Angela Fowler

I was born in 1982 in Yuba City, a small town about an hour north of Sacramento, CA. I have been blind since birth. The condition I have is Leavers Congenital Amerosis, a $20 name for a condition in which the retina of the eye simply doesn't work. In a way I was lucky, because I was spared the difficult and painful transition which people who lose their vision gradually have to go through, a transition which only they can truly understand.

I was the first blind kid to go through the school system in my area, or at least the first I know of. Before I came along, there was no program for blind and visually impaired children to speak of. My parents were determined that I get the same opportunities as everyone else, however, and with the help of a few wonderful teachers to whom we will be ever grateful, they got it started.

Going through school, I was for the most part an A and B student, with one or two C's thrown in to keep me humble in high school. Being one of a very few blind people in a community unfamiliar with blindness, however, I knew little about blindness skills such as cane travel and home management when I graduated high school. If I was going to get out on my own, I knew, I'd better get some blindness training. After shopping around a bit I settled on the Colorado Center for the Blind, and started there in September of 2001.

After a few months at the center, I discovered that while my cane travel skills left a lot to be desired, and my Braille Reading skills were below par, I was actually one of the lucky ones. My heart breaks when I think of all the things some of my friends had never been exposed to because their parents were ignorant about blindness and sought only to shelter them. While my parents insisted, for example, that I help with housework at a young age, many of my friends had to learn at the center how to clean and do laundry. While I was (I must say) a pretty good Barbeque cook before going to the center, many of my friends had never so much as used the stove before, and were fearful of the flames. When I saw a blind person who was lacking in such basic skills, I wanted nothing more than to help him/her acquire them. It was in this desire to help that I discovered my life's passion.

After I graduated from the center, I had a "sewing of wild oats" period which is common to young people. I made a few mistakes, married someone I shouldn't have, and was compelled to return to California in December of 2005. My son Jefferson was born 6 months later. The transition from wild child to single mother proved one of the hardest ones I ever made. Terrifying and teaching, it tested my resolve and forced me to prove to myself that I could take on whatever challenges came my way. I mean, I didn't know a single thing about taking care of a baby. When Jefferson came along I had to learn, and learn fast!

Through it all, my passion for teaching blind people those life-altering skills has only gotten stronger. I am currently attending community college, with an eye toward eventually getting a Masters in rehabilitation teaching. Meanwhile I'm doing everything I can to share with blind people what experience I have, and encourage them as best I can. I also endeavor always to educate sighted people as to our capabilities, so they can become our advocates rather than unwittingly holding us back by overprotecting.

Text Downloads

You can download this document in ASCII Text, Rich Text, or in Microsoft Word Format by selecting the appropriate link below:

Download in ASCII Text Format, (TXT)

Download in Rich Text Format, (RTF)

Download in Microsoft Word Format, (DOC)