Tell us a little about yourself. What is your background, education, and training?

I grew up in a large family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, right across from a large park and the city zoo. I've often joked that I grew up in a zoo and that is partially correct, as I've always been an outdoor-loving person.

I attended Western Michigan University (WMU) in Kalamazoo and graduated with a double major in Anthropology and Sociology. After a few years working in the Kalamazoo County social service agency, I was accepted into the Rehabilitation Teaching for the Adult Blind Master's Degree program at WMU. I received my degree in December of 1977 and started my first job as an itinerant Rehabilitation Teacher (now called a Vision Rehabilitation Therapist) in March of 1978, working for the state rehabilitation agency in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

What made you interested in blindness, visual impairment, and low vision as a career?

I haven't told this story often and not until very recently, but here goes ...

A very good friend, Mike Ches, and I worked together in Kalamazoo, Michigan at the county department of social services. He enrolled in the Rehabilitation Teaching program at WMU after a friend suggested it as a possible career. Mike was lobbying me to consider it because of the excellent faculty and staff, fellow students, financial support, and numerous job opportunities. I knew I wanted to go to graduate school in a field that would assist others to grow, become fulfilled and be independent, but the inertia of a 25-year-old kept me in place at a job I did not enjoy ...

... until the funeral, that is. Mike drowned in a boating accident and I attended his funeral in Detroit. While there, I spoke with one of Mike's fellow students who repeated all the positives about the WMU program and encouraged me to make an appointment with faculty members Donald Blasch and Dr. Ruth Kaarlela to check it out.

The student was quite attractive, so that certainly added to the list of reasons to look into the Rehabilitation Teaching program at WMU. I liked what I saw and started in the program about four months later - and I've never looked back. If not for a death of a close friend and the mystery woman I've never identified, who knows where else my life's path may have taken me - if anywhere?

Tell us about The Hadley School for the Blind. What services does the school offer?

Our Mission is to promote independent living through lifelong, distance education programs for people who are blind or visually impaired, their families and blindness service providers.

Mr. William A. Hadley was a college and high school educator and Superintendent of Schools who lost his sight at age 55. He was encouraged by his ophthalmologist, Dr. E.V.L. Brown, to learn braille, but was unable to find local instruction. As a result, Mr. Hadley taught himself braille and, with Dr. Brown, founded The Hadley School for the Blind in Winnetka, Illinois in 1920. The school's first student was a farm wife from Kansas, so Mr. Hadley developed distance education methods to teach her "braille by mail," which became our unofficial school slogan. Now, we have over 10,000 students worldwide in about 100 countries.

Although a "school for the blind" conjures images of classrooms and a playground for young children, we have neither. All our courses are taught at a distance - students do not come to our physical location - and the minimum age is 14. We have no upper age limit, and have many students over the age of 80, which is usually when age-related eye conditions, such as cataracts, macular degeneration, and glaucoma, become more common. We teach people to read and write braille, but we also offer courses in academic studies, recreation, independent living, business and job seeking skills, technology, languages, and more.

Here's an overview of our four programs:

Adult Continuing Education Program: Hadley's Adult Continuing Education Program (ACE) is our largest program and offers a variety of courses for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Topics range from braille and academic studies to independent living, life adjustment, technology, business and employment skills, and recreation.

Please note: Adult Continuing Education students who are parents of children who are visually impaired or blind are also eligible for courses in our Family Education Program (see below).

Family Education Program: Hadley's Family Education Program (FEP) offers courses of interest to parents of blind children and other family members, including grandparents, spouses, adult children, or adult siblings of blind adults who want to become more aware of the impacts of vision loss and offer appropriate supports for their family member.

High School Program: Hadley's High School Program (HS) features academic courses and electives for students who seek to earn a high school diploma. Students can earn high school credit, which is easily transferred to their local schools, or earn a diploma through Hadley. All courses in this program feature an HS designation at the conclusion of the course description in our catalog or on our web site.

Hadley School for Professional Studies: The Hadley School for Professional Studies (HSPS), formerly the Professional Education Program, began accepting enrollments in January 2008. Many HSPS courses have been approved by the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals (ACVREP) for continuing education (CE) credit.

