So, something interesting is happening. As some of you know, I’ll be a second year Master’s student and that this blog is a platform for me to voice my opinions and concerns about disability studies.

Well, I have the opportunity as a no longer new student to mentor an incoming Master’s student, and the student I will be a mentor to is legally blind.

She has already asked me if I know anything about assistive technology, which I do not. Most of my experience with disabilities surrounds people with developmental disabilities like down syndrome or autism, so her using me as a resource to help her succeed in her first year is extremely important. I now realize how much I don’t actually know about other disabilities that many people have, like blindness or deafness.

Recently, reading the Disability Studies Reader, I even made an offhand comment to some friends that I didn’t care for reading about the sections concerning blindness, deafness, or physical disabilities, as I felt it wouldn’t pertain to my thesis. I now realize just how ignorant that statement was and am now taking an interest in learning more about these types of disabilities and learning what our university offers for people who need assistance.

I will make it a point to do more learning on the use of assistive technology and continue to update what I am learning about it here.

I am thankful that I have been assigned to mentor this student as it will help open my eyes to the vast array of disabilities that I haven’t really encountered before and act as a teaching lesson to broaden my horizons.