Her desire is to be a role model, helping others who are blind to live a life filled with joy and success. Her mission is to help sighted people understand, blindness does not mean failure or inability. Discover the author behind the children’s book, “A Brother’s Love”, Anita Adkins.
Born with Optic Atrophy and Retinitis Pigmentosa, or RP, both Anita and her brother have been blind since birth. Wanting her children to excel in school, her mother and a few other members of her family moved from their home in Lincoln County, WV to Romney, WV so Anita and her brother could attend the WV School for the Blind. It turned out to be the best decision her mother could have made. Anita graduated from WVSB in 1996 as valedictorian of her class.
Many of the experiences she had at WVSB shaped her beliefs about blindness and independence, even when she wasn’t aware. “I remember,” she says, “When I was a kid, I used to help walk the littler kids to school each morning. The ground on one such day was very snowy, and I was so afraid of getting lost that I cried. But, another student walked back and helped me. Now, I am a confident traveler, and snow doesn't stop me from getting out. I have learned that I don't have to stay on an exact route. It is okay to be to the right or to the left, as long as I am headed within a general direction and paying attention to other safety concerns, such as making sure I am on the sidewalk instead of in the street.”
“I was taught skills that I can carry over to many different tasks,” she says. “For example, one time, I showed up at the wrong classroom for my Spanish class at West Virginia University at Parkersburg, or WVUP, and only realized it after the instructor started talking about human development. Another time, I tried to make tuna noodle casserole, and it turned out to be tuna bread.”
Never one to give up, Anita’s motto should be, “Keep trying until success.” Anything that can be done with vision can also be done without vision; it is just done differently and sometimes, accommodations are necessary.
Greatest accomplishment? Greatest challenge?
“My greatest accomplishment was graduating from college because in addition to the academics at which I excel, I also had to intern at a public school. This proved to me, I could be successful in a sighted world. My greatest challenge is accessing print and other visual information and traveling to locations outside walking distance. There are solutions to these challenges. I view my blindness as just part of who I am, and I use whatever tools and techniques I need too as part of living a happy and productive life.
Currently, Anita teaches braille and coaches goal ball. In the past, she worked as a blindness skills instructor at a rehabilitation agency for the blind and as a seamstress in the sewing department of the same agency. Prior to that, she was a production assistant in which she proof read braille and tested websites for accessibility/usability. She enjoys reading, writing, playing word games, and spending time with family and friends. She has two cats, Tiger Lee and Whiskers Elizabeth. She decided to work in the blindness field, because she wants to share what she has learned through trial and error and through formal training with others traveling a similar path. She wants them to know, people who are blind can be independent and happy and can support themselves, if they receive training in blindness skills and have a positive attitude about blindness.
Thus, her very first book, “A Brother’s Love”. Written for children in grades 3 to 6, it is intended mainly for siblings of kids who are blind or for those who know someone who is blind However, all will enjoy reading of Cody’s desire to protect the brother he loves so much. Cody’s brother, Joey lost his sight as a result of a car accident. When a man shows up wanting Joey to go away to a camp for blind kids and also hoping to spend time teaching Joey blindness skills, Cody is scared and tries to prevent Joey from going to camp. Only $2.99, “A Brother’s Love” is available on kindle from Amazon. Anita wrote this book because she wants people who are sighted to realize, with proper training and a positive outlook, people, regardless of their disabilities can be and do whatever they want.
Anita has also written a manual to teach Unified English Braille, or UEB, because she did not have a curriculum in her classroom that teaches the new code. She has written other educational-type narratives that teach about blindness, as well.
“If I were to give any advice to our readers, “Anita says, “it would be, advocate for yourself, no matter your challenges. Embrace the techniques and skills that will help to make you successful. Find a way to make the lives of other people better, using your own skills and talents. And, have fun!
To get in touch with Anita, you can send her an email at adkinsandwells@gmail.com
Thank you for spending time with us today. Be sure and come back next Thursday, as we blog here once a week.
No comments:
Post a Comment