I Am a Blind 18 Year Old, AMA!

What’s something that is difficult to do for blind people that we don’t talk about much or at all?

Getting a job, 100%. In general, after someone has adapted to blindness, it doesn't keep us from being able to work. However, it does make people wary of hiring us. The ADA makes discrimination against the disabled illegal when it doesn't interfere with the job being done, but it still happens. People can barely fathom seeing us alone in public, let alone working. Out applications tend to be thrown out, and 80% of us are unemployed.

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Transportation. I use RTA, but that means I have to schedule my rides 24 hours in advance. I'm a very spontaneous person, so, if I want to do something on a whim, I have to find a friend to take me. Because of this, I hope to move to a place with a taxi service soon.

What's RTA? I'm blind and very desperate for subsidized transportation because cabs are expensive.

Bussing system in my city. I have to pay in full, but they'll pick me up at my door bc I'm blind

I'm not blind but I have nystagmus, and I can't drive anymore because my vision is terrible, are you excited about the future of self driving cars and when they get to a point where they are 100% reliable, would you consider getting one for transportation?

No doubt about it! I'm a big fan of AI in general, so I'd be ecstatic about that level of innovation. I'm still holding out for humanlike androids, though. That's what really interests me. I want a robot buddy, dammit! :P

How are you reading this?

As I have some vision, I'm able to use a screen to read if I zoom in on the text. Totally blind users use something called a screen reader, which speaks text aloud.

What’s something your teachers did or could have done to help with your learning?

The most useful thing they've done is let me take pictures of the board in place of notes.

I actually have a very funny story about something kind of stupid they almost did. For a few years, I went to a private catholic school because they had a disability scholarship and REALLY nice extracurriculars I wanted in on. Their special education department, however, required students with IEPs to take ASL because the intervention specialist taught the class. You can see my dilemma.

How did that work out?

I got a waiver from the principal, lol

I can already see you at the principal's office explaining that they want to make you take ASL

It was like the mike wazowski meme

What’s the thing on your left cheek?

A finding nemo bandaid. Scratched a mosquito bite.

How did you become blind?

A very unusual way, actually. When I was 14, I got very sick. At the time, they didn't know what it was. I couldn't walk for 9 months due to leg stiffness, and my vision became extremely blurred. I went under a battery of tests, but the only thing that came back abnormal was my VEP, a test of the optic nerve. My legs returned to normal only after 2 years of physical therapy, but my eyes didn't. Years later, they found out, via another bout of the same illness, that I had something called PANDAS. Basically, when I get strep throat, my body can't differentiate between the bacteria and my nervous tissue. It attacked my brain. Normally this caused OCD symptoms and a tic disorder, but, on rare occasions, it manifests as a movement disorder as well. There was no permanent damage to my brain, but, because my brain was swollen at the time, it compressed my optic nerve and starved it of oxygen. I'm blind due to the optic nerve damage.

The Blinding of Isaac

HEHEHEHE

Okay, since you've seen them. What's your favorite color?

Edit: I was genuinely curious, I realize that could have been insensitive though.

Green!

To add to that: If for example holding an apple in your hand... do you still imagine the thing with colour? Also while dreaming: can you see in your dreams?

I can see color

PANDAS?Hopefully you saw a MS specialist.

They did test me for MS. Lumbar punctures are weird. That was a fun way to learn I was immune to that particular brand of local anaesthetic, pff.

It must be difficult dealing with that at 18. How are your friends and family with it? Do they support you and help you out when you need it?

Also, what are some of your favorite hobbies?

My family has been fine with it, though I think my mother dreads doctor's appointments now. A lot of them thought she was making up the problem initially, because the first few tests were normal. My father wasn't in the picture for a while before that.

My friends often forget I'm blind, which is a little funny to me. They'll point at something in the distance, and I just look at them expectantly until they realize. It's hilarious, though I've learned to make constant blind jokes so that they don't forget so often.

As for hobbies, I absolutely love theatre. I'm a ballet dancer, but my real heart is in acting. Musicals, plays, improv, I don't care either way. It's one of the few talents I feel naturally very stong in.

They'll point at something in the distance, and I just look at them expectantly until they realize.

Ever seen Avatar: The Last Airbender? You should pull a Toph and try the opposite some time.

