The year is 1997, there are many things to be excited about like a new film by the name of Titanic, Steve Jobs returning to Apple, a book series which took the UK by storm in Harry Potter, or even Brett Favre leading the Green Bay Packers (America’s least favorite team – go Vikes) to a Super Bowl victory… It is in this very same year a 15-year-old by the name of Kevin Athey learns he has an eye-disease that will only get worse, and there is no cure. The diagnosis? Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP).

RP is a group of inherited eye diseases causing progressive damage to the retina, leading to gradual vision loss over time. It typically begins with night blindness and loss of peripheral vision, eventually affecting the person’s central vision in later stages. It is a disease that could allow a person to catch a football in the yard, only to run into a tree branch as if it were never there. Typically, people look at diseases and disabilities, especially those not seen in their day-to-day, as black and white – this is the disability, this is what it does, and this is how it can be helped. Often times, these very people lack the education or experience needed to truly understand the psychosocial aspects of a person’s disability. At NewView, we address these aspects through the services and programs we offer to individuals with blindness or low vision. One of our rehabilitative services, and the focus of this section, is assistive technology (AT).

Typically, a person with RP would lose their vision over a lifetime, noticing symptoms in their 30s, a diagnosis a few years later, and a sense of divergence soon to follow. Living with a disability, especially in the beginning, can be extremely difficult for the individual. For some, the initial goal is to ‘just survive’, or get by, while one learns to adapt and cope, for quite possibly the first time in their life. Athey’s vision went quick following his diagnosis.

Daily activities he once enjoyed began to frustrate, school became an afterthought as he watched his peers advance at a pace he couldn’t. Kevin couldn’t work, had no plans for college, and “didn’t know how blind people could be successful”. It wasn’t until his aunt, and co-guardian, signed Kevin up for a youth summer camp geared towards those with vision loss in the summer of 2000. This camp provided many services and learning opportunities like orientation & mobility (O&M), daily living skills, Braille, technology, and various activities geared more towards having fun – it is a summer camp, after all. The main takeaway for Kevin? The camaraderie – or, a sense of belonging and trust among a group. This summer camp was the first step towards Kevin’s future. Eventually, he started a part-time call center position at an organization called Alphapointe. Being in an environment geared towards employees with various degrees of vision loss, Kevin soon found himself excelling at an even quicker pace than his schoolmates, who once surpassed him. It wasn’t long before he was full-time and then a team lead. Wanting to progress his skills and be closer to his children, Kevin enrolled in an AT instructor course at an organization called World Services for the Blind (WSB). Fun fact: NewView’s MOVE program is modeled after this.

As of today, Kevin Athey is our sole AT instructor at our Tulsa location where he teaches others, some just like his former self, to use their devices so they too can one day be on an equal playing field. Speaking of playing, Kevin makes it abundantly clear that a few things are true:

• He’s a “computer nerd” – his words

• He’s an avid reader via audio books

• He enjoys movies and shows with audio descriptions

• He has found a new way to stay active and compete through adaptive sports and places like The Center for Individuals with Physical Challenges where he plays goalball on a weekly basis.

This last point deserves its own line: Kevin talks about a time when he and his children decided to play basketball. To make it even, his children wore blindfolds while someone held a beeper by the rim. There are two parts worth bringing attention to here:

• The group had a good time

• They found a way to make it work with what they had

At the end of the day, that’s all we’re really trying to achieve.

Unfortunately, blindness and other forms of vision loss will continue to be an issue for all ages. However, with advances in technology, and the proper training, AT may be the best alternative when physical corrections are no longer an option. For several years, NewView has provided assistive technology training statewide, and will continue to do so for many years to come!