Friday • October 17, 1997
Lifestyles
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- Jt fS “They're very in tune with facial expression and
net body language,” Reber said. “It’s just as communica
tive to them as tone of voice is for us.”
gestud*® More often than not, their disability does not keep
By Brandi Ballard
Staff writer
B lindness is something people are
aware of, yet it only affects a small
portion of the student body at Texas
A&M. In addition, some A&M students
suffer from other visual impairments be
sides legal blindness.
David Sweeney, the coordinator for
Adaptive Technology Service, said the real
problem lies with those who have low vi
sion, a visual acuity problem or a field of vi
sion deficiency.
Low vision is typical poor eyesight from
which many people suffer. Visual acuity is
a person’s ability to see clearly. And field of
vision is the extent of someone’s peripher
al vision.
Most people define blindness as the
complete inability to see. But someone
who can see light but not objects may be
considered blind.
Legal Blindness is defined as vision not
greater than 20/200 in the better eye with
correction, or a field not subtending an an
gle greater than 20 degrees.
Gia Alexander, a technical editor in the
department of nuclear engineering, said
two people with the same visual acuity
can have different eye conditions and see
things differently.
“I am nearsighted, but I can maintain do
ing very close work for a longer period of
time than someone with 20/20 vision,”
Alexander said. “They experience eye fa
tigue a lot sooner than I do.”
Ann Reeber, the interim coordinator for
the Services for Students with Disabilities
(SSD), said it is difficult to determine the
percentage of students at Texas A&M who
have visual disabilities.
“Since we are a voluntary service, stu
dents with troubles that can function on
their own do not come in to see us,”
Reeber said.
Last spring, 16 students at Texas A&M
asked for assistance from the SSD. This year,
there is only one legally blind studenta.
“These are students who come to us for
help,” Sweeney said. “Some of them have a
problem with seeing clearly or do not have
a good field division.”
There are many causes for different eye
problems. People with multiple sclerosis
lose their peripheral or central vision. Glau
coma, a condition that causes a fluid
buildup in the eye, places higher pressure
inside the eyeball.
Traumatic injuries can also affect vision.
“You don’t necessarily have to be hit in
the eye for it to affect your vision,” Sweeny
said. “A blow to the head or a concussion can
damage your sight.”
Besides low vision, acuity and field of vi
sion, there are many more vision problems.
Erlen’s Syndrome affects the way in
which the eye receives color.
To remedy this, students are given col
ored glasses or film to place over their read
ing materials.
Macular degeneration occurs when the
retina and optic nerve tears. This usually
leads to permanent sight loss.
Before the Handicap Services can help a
student, they first must decide if the student
has a defined disability.
“Whether or not it qualifies as a disabili
ty depends on if it hinders their learning,”
Sweeney said.
Some cases are accommodated by
placing the student near the front of the
class or getting copies of the lecture out
lines and notes.
Other cases require a little more work to
be done.
The University offers a variety of services
to help students with vision problems
“Technology has been the great equaliz
er for those of us with sight problems,”
Alexander said.
The University has screen enlargers and
closed-circuit television (CCTV).
“We can magnify books for students with
our technology,” Sweeney said.
He said quite a few students use text-to-
speech software. Their books are put on tape
and then played to the visually impaired.
There is also a Braille printer that uses
Mylar raised line paper to accommodate
those with vision problems. It prints Braille
and raises line graphics.
Last semester, over 120 books were
scanned or imprinted.
When it comes to tests, students are
sometimes given extended time.
Other times, the font size is increased or
printed in Braille. Readers are available to
read the test aloud to students and write
down their answers, but Sweeney said this
is rare. Professors sometimes elect to give
verbal tests.
The accommodations do not enhance or
change the course curriculum in any way.
“Our accommodations give equal access
to the courses,” Sweeney said.
I EARING
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dp then
them from doing anything that others do. Both Getten
pd Maki played musical instruments in school and
jmction well in a college classroom setting.
“I don’t feel like I’m prevented from doing any-
ling,” Getten said. “For example, if it came to fighting
i»r my country I would gladly do that. I might be do
ing something else, but there’s nothing I feel I can’t do.”
Texas A&M offers help to hearing impaired students
on a case-by-case basis. Translators, technology and
housing with specialized features are all offered as
ways to make life easier.
A&M offers a technological option for hearing im
paired students called the Comtec system. It is a mi
crophone worn by the professor that amplifies his lec
ture into an earpiece worn by the student.
Just like any personality quirk or physical feature,
sometimes hearing impaired students can have an un
expected dose of humor pop into their lives.
“You knowhowyou can make a microphone squeal
sometimes?” Getten said. “Sometimes my hearing aid
would do that and it would be too high for me to hear,
but it was loud. I don’t know if that had any effect on
me, but oh well.”
Maki likes to play a practical joke on guys who try
to pick her up when she is with friends. In the joke, she
plays a European whose father came to America and
invented the futon.
“My roommate can’t be in the same room as me play
ing this joke,” Maki said. “ She can’t keep from laughing.”
“I keep it up until they start asking me for my
phone number. Then I know the charade is up and
it’s time to leave.”
Reber, Getten and Maki agree that being hearing
impaired should not be considered a disability, but just
another aspect of life.
“I see it as just being another facet of who I am,”
Maki said. “It’s not a handicap.”
Getten shares her sentiment and sheds a positive
light on his hearing impairment.
“Actually, I think it’s been better for me. I just feel
that because of my hearing I’m more complete as a
person. Because I just can’t hear all of what somebody’s
telling me, I have to think more. I think that translates
to other things like friendships; I think about them
more and don’t just accept things at face value.”
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