I love Toph so much, what a legend

I'm a ballet dancer, but my real heart is in acting. Musicals, plays, improv, I don't care either way. It's one of the few talents I feel naturally very stong in.

How do you feel about the Good Morning America kerfuffle about boys doing ballet?

I’d love to see you dance if you feel like posting a video.

Wow, I hadn't heard about that. That's pretty messed up; not just in a stupid gender norms sense, but why would you make fun of a little kid like that on live television? That's a CHILD.

Dance classes start back up tomorrow (agh! I'm nervous, it's a new school) so I might in a while! I'll be sure to post it on my reddit somewhere if I do.

Do you enjoy films regardless of not seeing the screen?

If I watch on my phone or in a theatre (sitting close), I can usually see most of the action.

When it comed to watching them on actual TVs, it's just a blur, but yeah. I'm more of a TV series person than a movie person, to be fair, but I definitely still like to watch things. My current favorite show is Peaky Blinders (hah), and I watched Room a little while back, which was great. My favorite movie might be It (2017), though.

You ever tried vr headsets to watch a movie in a simulated theater experience type thing? I wonder if that would work for you since the "screen" would be so close to your face/eyes.

They do movies like that for MRIs in children's hospitals. It was still a bit blurry, but I could see it.

What are some things that make you attracted to someone else? Voice? Conversation? How do you choose what you like more??

Edit: mobile formatting,

I was never super visual with my attraction anyway, though that could have been age. I'm generally the type to become very good friends with someone before I realize- oh SHIT, those were romantic feelings?

I suppose the most important thing to me is general morality. People who care about others and want to help the world are more attractive to me than anything else.

I spend much of my time advocating for creating accessible software and websites to ensure that they are coded correctly and can be used with assistive technology, what is one thing you would tell web developers to start doing to make things easier for people like you?

Dark text on light backgrounds. Light text on dark backgrounds.

Do you wear glasses or contacts, and do you have a drivers license?

I do wear glasses, though not often as they don't do much for my vision anymore. I can't legally drive, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't end well if I tried, lol.

Do you dream?

If so, Have you noticed a change in your dreams going from being able to see and then slowly losing your sight? When you dream now are the images blurry or sharp?

I dream. Usually, now, my dreams aren't very visually oriented, if that makes sense. What I see isn't blurry, but I only see what's important at a given time. There isn't much of a background.

Hi Isaac, thanks for doing this AMA. I've heard that the body compensates for the loss of one sense with another (e.g. your hearing/smelling is enhanced). Do you find your other senses to be sharper after your sight falters?

To some extent, but I think that, for the most part, I'm just paying more attention.

Are you able to see why kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch?

Also, what's your favorite Belle and Sebastian song?

Yes, because it's amazing.

I haven't heard any, actually!

How does being legally blind affect your social life?

It gives me about a million more joke opportunities.

Really, though, I can't tell all that much. I put people off already because I'm a little too loud and I'm kinda weird, so I've always tended to make friends with the more 'outcasty' kids at my school. We don't have a theatre department, so I make friends less on a basis of similar interests and more on a basis of similar senses of humor.

Fun fact, though: my best friend at school is deaf. We started talking because both of our accommodations have us sitting in the front row in our classes.

How do you communicate? Sign language? Is it difficult to read sign language with your blindness?

Misread the question, lol. She reads lips.

What’s your favorite band or genre of music?

I like metal and alternative rock, mostly, but I like other genres too. Here's a short list of favorites: Avenged Sevenfold My Chemical Romance Green Day System Of A Down Johnny Cash

However, my favorite SONGS are both by Ludo: Lake Pontchartrain and Skeletons on Parade.

If there was a button you could push that would give you full vision, but someone else you didn’t know became totally blind, would you push it?

Nah.

Can you describe your education and maybe some challenges faced and how you think it could have been improved on the educator’s part?

I went blind just after the end of 8th grade, so my experience applies to high school and the STNA program I'm taking this year.

Most teachers haven't had a blind student before. I'm always the first blind kid when I get a new teacher, which is interesting. Most teachers are pretty understanding about it; being blind is a very concrete thing, so I don't get a lot of the flack autistic and ADHD kids do when trying to get accommodations. A lot of them don't know WHAT to do, though, so I've become very used to explaining my vision each time. I've had a few teachers who couldn't seem to grasp that glasses didn't fix my vision, which was frustrating. I actually had one teacher send me to the office for repeatedly 'not paying attention,' because I wasn't really looking at the board and had my textbook opened to the wrong page because the page number was- you guessed it- on the board. I ended up dropping that class.

