Meet Student Mimi Winer

Student Award Winners

Honoring Hadley Teacher Judy Matsuoka

engaging the senses

generationsHADLEY INSTITUTE FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED • SPRING 2017

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The Marylou Hayford Sensory Garden

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Hadley’s iFocus Videos10Student Award Winners & President’s Award8

A Gift That Will Keep On Giving6

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Engaging the Senses5

Blindness Awareness Month11

When We Help Each Other, Everyone Wins4

Help Provide for Hadley’s FutureIncluding Hadley in your estate planning helps ensure that future students will continue to receive our award-winning programs and one-on-one instruction. Please consider designating Hadley as a beneficiary of an IRA, insurance policy or in your will or trust.

• Suggested wording to share with your attorney: I give ____% or $____to Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired, an Illinois non-profit corporation located at 700 Elm Street, Winnetka, IL 60093, EIN #36-2183809.• If you have previously included Hadley in your will or trust using our former name, “The Hadley School for the Blind,” you do not need to change your documents.

Please let us know that you have made the decision to provide for Hadley’s future students so we may thank you and welcome you to the Clarence Boyd Jones Society! Contact Brooke Voss at 847.784.2774 or Brooke@hadley.edu.

Connect with Hadley on Social Media

Did you know that Hadley has more than 5,500 likes on Facebook; 2,800 followers on Twitter; 690 followers on LinkedIn; and more than 1,000 subscribers on YouTube? Stay up-to-date on our latest courses, seminars, trends in the field and more! Search "Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired" on any of these platforms and connect today!

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stool — are essential and keep us standing tall.

We are pleased to introduce you to our 2016 Student Award winners on page 8. The stories of Hadley students vary widely. For example, Family Education Award winner Michelle Albrecht adopted two blind children from foreign countries. Then, she enrolled at Hadley and learned how to homeschool them. International Student of the Year Trivita Mathoora lives on a remote island in the Indian Ocean. She found Hadley, took charge of her own education and is now a teacher and a proficient braille reader.

Thanks to a major bequest from our friend and donor Jimmy Heimann, Hadley created an endowed fund to honor a braille teacher every two years, with the proceeds supporting braille instruction and curriculum development in perpetuity. The

W hat a year! When I became President of Hadley Institute last spring, I was excited

to work with a fascinating group of people who are experts in distance education and issues in the field of blindness and visual impairment. As I began to know the staff, Trustees, Woman’s Board, students and donors who comprise Hadley’s universe, I was struck by their ambitious spirits and big hearts and am grateful for new relationships with the people who create our wonderful “ensemble.”

In this issue of Generations, you’ll read about: students, whose stories inspire; teachers, who consistently go the extra mile to help students succeed; and donors, generous people like you who take the time to understand Hadley’s impact, and then take action by making contributions. Students, teachers and donors — the three legs of the Hadley

first Hadley teacher to receive this honor is Judy Matsuoka. Judy is a passionate advocate for braille and a gifted teacher — read about her on page 6.

Our donors’ stories are varied too, revealing deeply personal reasons for giving to Hadley. For example, Mimi Winer (page 4) is a long-time Hadley student who gives annually to say “thank you” to Hadley, the “organization that has helped me so much.”

The synergy among students, teachers and donors is rich and filled with stories of hope and heart. This is what makes our work so gratifying. Thank you for being part of it.

Warm regards,

Julie S. TyePresident

A Letter from the President...

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When We Help Each

Other, Everyone

Wins

M imi Winer lost her vision vision due to retinal damage, a rare symptom of Lyme Disease, which doctors were not able to diagnose or treat when it struck Mimi more than 50 years ago. But sight loss did not slow Mimi down, it

merely suggested a different path.

Mimi reminds us of our founder, William Hadley, who started a correspondence school in 1920 to teach “braille by mail,” after he lost his sight and found there were no educational resources for adults who were blind. When Mimi began to lose her sight on her 32nd birthday — long before the internet — she, too, found that the existing resources for support and education were difficult to find. She started her own support groups for people with vision loss and authored a book called Coping With Sight Loss.

During her journey, Mimi found Hadley. She first enrolled in 1982 and, since then, has completed 20 courses. Mimi told us, “I use skills I learned at Hadley every single day.”

Mimi’s sight loss began with a sudden

disturbance of vision. It progressed to low

vision, to legal blindness, to only light

perception, then to total blindness.

She is especially grateful to Hadley teachers and staff, who “went above and beyond” to help her live independently. Hadley instructor Linn Sorge and Hadley’s Access Technology Specialist Allen Maynard “teamed up to help adapt my computer with special software and audio cues, so I can use it to email, keep my records, and download my precious audio books from the National Library Service. That wasn’t part of any course, but their personal commitment and compassion.”

