I have been an Orientation and Mobility Specialist in the San Diego County area for approximately twelve years. My experience encompasses working with children aging in ranges of three through twenty two. Many of the students I have worked with have multiple disabilities.

I am passionate about what I teach and strongly focus on helping my students gain independence in all aspects their lives. As a professional in the field, I have seen first hand what a long cane does for a student who has vision loss. The level of independence and confidence a cane provides, cannot be described in words. I often show up to school campuses and am told by staff that my students are running down the hallways. Of course as their O&M Specialist, I don’t want to hear that but as their teacher, I smile because I know that I was a part of building that confidence.

Since technology is opening up so many doors for individuals who have vision loss, I have pursued as many learning opportunities as possible regarding technology, specifically, anything that can help people have visual impairments. What I have observed across all educational platforms is that technology is under utilized, especially applications (apps). For that reason, I began writing blogs for Cane and Compass to share my ideas with an emphasis on how to incorporate technology into O&M instruction.

I recently started a Rock the Cane Page and Campaign about two months ago. Since entering my amazing profession, I have dreamed of starting the campaign, long before any type of smart device or social media platform was available to utilize. I consider Rock the Cane to be my hobby and passion project. My goal with the campaign is to change the world’s perception about vision loss. I believe that by invoking help from the community, social media, people in power and individuals who know what it’s like to live with vision loss, we can work together to globally change perception.

I am lucky and blessed to impact the lives of many in my community who have vision loss.