March 11, 2004

DERBY, Conn. -- With her audience tapping away at hand-held Braille
note-takers, Barbara Lombardi of Shelton said that visually impaired students
today have it easy.

"You have all kinds of cool things," she said, about devices that read
computer screens and scanners that read the printed words.

When Lombardi was their age, all she had was a typewriter that printed
Braille. To read print, she needed the help of a sighted person.

Another thing Lombardi, who has been blind since birth, didn't have was a Job
Club for Visually Impaired Students in her high school.

The two-month-old club is based at Derby High School and is open to any
visually impaired teen who can make the meetings. Its aim is to help members
beat
the odds and gain employment - something only one in three legally blind
adults achieve, according to the American Foundation for the Blind.

"I'm determined these students will not become one of those statistics," said
Ellen Bedford, a Derby teacher and club adviser.

In the 2002-2003 school year, there were 307 students, pre-K through
eighth-grade, with visual impairments in Connecticut public schools. Locally,
Bridgeport,
Derby, Fairfield, Milford, Monroe, Shelton, Stratford and Trumbull all had
students with visual impairments last year.

Funded by grant money Bedford helped secure from the John A. Coccomo Sr.
Foundation in Windsor, the club has 10 members who come not just from Derby,
but
also Stratford, Bridgeport, Newtown, New Haven, Windsor and Danbury. More
would join, said Bedford, if they could find rides.

Some members, like Joseph Tamborra, 19, of Stratford, are legally blind. He
can't see at night at all and must hold print close to his face to read.
Others,
like Ashley Gorzelany, 16, of Derby, have no sight.

For two hours each month, the group meets to hear visually impaired speakers
offer tips, collect information in large print, Braille or on tape to help
them in their career search, and network with one another.

"The great thing is, you're all here," said Suzanne Westhaver of Naugatuck,
another speaker at a recent meeting. "Networking is a huge part of being
successful."

Westhaver was 20 and in college when she became blind as a complication of
diabetes. It was a hard adjustment. She didn't grow up learning Braille. It
took
her time to adapt to her blindness. Her experiences with college officials
weren't always positive.

"I wasn't sure what I could do," she said.

Some professors worried they'd have to lower their standards for her. She was
assigned a reader for a math class who didn't know what "greater" or "less
than" signs were.

"You need to be resourceful. You need to learn to advocate on your own and be
upfront with professors on what you need. You may be the first blind person
they've come across," said Westhaver, who is now in her 30s and working to
recruit teachers for the visually impaired. She is also on the state Council
to Monitor the Activities of the Board of Education and Services for the
Blind.

At the start of every session, Bedford introduces everybody and notes where
they are sitting. She fattens a resource notebook the club members all have
with new Web addresses and books club members can tap into. Much of it is
information any teen exploring his or her options could use, like what the
"hot"
jobs are and how to figure out what you're good at.

Bedford also arms them with words they will come to know, like affirmative
action and discrepancy analysis.

"That's when you look at a job, or situation as a person with a visual
impairment, and compare all the things you need to do or learn to do the same
or
better as a sighted person," Bedford said.

She then rattles off a list of occupations held by individuals with visual
impairments, like oceanographer, motivational speaker and astronomer.

"No way," shouts Bernadetta Pracon, 14, a Derby freshman. "How'd they do
that?"

Blind since birth, Pracon considers herself a regular kid with a small
obstacle.

"I lead a pretty normal life. The only thing is I have this," she said
pointing to her white cane. "And a big suitcase as a backpack."

The Braille versions of her textbooks are triple the size of regular versions.
"I have tons of these. I love to read," said the honor roll student.

Westhaver said that while her blindness is obvious once she meets potential
employers, she no longer tips them off before the interview. "Then they have
time to think about it, all that gets discussed is my disabilities, not my
education (or capabilities)," she said.

Lombardi described how she got to work at a drug rehabilitation job in New
Haven by riding with a friend who worked nearby. When she became clinical
coordinator
at the Lower Naugatuck Valley Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse Inc. in Ansonia,
she described how assistants helped her read charts and write up notes.

"In a few years, you'll have global positioning units," like those available
in cars, that can pinpoint object locations, Lombardi said.

Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press
Steve K8SP