Mimi attended Wellesley College and earned a degree in Philosophy. She says, “I have taken many courses from excellent instructors, but in my 86 years of living and learning, Linn Sorge has proven to be the most outstanding and dedicated instructor of them all.”

Mimi carefully considers the non-profit organizations that she supports. She has made annual contributions to Hadley for many years because, “I like to give to an organization that has done so much to help me.”

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Engaging the Senses

H adley practices what it teaches. In 2009, The Marylou Hayford Sensory Garden was

created to be a memorial garden that was not only beautiful, but also engaged all senses: visual, tactile, olfactory, auditory and even taste. In 2016, Hadley wanted to truly maximize this experience for blind and sighted visitors alike. I was asked to take over the project and, having completed the program for Horticultural Therapy at the Chicago Botanic Garden the previous year, I was thrilled to explore this greater focus at Hadley.

Humbled by the request, I spent days working on combinations of seasonal plants that would really engage people who were blind or had low vision in the garden experience. The goal was for them to not only feel relaxed, but also to feel connected with the garden space through other senses, such as hearing wind

chimes in the breeze and the gentle sounds of bubbling fountains. To increase touching and smelling, we used various tactile and olfactory plant gems like scented flowers, herbs or delicate grasses in low, shallow containers located in easy-to- access areas. Large tropical plants with diverse textural foliage added to the tactile experience.

Something that has been a driving force in my life is the deep belief that gardens and nature are critical to a person’s well-being and that they are a great human leveler… everyone enjoys plants and gardens. I also believe they should be accessible and engaging for everyone, allowing all senses to be activated: touch, sound, smell, taste, as well as visual. However, many gardens have been designed only for visual appeal.

My goal for Hadley was — and continues to be — to enhance its

own garden areas so they provide a truly engaging experience for all who visit.

As part of Low Vision Focus @ Hadley, a series of horticultural videos was developed with Barb Kreski, Director of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Horticultural Therapy Department. I worked with the Hadley team to generate these tutorial videos that allow individuals with varying degrees of vision loss to take part in garden-themed projects they can do at home that can expand personal enjoyment. Taking cuttings of plants; designing floral arrangements; preparing potpourri; creating a desert dish garden; and even explaining how to make a garden pizza using home-grown herbs and veggies are just a few of the topics. These videos are designed to teach some basic garden skills that can open up new hobby possibilities, as well as provide a multi-sensory experience for the student. This video project was funded thanks to a grant from the Abra Prentice Foundation.

As a horticulturalist, I am excited to see Hadley continue to provide courses and seminars that encourage being in nature. It has been my great pleasure, in the past few years, to be involved as a subject matter expert for Hadley garden and bird songs courses. But I know I have personally learned even more — through my work with Hadley’s incredible faculty and staff.

John Eskandari Owner, Urban Plantsman Arborist, Educator and Horticultural Therapist

by John Eskandari

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A Gift That Will Keep On GivingHadley instructor Judy Matsuoka was selected as the first recipient

of the Cora L. and Manny H. Heimann Chair in Braille Literacy.

E ver since high school, Judy Matsuoka wanted to be a teacher. One summer when she

couldn’t find employment, she volunteered at the Johanna Bureau for the Blind, where she learned braille. At Northern Illinois University (NIU), she became a certified braille transcriber and taught in the Waukegan Public Schools. Later, she received a Master of Special Education of Children with Multiple Disabilities and Newly Blind Adults and, while teaching at Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education, became acquainted with three Hadley teachers.

NIU recruited Judy back as the Director of Rehab Technology in its Adult Blind Program. She initiated an Orientation and Mobility Program, and several of her students went on to become Hadley instructors, including Jennifer Ottowitz, Cathy Pasinski, Ginger Irwin and George Abbott. Judy then took a 10-year break from the blindness field and served as an Executive Director of a woman’s organization in Little Rock, Ark. Linn Sorge, another Hadley teacher, informed Judy of an opening for a braille instructor and, in 2006, she interviewed with a former student who was now Hadley’s Dean of Faculty. Judy has led the development of many

Judy Matsuoka

things at Hadley, including the Visual Learners Group for faculty. When she became aware of the poor completion rate of parents who wanted to help their blind children learn braille, she developed a course to teach them how to use braille books with their children, similar to how parents engage with sighted children.

In 2012, the United States joined the rest of the English-speaking world in adopting the Unified English Braille (UEB) Code. Hadley quickly needed to develop a course to help professionals transition to UEB so they, in turn, could teach their students. Judy helped Ruth Rozen, a Hadley curriculum designer, write the course. Months earlier, Judy had been teaching students from other English-speaking countries who

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were already proficient in UEB, and they were asking questions she couldn’t answer. On her own, she took a course from Australia so she could provide the best teaching to her students, and also took the lead in teaching Hadley instructors UEB, including the development of additional supplements for them.

