Learning & Leading Through Technology - September_October

Mobile Technology Opens Doors—and Eyes—for Blind

STUDENT

V al Bernal’s fingertips glide across the surface of a braille keyboard, then he stops to listen to the digitally generated voice of Apple’s Siri listing menu options: “compose,” “reply,” “message body,” “text field.” Bernal can barely contain his excitement as he puts the finishing touches on an email to his friend, Avery, and hits Send.

Six months ago, life for Bernal—a 16-year-old blind student in the Life Skills Education program at North Eugene High School in Eugene, Oregon, USA—was much different. Learning the braille alphabet in addition to 300 braille contractions was a struggle. Things began to change when Marla Runyan, Bernal’s teacher of the blind, brought him an iPod touch to see if it would help him communicate.

“His braille instruction over the years has been hit or
miss,” Runyan said. “Because he was cognitively lower than
other students, nobody thought he needed to learn it.”
Runyan realized that Bernal would never learn braille un-
less he had a genuine interest. So she showed him how to use
the iPod touch paired via Bluetooth to a braille keyboard. He
started by writing simple emails, but it often took him three
or four tries just to get the recipient’s name right.

Getting voice feedback has been a huge reinforcement. As Bernal types, Siri repeats what he has entered, so he knows if it’s right. For Bernal, the best thing about the iPod touch is the ability to email, text, and message friends. The instant feedback keeps him excited and motivated.

“Communicating and learning is an extension of his life, not just something he does in a classroom,” Runyan said.

Bernal’s transformation from barely reading to emailing friends has been nothing short of amazing. Once he mastered the iPod touch, his mother bought him a smartphone.

“He’s connected, he’s got email, he’s got texting, he’s got
phone calls,” Runyan said. “He’s doing music in i Tunes.
We’ve done a little bit of Google searching. I never thought
we’d get this far. He’s surpassed my expectations.”
He is also using his new tech skills to learn a trade. Bernal
works for the Happy Friends Baking Company, where stu-
dents learn food preparation, customer service, teamwork,
and other workplace skills. He uses a money app that scans
paper bills so he can identify currency and make change.

With Runyan’s help, Bernal was accepted to the Oregon Commission for the Blind’s Summer Work Experience Program (SWEP). Despite a significant speech disfluency disorder, Bernal was able to communicate with the com-

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mission using technology and convince the organization that he was a good fit.

“I am going to SWEP,” Bernal said before camp began.

“I am going to live in a dorm, on my own.”
Being away from home for the first time—living in a
dorm with other students, taking the bus, and working—
was a big step toward independence for Bernal. At camp,
he had a job coach and worked at a job site every day. He
got paid for his work and opened his own bank account.

His smartphone allowed him to keep in close contact with his mom, his teachers, and friends while he was away.

“It gives him some control over his life, and he hasn’t really had that,” Runyan said. “It’s important for him to feel like a young adult rather than having everybody do something for him.”