Are accessible websites actually accessible or do they suck and should they get better?

a11y project

accessibility checklist

Some are accessible. Some aren't. Honestly, the most annoying sites for me are the ones that limit or disable zoom. Disabling screenshots on apps is the WORST.

Have you utilized the app “Be My Eyes”? I joined as a volunteer back in March and love helping out when I can!

I downloaded it, but I haven't had the need yet.

What was the hardest to get used to when you got legally blind? How do you feel about that thing now?

The initial loss was gradual, and I thought I just needed new glasses for a few months. When they figured out that my vision wasn't correctable, I was a little irritated, but I could work with it. School was probably the roughest- I didn't know how to explain my vision very well at first, and, no matter how close I sat, I couldn't see the board. My freshman year teachers had trouble with that. They only confirmed it to be permanent last year, and, by that point, I was already expecting it. It didn't bother me at all. Overall? I don't mind being blind. I think it's an interesting addition to my life, and, while it can be inconvenient, it's definitely not a bad thing for me at this point.

Do you audio porn or are you big thinker?

I'm not a super sexually driven person so like Neither

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Ayy!! Same hat! Love the username, btw.

I take an RTA bus, usually. It sucks to have to plan 24 hours in advance, but it works.

How does being blind affect your relationships? I am in a group with another teenager who is having issues with relationships because of his blindness and I'm trying to figure out ways to encourage him to keep trying.

Not much. If someone is put off by my blindness, they're probably not the sort of person I'd want to associate with anyway. As for meeting people, I tend to do a lot of organized activities- dance, theatre, class- where I meet people my age.

What is the career you are going for?

Phlebotomist!

Are you a fan of musicals?

Yep! I see you noticed my username ;P

I build websites and we've been doing WCAG compliance lately, but I noticed a lot of gray area, wiggle room, and easy misses. What bothers you often on sites?

Light text on light backgrounds and dark text on dark backgrounds.

The deaf community is somewhat famous for having a strong deaf culture and some folks in it have a strong disregard for medical procedures that can partially or completely restore hearing (as they don't believe that being deaf is a "disability"). Is there an equivalent culture/society in the blind community?

I'd say it depends. I'm actually a little jealous of the Deaf community and their culture! There's much less of a blind community than there is a Deaf one, since we don't share a language or anything. Attitude varies among blind people, and a lot of time it depends on what you have. If people have cataracts, they generally go have them fixed. If someone needs glasses, they usually get them. If the only way of restoring any degree of vision is painful and a difficult recovery? Maybe not. And then some of us don't have options at all. Personally, I don't mind being blind. I'm not really looking for a cure, though I wouldn't have balked at the idea of preventing it. Not everyone agrees, but I do know that a lot of us feel that way. In general, I believe in the social model of disability: it's more important that society learns to accommodate people than it is to cure every disability known to man.

I also have multiple conditions, which I have varying views on.

Do I consider blindness a disability? Sure. Do I want a cure? No, I want accessibility. Do I consider my Ehlers Danlos Syndrome a disability? Definitely. Do I want a cure? Yes! EDS hurts like hell. I'd much rather not have it. Do I consider being autistic a disability? Hell fucking know. If anyone tried to 'cure' me of that, I'd fight them with everything I had.

What are your thoughts on John Cena?

"Are you sure about that" is my favorite reaction gif

What are your talents and if they are affected by your vision, how are you bypassing that problem?

I'm an actor, which isn't really affected.

My dancing is only really affected by having to ask more questions about positioning and whether my feet are to be flexed or not.

I like to draw. I have to get pretty close to the page, but I still like my art. https://truepic.com/vd4hmlvx

What is something you will really miss not being able to see clearly?

Photography negates most things for beauty, so I guess random things that pop up on my body from time to time. Like, is that a scrape? Acne? A bug bite? It's hard to tell what needs neosporin, lmao.

How has this affected you? What would you do with usable vision?