Judy believes courses need to be fun and engaging for professionals and family members. She said, “Those on the front lines need a really positive attitude toward braille. The best way to achieve that is for our courses and our interactions with students to be very positive.”

Judy is currently updating other courses, along with Lydia Schuck, a new Hadley curriculum designer, who shares the attitude

that braille courses should be engaging and motivating. Their ideas include using a video clip of a scuba diver who sees different fish on an eye chart, or using crossword puzzles in the learning process.

To people who say, Why braille?, Judy responds, “Braille still provides an experience in reading that cannot be replaced or matched. When you read yourself, the voices you hear are your own; when you listen to audio books, those are other voices. The day you stop teaching sighted children to read print, is when you stop teaching braille to blind children.”

Judy remarked that when she was informed she would receive the Cora L. and Manny H. Heimann Endowed Chair in Braille Literacy, she initially had

Opposite: Dawn Turco, Senior Vice President and Doug Anzlovar, Vice President, Education and Training, present Judy with her award in October at the 2016 Annual Meeting. Judy will hold the title of Cora L. and Manny H. Heimann Chair in Braille Literacy for two years. She will receive an annual stipend that provides for professional development or other scholarly pursuits.

no words; she was honored and surprised. She said, “The fact that someone would give a gift that size to Hadley speaks volumes. This gift honors and encourages our faculty. It is significant that Hadley set this money aside only for braille literacy.”

If she could have met Jimmy Heimann, Judy commented, “After I thanked him, I would have asked him what was it that he saw in Hadley that prompted a gift of this size. What did he hope the gift would do, and what do we need to do to live up to the gift?”

Judy loves being a Hadley instructor, which she says is “a large well-oiled machine” that is focused on teaching. She noted, “Hadley keeps moving forward, and thanks to gifts like Jimmy’s, we can ‘think big’ here!”

Jimmy Heimann left $2,000,000 to Hadley in his trust which provides for the endowed chair in his parents’ names and will support braille literacy in perpetuity. We are grateful

for his generosity and this legacy.

Jimmy Heimann

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Annual Student Award WinnersIn 1959, Hadley began an annual tradition of honoring our highest

achievers. The Student Awards recognize individuals whose hard work, determination and spirit serve as an inspiration to others.

SANDRA COLLINS, STUDENT OF THE YEARSandra had just finished college and began a career in accounting when her vision loss began. An unsuccessful eye surgery left her with glare disability, fluctuating vision and a vestibular disorder, forcing her to leave her full-time job. She found Hadley and has taken more than 40 courses, mostly in large print and audio, because she can only use a computer for brief periods of time.

Hadley’s courses are offered in different formats because our students have different needs. Sandra says, “My learning style was visual, but after my surgery, I started to read more with my ears, and love to learn on the go, especially listening to Seminars@

Hadley.” Sandra learned that confidence is key after vision loss and encourages others to enroll at Hadley to become “empowered with solutions.”

SUSAN BRASEL, BRAILLE STUDENT OF THE YEARSusan lost her vision at age 60 due to a detached retina. She worried about all the activities she couldn’t do — especially reading. She soon discovered that there was so much that she could do.

Susan regained literacy after vision loss through braille courses at Hadley. When she struggled with the challenges of learning the braille code, she attended her instructor’s virtual office hours. Other students offered suggestions and related their own

experiences, and Susan felt she wasn’t alone. “There are so many memorable opportunities I’ve had through Hadley! I want others to know that Hadley is a great place to learn and to meet people!”

EVELYN VYHNANEK, DONALD WING HATHAWAY LIFELONG LEARNING AWARDEvelyn Vyhnanek was born with diminished vision due to glaucoma, and she was not encouraged to learn braille as a child. However, some 40 years later, a friend, along with her son, suggested that she give it try — and she reached out to Hadley. “When I passed the course my son said, ‘Go for it, Mom!’ He loved that I could read braille.”

With a boost from her favorite

Photo: Student Award Winners Michelle Albrecht, Susan Brasel and Jill Lenihan.

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Hadley instructors, the late Martha Pamperin and Julie Kay, she became a stellar student and now teaches others. Evelyn anticipates losing more of her sight — a development that no longer frightens her. “I’m OK with it because I’m prepared — I’ve learned that it’s not the end of the world.”

“Don’t be afraid,” Evelyn says. “Blind people really can do all the same things sighted people can do. I’m proof of it.”

MICHELLE ALBRECHT, ROBERT J. WINN FAMILY EDUCATION AWARDMichelle and her husband learned quickly about visual impairment in 2013, when they adopted their blind daughter from Ukraine. Almost three years later, they adopted a boy from China, who is also blind.

Michelle, who homeschools her children, turned to Hadley for help. “Bringing home a child who was blind was a challenge, but when I took Hadley courses, I was just a mom doing what was best for my child. Hadley was just what I needed.”

