I have low vision in addition to a few other medical conditions, so I have spent a lot of time visiting hospitals, doctor’s offices, outpatient testing facilities, and other medical environments. Since a lot of my conditions are unrelated to my vision loss, I get…

My biggest IEP goal, learning to self advocate, and how it has helped me more than I ever imagined

Shortly before the day of my high school graduation, my mom received a phone call from the state department for visual impairment services asking if I was graduating from high school and if I was interested in their services for vocational rehabilitation for college students.…

When I was in middle school, I began to experience academic ableism in the classroom, primarily from my teachers. While I was fortunate to have many wonderful teachers who helped me to develop a love of learning and a sense of belonging in the classroom,…

Almost five years ago, I was sitting in my dorm room at George Mason University, bored out of my mind and trying to figure out what to do for the weekend. My homework for my assistive technology class was finished at this point, and I…

Over the weekend, one of my friends sent me a video recorded by an active bystander for academic ableism who was showing a situation where a student with hearing loss was being berated by the professor for their disability. I don’t want to share the…

Due to an unpredictable chronic illness, I was not able to get medical clearance to participate in study abroad or study-elsewhere opportunities during my undergraduate years. Even though I never traveled outside of the United States, I still learned a lot about other cultures through…

As my eye condition and neurological condition have changed over time, I have received extended time accommodations on all my tests and exams, including standardized tests that I took in high school. When one of my friends was researching extended time accommodations of their own,…

In 2019, my time living on campus came to a very sudden and unexpected close after I was diagnosed with a medical condition that made it impossible for me to continue living on my own. While this medical condition is now much better controlled and…

My tips for being successful in college admission interviews

Recently, I had the opportunity to give a talk at the Inclusive Design 24 Conference (ID24) called “Why Everyone Should Design For Chiari Malformation,” in honor of Chiari Malformation Awareness Month. This talk was especially meaningful for me, as I ended up giving it the…

As a person living with chronic illness, I have spent a lot of time filling out medical forms with low vision and trying out various forms of assistive technology so that I can fill out forms quickly and accurately. Since it often takes me longer…

One of the most common questions I receive from others when they notice that I have low vision or use a blindness cane is “what can you see?” The answer to this question has changed many times as I have dealt with many different short-term…

Over the years, I have received a large volume of messages from people all around the world who are learning to adjust to newly acquired vision loss. Details such as their level of usable vision, the circumstances behind their sight loss, and their age can…

Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (May 21, 2020), and if someone told me that I would be celebrating accessibility and using assistive technology on a public platform, I would not have believed them. When I was a teenager, I wasn’t very confident with using…