Welcome to this month’s edition of Interviews to Empower. Today, Adkins and Wells are interviewing the authors of “Ducking into UEB”, Anita Adkins and S. J. Wells. That’s right. We are interviewing ourselves. Grab a seat and your beverage of choice, and come chat with us. :)
Q: Anita, we’ll start with you. Tell us about yourself and why you became a teacher.
A: I was born in Charleston, WV. My family is from Lincoln and Boone counties in Southern, WV. When I was three, we moved to Romney so my brother and I could attend the school for the blind. I decided to teach when I was a youngster. I have always loved to learn, and I love to self-teach, as long as I am interested in what I am teaching myself. For example, I love to explore unfamiliar places, study how to program computers or use a new app. Unfortunately, after learning enough to satisfy my curiosity, I move on to something new, unless the skill is useful for me in my career or for fun. My reason for teaching as a youngster was because I loved to play school. When I grew up, I became interested in specifically teaching in the field of blindness in order to help others become independent, and thus, to live a quality, productive life.
Q: S. J., Did you also attend the school for the blind?
A: Yes and no. :) I went to public school until my junior year of high school. After that, I attended the school for the blind and graduated from there in 1997. My family lived about twenty minutes from Charleston, WV, and living in Kanawha County meant there were several teachers for the visually impaired available over the years. I left public school for WVSB, because I hoped I would have more interactions with my peers. As it turned out, it was the best decision for me. Although I have always loved to learn new things, I didn’t think I liked school when I was a kid. My first attempts at teaching were when I helped a fellow student learn to tell time in the second grade. At that tender age, I never dreamed I would be homeschooling my own children, but I now know I am where I am meant to be.
Q: Anita, we know you are a teacher at the same school where you graduated. How was it that you came full circle?
A: Well, I graduated from WVSB in 1996. A few years later, I went to work for a company called T-base Communications where I was a production assistant with the job of a braille proofreader. I also did some accessibility testing for usability and accessibility of websites while there. I have worked as a Rehabilitation teacher at Blind Industries and Services of Maryland, or BISM, where I taught braille, assistive technology, cane travel, independent living skills, and blindness philosophy. In 2009 I graduated from Allegany College of MD with an Associate’s degree in Elementary Education and in 2011 from Frostburg State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. After that, I moved to WVSB where I have taught braille since December, 2012.
Q: S. J., what did you do after high school, and what led you to choose homeschool for your children?
A: In the fall of 1997, I went to Kutztown, PA to go to college. But, homesick, I returned in December and took a few classes at the WV Rehabilitation Center to learn more blindness skills. I took advanced orientation and Mobility, cooking and computers. In 1998 I went to Morristown, NJ and trained with a Seeing Eye dog. My husband and I were married in March of 2000, and from July, 2002 to May, 2003 I went to a local vocational school for medical transcription. In October, 2003 I went to work for T-Base Communications as a braille proof reader. My next job was a sewing machine operator at Blind Industries and Services of MD. My oldest daughter was born in 2005, and my second in 2007. Remembering the days of long hours at public school before long hours of homework afterward, I decided to teach them at home during the day. It has been a challenge, but God has given me strength and wisdom beyond anything I could ever imagine.
Q: Anita, what gave you the idea to write your own braille curriculum??
A: A colleague came in to my room one day and told me I should write a braille book like Braille Too. Also, at the time I began writing DUCKING INTO UEB, there were no current programs to teach UEB to students in grades k-12. I was spending a lot of my time creating worksheets and missing having a curriculum. I needed a way to assess my students and also for them to have practice. Too, I wasn’t fond of how some of the EBAE programs were written because they seemed basal. My book is somewhat like that, but I tried to incorporate some fun components into the program as I addressed various learning styles for my students.
Q: S. J., how did you become an author?
A: I began writing when I was eight years old, but I have always loved to read. I started writing my first book, “Wild Heart” the summer I was fifteen. I published it in 2009. Since then, I have written three more works of fiction, “To Tame A Heart”, “A Moment in Time” and “His Yankee Wife”. In my junior year of high school, I wrote a children’s story called, “Gold! A Tall Tale”. After telling my children a bedtime story one night, I wrote another children’s story called, “A Quackin’ Adventure”.
Q: So, Anita, how long did it take you to write, edit and publish “Ducking into UEB”?
A: The answer for writing, editing, and publishing is approximately three years. I began in 2015 and published on January 4, 2018. Editing really was two stages. First, I edited along with other friends/colleagues. Then, I hired someone to go through the book, edit it, and also to make it look friendly for the sighted person. I chose to publish the book through Create Space. The reason I chose this is because I wanted the student copy to be able to be brailled for a student without the teacher needing to buy it every time a book became too rubbed down for the braille to be felt. If I had submitted it to APH, teachers would be required to purchase the student edition. Also, I wouldn’t get any royalties from them. I considered AFB, but they would only be able to produce print versions. Another reason is I wanted to include other free materials in the program, including braille songs. The book is also available on Kindle and is sold through Amazon.
Q: So, where did the title come from, Anita?
A: When I first heard a new braille code was going to be accepted, I was not happy. I didn’t want a new braille code; the old one worked, and so why fix it. I want to duck this new code. Then, as a teacher knowing my students needed to learn this new code and that I needed to role model for them, I thought “Well, I’ll just take a quick look at this code.” Thus, I ducked into the code just a little. When S. J. Mentioned she had a children’s book called, “A Quackin’ Adventure”, I asked her if I could use it. The story had not been published, and she said yes. It gave me a theme for the book. She also agreed to be another author, adding more works of fiction as stories and songs. She spent time writing some of the suggestions and reading through the entire manuscript and telling me things that needed to be edited. Her story, “A Quackin’ Adventure” can be found at the end of the book.
Q: Anita, do you plan on writing anything in the future?
A: I always plan to write. I have a fiction story published called A Brother’s Love that is available from Amazon, also published through Create Space. I am working on a novel about a blind man who must step out of his comfort zone to save his overproductive family from being murdered. His prosthetic eye has a secret chip planted in it by someone in his doctor’s office, and some bad criminals are hunting for him in order to receive that chip before the blind man uncovers their treasure. I love reading more than writing probably.
Q: And, you, S. J., what are you currently working on?
A: I am writing a story about a local man who became a quadriplegic in a diving accident when he was a teenager. I am also working on my fifth fiction novel, about a minister who travels to the American colonies in 1748 to evangelize among the settlers and Indians when he is kidnapped and sold as an indentured servant to a woman desperate to save her farm from a jealous neighbor.
Q: This question is for both of you. Do you two ladies have any advice for aspiring writers?
A: Write, write, write; read, read, read! And, never, never, never give up!
“Ducking into UEB” by Anita Adkins and S. J. Wells
“A Brother’s Love” by Anita Adkins
S. J. Wells’s books can be found on her website at
We have had so much fun today, and we hope you, our faithful readers have had fun, too. Adkins and Wells has been a writing team ever since we were in high school together, providing ideas and more than a million laughs as our friendship grew. Alike in many ways, we are most definitely different with separate experiences, thoughts and ways of doing things that only strengthens who we are. We enjoy working together, and we believe this blog proves that. If you have a question or comment, please feel free to get in touch, either by commenting below or sending an email to
Blessings.
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