I just finished reading a book about a deaf-blind woman named Haben Girma, who became the first deaf-blind person to graduate from Harvard Law School. Haben went through life with special challenges but was able to successfully adapt into the sighted/hearing world. She serves as an advocate for disability rights and her contributions to the disabled population are a huge influence on me. I found her life story inspiring and I would consider her as an example of how people with disabilities can be successful in a mainstream environment. The fact that Haben’s deaf-blindness doesn’t stop her from enjoying life and reaching her goals relates back to my own hopes and ideas I have about the future. Below is a summary of the book I read with specific details from my own life.
In early years of her life, she was educated in a mainstream school where she learned to read and write in braille with assistive technology as well as the support from her vision teacher. The ability to gain the skills as a blind person led her to further academic progress. The school she attended had teachers who were trained to teach blind kids and give them helpful tools to succeed in all tasks. Her participation in the classroom was technically difficult since she couldn’t see or hear the teacher’s instructions on what everyone in class was expected to do. Haben relied on a translator to ask for homework assignments to complete to be sure she never fell behind. The way she communicates normally involves letting someone type what others say on a brallie computer. She did not have many friends in school, but was offered an opportunity to meet children at camp who were also blind. When she started summer camp, she made a best friend named Robin who understood her obstacles. They both joined a small group of campers and held a dance class together.
As a teenager, Haben traveled to Mali with a nonprofit organization called BuildOn. While in there she did volunteer work to build a school. It provided her with confidence in knowing how to help others and making decisions on her own. During the discussion with her parents about her transition plans, they worried about her situation and felt that it wouldn’t be safe for her to go to college. Her solution was to contact someone from the National Federation for the Blind for advice on getting a service dog along with additional options for college. Upon graduation from high school, she attended the Louisiana Center for the Blind to develop independence skills through training. The instructors of the training program worked closely with her to learn the tools to succeed in college and work, such as cooking, operating the wood saw, and travel skills. The chance of physical injury when cutting herself and crossing the train track were a couple of the mistakes she made during training sessions. But with the guidance from instructors she was able to improve these skills by understanding when to seek. Haben stayed at LCB for six months and spent nights with a group of blind peers in an apartment setting. They all played hide-and-seek which Haben believes is fun to do for all blind kids. After she finished, she went on to the Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. College was her first experience of being independent. She was able to navigate the campus on her own with a cane and request accommodations from the disability support services, with braille-featured materials that she could access to course materials. She asked them to send her lunch menus in digital braille that were made accessible. They were copied and pasted on a computer file so Haben could read before deciding the meal. She developed good friendships with the fellow students on campus, especially her roommate and the people in the cafeteria. Because the cafeteria was incredibly hectic, she had a hard time hearing what others say and asked them to speak as loudly as possible. The ability to advocate for herself in an effective way improved her conversational skills. She was very thankful for the experience and the solutions that were worked out. She spent the summer months exploring employment options for the blind and developing a partnership with a service dog at the Seeing Eye training center. The instructor named the dog Maxine and helped Haben leash her around the block. She thought the dog is amazing, although accidents happen sometimes as professionals warn it’s not safe for a blind person to walk with dogs rather than a cane. Haben was capable of having the strategy to train and harness Maxine properly at any place they went. They both went skiing together to build a loving relationship.
She then applied to Harvard Law School where she studied to become disability rights attorney. Maxine was there with her. She introduced the dog to her fellow students in the university and they thought it was inspiring. At the beginning of her first semester at Harvard, they hired and assigned her the translators who were trained to communicate with her in classes through sign language and an FM transmitter system. Despite the communication barriers she faced in an educational environment, she designed and invented a Bluetooth keyboard connected wirelessly to the braille computer for people to type the conversation with her. The technology solutions reduced her isolation. After graduating from law school, she served as an advocate at the National Federation for the Blind. The organization has its ultimate goal in providing information accessibility and employment opportunities for the deaf and blind. Haben learned from her own discrimination how important her advocacy skills were to protect the rights that led to a successful and exciting career. She attended the White House ceremony to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. During this event she went on stage to introduce herself to the audience and meet other lawyers with disabilities. President barrack Obama gave his speech stating that an African American deaf blind woman has the right to be a lawyer and that all individuals with disabilities should have access to resources.
I enjoyed the book I read and learned that deafblind people have success in their professional journey. Unlike most blind people, my eyesight doesn’t require braille. Instead I read and write in enlarged font as well as seeing things over short distances which I call sensory blindness or “low vision.” If I were like Haben, I would consider pursuing a guide dog to have companionship if the program can provide adequate training. The assistive technologies I used in the past have benefited my educational experience which has advanced my tools to develop skills in reading and writing. In recent years the counselor from the Office for Students with Disabilities at my community college has been helping to make course materials accessible. She communicates with the professors to plan accommodations to help me succeed in the designated environment. By the beginning of my first semester, I received an accessible tablet to make reading easier and faster. The device is called Prodigi Connect and it was purchased and received by the Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services.
Both Haben and I face similar obstacles in the way our deafblindness lacks accessibility. The part about her experiences at Harvard struck me the most because I’ve been thinking about transferring to UMBC to study to become a disability social worker. When I get there, I hope to receive the same opportunities to meet students with similar experiences. Like Haben and many others, I will continue to explore a range of options to figure out what I want to do. In my opinion, becoming a disability rights advocate with a degree in social work and a related field in law is absolutely a great career path to choose by any disabled individual. My personal plan is to always bring my iPad everywhere I go with a wireless keyboard for people to communicate with me. Also, I see myself making plans to travel around the country, places where I could attend conference meetings with advocacy organizations to learn about disability rights. If I do, someday I would be interested in meeting Haben and people in the organization she works for. Her story is wonderful, and I appreciate the ideas she has about creating a deafblind community that shape our culture. With her story fresh in the top of my mind, I’m going to use these ideas to help plan for my own future.
If you are interested in learning more about her, click the links below to view additional information.
https://www.amazon.com/Haben-Deafblind-Woman-Conquered-Harvard/dp/1538728729
