An outline for developing a college transition resource for students with vision loss, winner of the 2018 Roosevelt Institute 10Ideas policywriting competition

As a student with low vision who also has photophobia/photosensitivity to bright lights, I often take vision breaks throughout the day to rest my eyes. When I’m working on visually demanding tasks such as reading, working on my computer, or taking notes in a classroom,…

When I was in middle school and high school, I frequently experienced anxiety related to receiving IEP disability accommodations for visual impairment. There were times where I felt my disability made me stand out a lot and that it was obvious that I had trouble…

How my support team implemented “quiet place” accommodations so I could manage visual fatigue and sensory overload at school

Recently, I received a question from a teacher who was nervous about having their student (who has an unidentified disability) taking virtual classes, as they do not know a lot about troubleshooting assistive technology or supporting students with technical issues. They were wondering what the…

One of the reasons I started Veroniiiica (Veronica With Four Eyes) is to share resources I’ve created for adapting to newly acquired vision loss or changes to visual impairment over time. Living with low vision that has changed over the years, I have found that…

When I had to order some more blindness canes (white canes) for college, I discovered that I could customize canes to include reflective tape in different colors that weren’t just white or red. I love anything purple, so I decided to order a white cane…

When I was in college, I found out that one of my friends had recently started using a white cane/blindness cane when I tripped over it while walking in the dining hall. Another time I helped a different friend look for their cane after they…

Ten staff members you should meet before or at the beginning of college

When I was in middle and high school, many teachers and school staff members encouraged me to develop strong self-advocacy skills so that I could feel comfortable talking about my low vision and what accommodations I would need in the classroom. Talking to a substitute…

When preparing for an IEP meeting, a 504 Plan meeting, or a Disability Services meeting, parents and students will often be asked to come up with sample accommodations that can be used to provide services for students in the classroom. However, it can be very…

A prospective student recently asked me if they really needed to get a Disability Services file for college, because they didn’t want to go through the intake process or go to a bunch of meetings when they would primarily be taking online classes and could…