Welcome!
Hello! I’m John Buckley.
It is my privilege to welcome you to “Freed to Fly,” Club VIBES blog devoted to help promote independence for people who are blind or visually impaired.
I was born “legally blind,” having some, but very limited vision. I went straight through public school, receiving my PhD from Northwestern, and have taught at both UCLA and the University of Tennessee before losing all of my remaining vision. My wife, Sue, had normal vision until, after a series of unsuccessful surgeries, she became totally blind at thirty-three. When she retired years later, she was a Sr. Vice President for the YMCA.
Why?
We hope to share resources, ideas, and experiences to assist blind and visually impaired young people to live more productive and independent lives. To this end, there will be lots of information for parents, teachers, friends and families.
What?
This is the first post in our new blog, Freedom to Fly.
Topics covered will include
- how to be successful in school,
- identifying and using technology efficiently,
- developing good social skills,
- locating the resources and services you will need,
- mastering how to live independently,
- how to be successful in work,
- how to have fun in your leisure time, and more.
How?
We promise that posts will be both short and practical and appear (mostly) on a weekly basis.
Feedback
We will do our best to try to be objective but we also appreciate that, for some topics, there is not a single correct answer. You should feel free to disagree and share your opinions with us. All we ask is that feedback be civil, concise, and to the point.