Eligibility Requirements: You are eligible to enroll in the Adult Continuing Education and Family Education Programs if you are age 14 or older, are blind or meet vision eligibility requirements, and can understand courses written in high school-level English. The High School Program also requires that you are a US resident. You are eligible to enroll in the HSPS program if you are working in a paid or unpaid position in support of people who are blind or visually impaired.

Tuition and Formats: While a modest tuition is charged for most Professional Studies courses, our Adult Continuing Education, High School, and Family Education programs are tuition-free. Most courses are available in multiple formats, including braille, large print, cassette (for a little while longer at least), and online.

What courses do you teach? Can you describe a typical workday?

I am the instructor for Macular Degeneration, Glaucoma, Blindness Basics, and our two courses about self-help groups. I also covered Introduction to Low Vision, which is being updated, so is closed to new students at this time.

Part of my job is conducting outreach for Hadley, and that includes presenting or exhibiting at professional or consumer conferences, conducting workshops or other training for professional staff, and "other duties as assigned" as we all have on our job descriptions. I also coordinate the Hadley Ambassador Program and regularly moderate some of our free online webinars, called Seminars@Hadley. Past seminar topics include finding employment, fishing, using technology, crock pot cooking, holiday entertaining, low vision, cooking with your kids, guide dogs, dating, woodworking, and much more. Past seminars are archived on our web site for future learning and I encourage you to check them out.

Our Ambassador program began with a contingent of blindness professionals from Canada who came to us for an intensive two-day workshop to learn more about all aspects of Hadley. We also now invite professionals from around the US to participate. Our goal is to provide first-hand experience in learning how Hadley can help supplement, not supplant, local rehabilitation services through a collaborative learning partnership.

When I am not on the road, I review student assignments, many of which are now being submitted electronically. I respond on cassette tape, print, and braille, depending on the student's preferred reading medium. I also answer many inquiries from professionals and non-professionals who need information about some aspect of blindness.

Is there a story you'd like to tell about a particular student who benefited from your services?

We reach some quite unreachable people. In particular, I recall one student who lived in a very poor African nation and submitted her assignments on recycled brown paper grocery bags. Increasingly, students in very poor countries are getting to Internet cafes where they can now send assignments by email.

One student from the Philippines wrote, telling me that she had been diagnosed with glaucoma - but her family could not immediately afford the needed operation. The student had already lost some vision, but the family saved and borrowed until they had the funds to travel to Manila. They took a taxi to the medical center on the day of the operation, and, in their nervousness, left the bag of money in the taxi. It was hopelessly gone forever. The surgery was cancelled, resulting in the student's total loss of sight.

One of the most touching student stories I've received was from a teacher in a residential school for the blind in the southern United States. She worked with a bright young girl who had extreme low vision and was severely physically limited. Although I can't begin to match her eloquence and honesty, I'll try to provide an overview of her story, which she submitted along with a course assignment.

The teacher told me about a conversation she had with her student, who had been told (incorrectly) that her eye condition was temporary and might improve. This information was in absolute contradiction to the student's medical eye report, which stated that she would never regain her vision. "Ms. S.," asked the student, "Do you think I'll ever see again?" "No, I don't think so," the teacher replied. "Neither do I," said the student. Since the day I read her assignment, I've been totally convinced of the important connection that exists between Hadley and our distance education students.

I also have a few "success" stories from my direct service days. One of the most memorable involved providing a simple 25-cent plastic signature guide to an individual who was mired in a serious depression. That piece of plastic put an end to her downward spiral and marked the beginning of her return to active reconnection with her friends and family. What I learned from that situation is this: When you meet someone with vision loss who says they have been told "nothing can be done," don't accept it.

How can our readers learn more about Hadley's services?

Our telephone number is 1-800-323-4238. You can also e-mail me at don@hadley.edu for materials, catalogs, or any other information about Hadley.

Here are some additional links to help you locate vision rehabilitation services and instruction:

• Find state and local vision rehabilitation services
• What are vision rehabilitation services?
• A Day “On the Road” with Vision Rehabilitation Therapist Stephanie Stephens Van
• Independent living at home with vision loss
• Reading and writing
• Indoor and outdoor travel skills
• Find products for independent living
• What is a low vision examination?
• Reading with low vision optical devices
• What are the most common low vision non-optical devices?