Future Reflections

The National Federation of the Blind Magazine for Parents and Teachers of Blind Cjildren

Vol. 24 No. 3 Special Issue: Low Vision and Blindness 2005

Barbara Cheadle, Editor

Middle school student Nathan Clark of Maryland dissects a shark under the supervision and guidance of blind instructor, Mary Jo Thorpe. The dissections are part of the curriculum of the Circle of Life Science Academy, a summer program for blind students sponsored by the NFB Jernigan Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. Students and staff are required to use sleepshades during the activity for safety reasons and to demonstrate the effectiveness of nonvisual techniques. Thorpe, who has low vision, is a mentor and a role model as well as an instructor for the students with partial sight (such as Clark) in the program.

ISSN-0883-3419

Table of Contents

Vol. 24 No. 3 Special Issue: Low Vision and Blindness 2005

INTRODUCTION
From the Editor

Low Vision, Blindness, and Federation Philosophy
by Barbara Pierce

WHO ARE WE?
A Definition of Blindness
by Kenneth Jernigan

Growing Up with Low Vision: An Interview with Dr. Z.

Elizabeth
by Nadine Jacobson

Why I am Choosing Blindness: Personal Reflections on the
Need for a Functional Definition
by Scott Feldman

Faking It No Longer
by Cheralyn (Braithwaith) Creer

I�m Albino, Legally Blind, and a Meteorologist
by Sam Herron

IN THE CLASSROOM
Common Visual Impairments in Young Children