Today is World Braille Day! 

Everyone's seen Braille somewhere throughout their lives, whether it's on a sign, brochure, or menu. But did you know that only about 10% of blind and low vision children can read braille? This is mainly due to not enough Braille teachers, not enough teacher training & many educators believe that Braille isn't even necessary!

​With the advent of technology such as screenreaders, text to speech apps, and Voiceover, newer blind and low vision people are finding it unnecessary to learn Braille.

For the Deafblind, Braille pretty much is the only access to technology and the outside world (besides SSPs & tactile communication). We use a notetaker like the one shown in the picture, or a smaller refreshable braille display to connect to our computers and smartphones.

If you're a business that has blind, deafblind or low vision clientele, you should consider having your printed materials transcribed into Braille. Such companies such as Brailleworks can do that for you.

For a little fun, if you want to see what your name (or anything) looks like in Braille, check out this Braille Converter. Here's what "Confessions of a Deafblind Mother" looks like:

So, today's a day that blind, deafblind, and low vision users celebrate their access to written language, literature, information, daily living, socializing and many more applications.

Tracy,
​​One finds limits by pushing them" ~ Herbert Simon

Today's Welcome Wednesday is Clarisa Vollmar. This 'lil cutie was born Deafblind. Both her parents are Deaf-Sighted. When they couldn't find any guidelines or helpful tips and videos on raising a Deafblind child, they decided to start a foundation to fund Clarisa's many needs, make videos for other parents, and provide funds for other Deafblind children.
Please check out their GoFundMe page as well as Clarisa's own Facebook Page.

Hey y'all, it's Welcome Wednesday Week Two:

This week is Mary, a 32 yr old deafblind artist with Usher's Syndrome Type III from Atlanta, Georgia. She's also pursuing a degree in Fine Arts starting in the spring.
​
She has a shop of her paintings on Facebook called Sugar Beth Studios. Go check them out and support Mary!

Don't forget to if you'd like to be a part of Welcome Wednesday!

Welcome Wednesday is a new feature on this Blog that will showcase people who are Deaf, Blind, Deafblind, or somewhere in between.
My first Welcome is Quinn Burch, a 25 year old college student. He's deafblind as a result of optic atrophy type 1 and sensineural deafness from mitochondrial disease. He's taking 2 Majors - English and Psychology, and a minor in writing.

Here's his poem:

​If you want to be featured in "Welcome Wednesday" with your product, blog, story, poems, etc. send me an email

With all the wonderful advances in Accessible Technology; better opportunities for people with disabilities to partake in the world around them; better support systems; and disability awareness - common sense is still in the dark ages.

Accessible Technology such as bionic eyes for vision loss, exoskeletons to help people with spinal cord injuries to walk again, wheelchairs that operate like Segways, and speech to sign language applications are a great boon for people with disabilities.

There are more and more opportunities for people with disabilities to be involved in the world around them such as SSPs (Support Service Providers) for the Deafblind, better access to the internet and social media, improved public transit and travel choices such as Lyft, and more characters with disabilities appearing in television, movies and on Broadway.

With about 19.4% of the adult population in the United States (13.7% in Canada) have some type of disability there should be more awareness and interaction with the general population. Yet far too often these interactions lack basic common sense and people with disabilities end up being shunned, patronized, and mocked.

Let me give you some examples:

* Service and Guide dogs being ousted from businesses, restaurants and public transit: 

Veterans and Civilians with PTSD and other invisible disabilities are denied access to businesses because of their service dog, such as Dave Alvarado. These service dogs help these individuals "survive" in their surroundings and get denied just for wanting to eat, shop or ride on their own.

Uber being sued in a lawsuit over denying rides to blind customers with guide dogs. One driver even put a woman's guide dog in the trunk! Seriously? Would you put your own pet in the trunk?

* Basic Lack of Understanding or Help Being Provided:

A Man with Cerebral Palsy was forced to crawl off his flight after an aisle wheelchair was not provided. He said the experience was "humiliating". Where the hell's the common sense and decency of the airlines?

A Blind girl's white cane is banned at her school because it's a health and safety issue. Their reasoning is it's a tripping hazard for teachers there. What about the girl's safety? She needs it to get her bearings, avoid stairs and obstacles, and basically get around on her own!

