USU has many resources for blind college students
Sophomore Marty Langworthy, who is studying exercise science, is like any other student at USU. He goes to class, he goes to work, and he studies. But there is one difference: Marty is blind.
Langworthy said he can see somewhat during the day, but he uses a cane at night.
Kasondra Payne, a freshman English major, is also blind. She starts her day by getting her three children, who all have various disabilities, ready before heading off to an early morning class.
“I am not amazing because I get up in the morning, get my kids dressed and go to school,” Payne said. “This is just my life and I live it.”
Payne said there are a lot of misconceptions about the blind.
“A lot of people can barely imagine me getting across campus,” Payne said. “They can’t understand that I can make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for myself.”
Payne, who uses a long, white cane to get around, said she has adapted by using technology and skills that she has learned.
“Blind people are capable of doing anything,” she said. Langworthy and Payne both said they are grateful for the chance to attend USU. “It’s the greatest opportunity in the world to go to school,” Payne said.
Langworthy said one of his biggest challenges on campus is getting from one place to another. He said he would suggest expanding resources all over campus rather than putting it all in one place.
“I spend so much time going to a place to study, I lose studying time,” Langworthy said.
Both Payne and Langworthy attend normal classes along with other college students. Langworthy said some teachers provide notes online, which he can read using a magnified computer screen, but other times he said he just has to rely on what is said in class. Payne said she takes notes using a Pac Mate, which is a personal data system that is specially adapted for the blind. It has a version of JAWS, which is a screen reader, plus a 20-cell Braille display and a standard-size keyboard.
“You don’t see me on campus without it,” said Payne, who has learned to type with one hand due to her cerebral palsy, which affects half of her body.
Professor Susan Andersen, who teaches English 2010, has Payne in one of her classes. Andersen said she doesn’t have to prepare any differently for class than she normally would. She said the Disability Resource Center scans the textbook ahead of time and puts the text into a word document, which Payne is able to access using her Pac Mate. Andersen said Payne is very involved with the discussion-based class.
“It’s a huge benefit for all of us to hear things from her perspective,” Andersen said.
Andersen shared a story about how one day they needed to change classrooms from Old Main over to the Geology building, when a student from the class mistakenly began heading for the Animal Science building.
Andersen said Payne immediately corrected her, saying, “That’s not the Geology building. That’s the Animal Science building!”
Langworthy and Payne said they study using the resources at the Disability Resource Center and the Assisted Technology Learning Center, where they both work part time. Langworthy said USU has “gotten really good at the resources” over the past couple of years.
He also mentioned he can read some print with magnification, although he needs a lot of equipment to study. He has a closed-circuit television (which allows textbooks to be magnified), a computer with screen-reading software and magnification, and other magnifiers.
Payne said she accesses textbooks electronically.
“I can see large print but can’t read for long periods of time because I get eye strain,” Payne said.
Payne said she instead uses JAWS, which reads to her what is on the screen. She said a lot of textbooks are converted to Microsoft Word text files, which can be read by JAWS. She also has this capability on her home computer.
“The Disability Resource Center is really great,” Payne said. “They work so hard to make sure everybody has what they need. They are an awesome bunch of people.”
Diane Baum, who works at the Disability Resource Center, said a lot of resources are available to blind students, based on their individual needs. These resources include alternate format textbooks, mobility training, mentoring and an accommodation testing service.
Baum said those at the center also help students with registration, admissions, and watch for any architectural barriers on campus. Students must provide them with medical documentation of their condition, preferably as early as possible.
“It’s first come, first serve,” Baum said. “If 15 students come in on the first day of class and all need their textbooks translated, it will take a while to accommodate everybody.”
Payne and Langworthy, like other college students, have varied interests outside of school.
“I know this sounds weird, but I love sports,” Langworthy said.
He said he has a number of athletic friends who play football and goal ball, which is a sport for the blind. Langworthy said goal ball, which has become an Olympic sport, is hard to explain but is played in a gym with tape on the floor to mark positions. It’s three-on-three, and a three-pound ball with bells in it is used to throw at opponents, sometimes at speeds more than 50 miles per hour.
“It’s kind of a rough sport,” he said. “I’ve had more injuries with this sport than other sports.”
Langworthy said it’s a great way to socialize.
“A lot of people at USU play,” he said. “It makes you feel like somewhat of an athlete.”
Payne said she wants to emphasize that blind people are typical people. She and her husband, who has no disabilities, like to go to movies, plays and concerts.
“I don’t have special entertainment because I’m blind,” Payne said.
Payne said she read “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” the day it came out, just like everybody else. She said she is a member of bookshare.org, which scanned the book using optical character recognition software, then put it into a specialized digital format that can be read with synthesized speech or Braille. She also said she listens to music using a specialized mp3 player.
“I’m a techno geek,” she said, “I love it.”
She also does a lot of activities with the Cache Valley chapter of the National Federation of the Blind. Payne said the federation is the oldest and largest organization of blind people in the country. She said they deal with the education of blind children and adults as well as newly blinded seniors who need resources and help. She recently traveled to Washington, D.C., with the federation to lobby Congress for a few days.
“There were hundreds of blind people walking throughout Capitol Hill,” Payne said.
She said she met all of the members of the Utah delegation, including Sen. Orrin Hatch. Among other topics, they spoke about how blind college students need textbooks on time.
They will soon be doing a presentation on blindness with USU family housing, Payne said, adding kids are usually curious about blind people, and they should be encouraged to ask questions.
Payne said she wants everyone to know that “blindness shouldn’t be a scary, awful thing.”
She would rather people ask her questions about blindness instead of just avoiding it.
“I don’t mind people asking questions,” Payne said. “I am just a normal person living my life.”
The Assisted Technology Learning Center is located in Room 143 of the Merrill Library. The hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Disability Resource Center is located beneath the University Inn. The building is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
-jennaq@cc.usu.edu