In the Driver’s Seat: Empowering Our Future Drivers
Authors: Corinne Natali, Parent
Our daughter, Peyten, was declared legally blind in August of 2020. Her vision issues began around 2014. Doctors can’t really explain the cause of her vision loss or if there is any way to reverse it. They quickly dashed hopes of driving, stating it would be “impossible with her vision”. Needless to say, it’s been pretty overwhelming. The future we envisioned for her seemed like a lost dream. Her VI Teacher suggested a workshop at Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Austin. We applied for the “In the Driver’s Seat” class, and promptly set our expectations pretty low.
From the first night’s informational parent meeting and the students’ fun in the dorms, our minds were put at ease. We began to build relationships with the school, as well as the students and parents attending the workshop. The guest speakers, panel discussions, and informative classes truly helped provide vital information we needed to try and provide the best opportunities and future for our daughter.
Peyten especially enjoyed the “Active Traveler” perspective and “Stump Dr. Miller” and the wealth of information and experiences shared. She gained greater confidence in her abilities and had this extremely unique opportunity to meet other students in her exact, rare situation. That weekend, they were not just students, but potential drivers despite their vision impairment.
The biggest take-away for us from our weekend at TSBVI was the gift of empowerment! Peyten felt she could do this hard, “impossible” thing despite her vision impairment. I felt hope that her future would still be amazing, even if it would look different than what we originally envisioned for her. It was an absolutely wonderful weekend, and we are immensely grateful to the staff at TSBVI for the opportunity we had to attend their workshop.