Recently on Twitter, Nyle DiMarco, a Deaf contestant on "America's Next Top Model" tweeted to American Airlines. Here's their interaction:

This is a Bullshit answer!! I'm legally blind and I used to watch captioned videos on a tiny iPod!!

* People with Disabilities are still being Patronized and Mocked:

People with disabilities are constantly scolded for parking in a disabled parking spot. Such as this Colorado Mom and disabled child being called "lazy".

​News Media and Writers still using outdated labels for disabilities. Deaf and Hard of Hearing are still being called Deaf and Dumb, Deaf-Mute, etc.

Many people with disabilities have protested the yearly MDA Labor Day Telethon. They stated that the Telethon had a "damaging narrative that depicted disabled people as nothing more than helpless victims. It implied that as long as we remain disabled, we have nothing to offer or contribute, that our only hope was a cure."

Then there's the recent event of Donald Trump mocking a disabled reporter. To which he denies doing, or even knowing the reporter in the first place.

It's not the first time a Politician mocked a person with a disability. President Obama's campaign did it in 2008 in an Ad mocking John McCain's Vietnam War Injuries.


So....when is Common Sense going to get an Upgrade into the 21st Century?

Probably never. As long as people are selfish, apathetic, playing the victim, feeling entitled, making wild assumptions, or just being plain stupid, people with disabilities will be shoved to the bottom of the "we care" barrel.

I'm not asking for attention, sympathy or "handouts" dammit! I just want some common sense in treating people like you'd want to be treated yourself! Plain and simple!

I am a Woman, Mother, Wife, Homemaker, Writer and yes I'm Deafblind. That'll always be a part of me and affect my life, but should it be the FIRST thing you notice about me and subsequently treat me with lowered standards and expectations? Hell NO!

So next time you come across a person with a disability, don't look down your nose at them, feel awkward and uncomfortable around them, or even gawk and stare at them. Smile, be friendly, and just treat them like any other person you'd come across.

If Common Sense could be bottled, I'd be a Millionaire selling that shit.

Tracy,
​​One finds limits by pushing them" ~ Herbert Simon

Here we are, my last written post was in August. I'm staring at the screen and I have no idea what to write about anymore.

Since this website is for such a small niche, Deaf, Blind, & DeafBlind, it's hard coming up with new topics that hasn't already been done. I've thought of expanding and just write generic stories about family, kids, home, etc. but...Meh.

Someone told me that the average Blog only lasts about nine months and here I am in my second year here (plus several more when I was on Blogger). So that should be an accomplishment. Readers tell me I'm an inspiration and fun to read about....great, thank you, but where and how do I continue?

This burn out is carried over into my daily life too. I just have no desire to do new projects or to continue current ones. I'm not sad or depressed, I do enough to keep up the house and take care of the family, but when it comes to wanting to do something for myself.....Meh.

I do understand that part of it is from me still recovering from a major surgery (I'll be having another one this month or next month too).

Is it from years of not being able to find work? (I can insulate our 1600 sq. ft. attic with all the rejection letters over the years).

Is it from years of "losing myself" and pretty much known as "Randy's wife" or "R & D's Mom"?

Is it my mindset of putting myself last and only buying things for me if absolutely necessary?

Is it from growing cynical and jaded at the general population that automatically assumes low expectations as soon as they find out I'm deafblind?

Is it from years and years of working hard to please others that when it comes to pleasing myself, I have zero interest. I still fall back into this habit of seeking approval occasionally but am working on breaking it.

But I sit and wonder "I'm 46 years old and I still have no idea what I want to do with my life". I try reading books on "finding your passion", but drawn blanks when asked to list favorite things to do, what I liked growing up, etc. I holed myself in my room reading books for hours as a kid, I don't do that anymore, what's that got to do with passion?

​I loved horseback riding summer camp every summer for several years, I got a job after high school working in a horse stable. They said they'll teach me every aspect of the job, but after several months my responsibilities were slowly stripped away and given to the other girls and I was reduced to mucking stalls only. I quit in discouragement and disappointment. I wanted to own a pet store "when I grew up", I got a job in a pet store, but again my duties were reduced to only cleaning cages and tanks, again I quit in discouragement and disappointment.

So you tell me, what do I have to look forward to? What should I do? How do I find myself again?

Tracy