2011. 01. February <http://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=education_facpub>.

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Reflection 1. The easiest thing about putting my sources together was relating them back and forth to each other. The sources made it easy to agree or disagree with some of my findings during my primary research or just regular research I had done. The hardest thing about writing my essay would be making sure that I have a good balance between my opinion and research and then support to back up my findings. 2. The thing that I like best is the primary research that I did. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. From the research I was able to get a lot more information that I would not have been able to get had I done something different for my primary research. One aspect of my writing that was the most challenging was stepping away from the 5 paragraph essay that I am accustomed to writing and also developing a good intro/thesis because I always seem to lack in those areas. One aspect of my topic that was the most thought-provoking would be how after finding out just piece of information, so many other questions would come to my mind that I would want to know more about. 3. I have learned how to incorporate my research within each paragraphs in a better way. I would usually just stick a quote in there and then move on to my next point, but now I know how to introduce it and then explain it after it has been stated. 4. I think my appreciation for everything a deaf-blind person has to go through, throughout their entire life is something that I will take with me after completing the research and this paper. Academics wise from doing this essay and research I think I will take with me a greater appreciation for doing research, because Ive learned that is not all that bad, also I will take with me new revision skills that I will be able to use with other papers throughout the rest of my academic career.

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5. I would like for my instructor to notice my use of quotations within my essay, and I would like to know if they are supported or explained well enough. Also do the quotes support my ideas as a whole well enough throughout the entire paper, what else is missing from my paper that could possibly make it better? More of my opinion or more facts from my sources? 6. I just have plans to keep revising and making each draft better, adding more detail where needed or support, taking out the excess stuff that is not needed etc. Revision will basically be the goal for the third and final drafts.