It's affected me a lot less than people expect it to. I'm pretty adaptable, and I always have been, so the main difference has been in how others percieve me. Changing their expectations is fun, though. With usable vision, travel would be a lot easier. It would be a lot more convenient to be able to drive myself places, but it's not a huge deal.

How much percentage of vision is 20/400 ? is it 5% ?

Yep!

I'm not going to lie: I was really hoping all your replies would just be keyboard mashes. Do you ever think about pranking people in this way?

Oh, definitely

What daily activity was the hardest to get used to after you lost your vision?

This is really specific, but finding my friends in the cafeteria. I was 14, and we didn't have a set table, so that was incredibly annoying.

You are such a beautiful person.

How does blindness affect your career choices?

Honestly, blindness hasn't changed them much at all. I like theatre, and I'm a dancer, so I plan to do those things to some extent. However, I enjoy not starving, so I'm also getting my STNA right now. The career school training me for that also awards its graduates with a $3000 scholarship to a local college, which is enough to get me a phlebotomy certificate. That's what I want to do. Surprisingly, it's better to have a phlebotomist use touch alone to find a vein, because that's the more accurate way. I'm the perfect candidate for that.

Would you care if you dated someone less attractive (by society's standards) Does "looks" come into dating decision, or is it purely personality? I suppose you're 18 and may have not started dating yet as well. In which case, Will looks be a concern for you?

I've never cared much about society's idea of beauty, even with 20/20 vision. I'm a personality person. I do have personal preferences, I guess, like being short and broad shoulders. But other people's opinions don't mean much to me.

how are you reading these questions right now?

See the similar question I answered for info

Update: 7:10 am EST, been answering questions for hours now. I'm going to sleep. I may answer more in a few hours.

Would a cornea transplant help you see?

Nope! My corneas are fine. When I die, though, I'm on the donor registry, so someone might get mine. Imagine that: becoming sighted from a blind man's eyes.

Did you ever have relatively normal vision and if so, what was it like for you,mentally, to experience a slow deterioration of sight?

Yep. I had 20/20 vision (with glasses) growing up. Honestly? It wasn't that rough for me. The doctors not taking me seriously was much harder to deal with than going blind itself. When it wasn't the first two or three things they looked at, they immediately assumed either my mother was faking it, I was faking it, or it was psychological. That's actually possibly why the loss of vision was permanent in the first place. Had they done the right testing initially, and put me on antibiotics, the swelling wouldn't have lasted long enough to cause much damage.

How do you know when you're done wiping?

How do you know where to feel for braille, I always wonder when I see it on signs(like the bathroom), how would they know the sign is even there?

How do you? Do you look? I never did, you just... know.

I'm not a braille reader, but I can guess that someone who's a cane use might feel the door with their cane and start looking for a sign. Those of us with some vision might see that there's a sign there without being able to read it.

Since you’ve been on both sides, how would you describe colors to someone that is completely blind?

I can still see them, so I wouldn't know better than a sighted person. Warm and cool are good indicators; the colors and the temperatures match up. Some colors look smoother to me than others, too, especially light ones.

what’s your favourite genre of music?

Answered somewhere on here, lol

Do you still use a mirror while getting ready?

Yeah. Mostly for my hair, but I have to get pretty close to it.

Are you yourself reading this or are you having someone/something read it to you?

I'm reading it myself. See the other question about this for info :)

What was it like adapting to blindness? What were some of your biggest struggles? Also, have your other senses gotten better to compensate?

It was less dramatic than people expect, because it wasn't sudden. I just sort of learned to remember where things were. Not gonna lie, my biggest struggle in that sense was people not pushing in their chairs. I already had really good hearing, but I pay more attention now. I recognize people's voices from further away.

When you experience the world around you, what stands out? Do you feel that any of your other senses compensate for your low vision?

I'm a very social person, so I guess people stand out? Talking to people, hanging on my friends like the clingy bastard I am, that sort of thing. I definitely pay more attention to my other senses. That's how I know if the fan is on, or if it's crowded, et cetera.

Would stuff like LASIK help correct your vision, if only partially?

Nope. I mean, they would negate my need for glasses, but that would just move me from 20/500 without glasses to 20/400 (which is what it is with glasses now), which is still very blind.

Ok can you see this? https://youtu.be/mmXOqORJ1Mw

Damn. I was hoping for a rickroll.

would you date an ugly girl?

I wouldn't date a girl.

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Very.