Starting college can be overwhelming, but if you find yourself feeling this way, you’re not alone. If you're thinking about pursuing a college degree and you have vision loss, there are additional things to consider beyone the degree programs and financial assistance. Navigating college with visual impairments is a web resource that can help you make the transition from high school to college, find an academic advisor that can help you navigate your college career, and find on campus resources to help you in daily college life.
Since the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, professors across the nation have been legally required to accommodate college students who are blind, which means accessing a syllabus or finding a scribe for an exam is no longer the pressing issue. That's great for the classroom, but college students with visual impairments, often find it difficult to get the full college experience outside the classroom. Eye contact is a universal language of social interactions we can all understand — that is, unless you can’t see. Learn more here.
Here's another resource from the AFB Press book College Bound: A Guide for Students with Visual Impairments, Second Edition by Ellen Trief.
And from the Perkins School,Preparing Students Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired for Success in College andDeveloping Social Skills in Students Who Are Blind.
The statistics on individuals with visual impairments show that even though 42% of blind or visually impaired people are in the workforce, there are only 15% who have completed a bachelor’s degree. The response to this statistic means that we need to make sure visually impaired students are able to have what they need to thrive in an academic environment.
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