NIU’s Department of Special and Early Education long has enjoyed U.S. Department of Education grants to train professionals to work with people who are blind or visually disabled. For more than 40 consecutive years, those federal dollars have supported NIU’s preparation of
Read moreVisual Disabilities program students try serving as guide dog leaders – and dogs
Visitors to Graham Hall, whether inside or outside, are familiar with the site of students wearing sleep-shade blindfolds and navigating hallways, stairwells and sidewalks with white canes. For two days each year, however, those canes are replaced with human beings – playing
Read moreWayfinding: CATIS students navigate campus with latest assistive technology
Modern assistive technology that helps people who are blind to navigate the world is nothing short of amazing. But it’s not perfect – yet. Try traversing a college campus, for example, through the web of winding sidewalks and grassy expanses. Even the
Read moreVision Program alum rekindles love of ice skating with Chicago Blackhawks Blind Hockey team
Kevin Allison had spent most of his young life on the ice in pursuit of one dream. “I was always a figure skater. I was always training. I was getting my degree at the same time – my undergraduate degree – but
Read moreVisual Impairments grad student hopes to improve lives, system
When Lizzy Koster graduated from Hendrix College in Arkansas, she took a job as an assistant at a political consulting firm. It didn’t last long. “Politics wasn’t what I imagined it would be,” says Koster, an NIU College of Education graduate student
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