Michelle told us, “Without Hadley, I’m not sure where I or my children would be, but I do know that we would not be as confident as we are now.”

JILL LENIHAN, DEAN W. TUTTLE PROFESSIONAL AWARDJill is a teaching assistant in a special education classroom. In 2012, she was assigned to work with a young boy who was blind. Since the day they met, she was overwhelmed with a passion for teaching children with visual impairments.

Jill found Hadley and connected with the most “kind and caring” instructors. “My passion grew exponentially with my knowledge — and continues to grow with their patience and guidance.”

Today, Jill’s expertise has her travelling among nine school districts in the San Diego area, assisting visually impaired students from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade.

TRIVITA MATHOORA, INTERNATIONAL STUDENT OF THE YEARTrivita Mathoora lost sight in her right eye when she was five months old. At age four, she became blind in her left eye. Navigating in a world without vision is almost all she has ever known. Trivita studies with Hadley from her home in Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean. Her courses have assisted her in her current job as a part-time lecturer at the Mauritius Institute of Education.

Before taking Hadley courses, Trivita used braille only for academics, but now uses it regularly in her daily life. “My braille courses have helped me become independent. Hadley has also helped me fulfill one of my most cherished dreams — to work at the school for the blind that I attended as a child.”

Nancy Brown Jones, 2016 President’s Award

The President’s Award has recognized individuals and groups who have made extraordinary contributions to the field of blindness. In 2016, this award was given to Nancy Brown Jones, daughter of Hadley co-founder, Dr. E.V.L. Brown.

In 1953, Hadley, with only $500 in the bank, was on the verge of closing. Nancy and her friends formed the Hadley Woman’s Board and led its first fundraising campaign, securing more than 1,200 contributors. Nancy and her husband, Clarence Boyd (Bud) Jones, raised $250,000 when Hadley was in need of its own building. Nancy also created Hadley’s first Braille Holiday Card Sale — which remains a treasured tradition. She is a true champion for Hadley, tirelessly supporting our mission.

Photo: Nancy Brown Jones

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Hadley’s iFocus Videos

D id you know the iPhone and iPad are excellent tools to help people with vision loss live independently? These devices are designed to be completely accessible to people who cannot see, thanks largely to the VoiceOver feature that

reads information on the screen. An overwhelming majority of people with visual impairment choose iOS devices over Android or any other technology. Hadley recognized this important trend and developed iFocus videos and webinars to give any person with vision loss a free, easy way to learn how to make the most of his/her iPhone and iPad features and apps to help them live independently.

People with vision loss rely on their iDevices to verify the colors of their clothing; navigate city streets; identify currency and read labels; and much more, in addition to all the functions sighted people use it for, such as reading emails and texts; browsing the internet; checking the weather; and keeping track of activities on the calendar.

Apple has been committed to accessibility, with magnification and speech software built directly into the operating system of all Apple devices. However, the company does not offer online training on these features for people who are blind or visually impaired. Learning the gestures necessary to become a successful blind user is not always intuitive. It can be very intimidating for a blind person to interact with a glass touch-screen device. iFocus provides easy-to-follow tips and techniques that can make any visually impaired person an iOS expert.

Apple recognized the value of Hadley’s iFocus training and added a link to the iFocus videos to apple.com. Since then, views of iFocus videos at hadley.edu have increased dramatically. Caren Alpert, Apple Business Affairs, told us, “Our team is very familiar (and impressed) with your content and we will be putting a link from our website to yours, so our customers can to go to your site and learn on their own.”

We are pleased to work with Apple to promote iFocus.

Hadley catches Apple’s eye by leading the way

in teaching vision accessibility to blind and visually impaired

technology users.

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X Ambassadors Meet with HadleyLast summer, Hadley President Julie Tye and Colleen Wunderlich, Director of Hadley’s Forsythe Center for Employment and Entrepreneurship, met rock band X Ambassadors’ keyboardist, Casey Harris, while he was in Chicago performing at Lollapalooza. Casey, who has been blind since birth, talked with us about what it’s like being in a band, on stage, touring and growing up visually impaired. X Ambassadors’ debut album, VHS, spawned the hit Renegades, reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s alternative songs chart. Renegades is an ode to misfits and adventurers — the inspiring video depicting people with disabilities working to overcome their challenges. This captured Hadley’s attention. Last October, during Blindness Awareness Month, Hadley shared the interview clips on its Facebook page. Check them out and, while you’re there, please ‘Like’ and ‘Follow’ Hadley Institute. You can never have too many friends!

Blindness Awareness Month and White Cane Safety DayOctober is Blindness Awareness Month, and October 15 is observed nationally as White Cane Safety Day. However, since most people don’t know that, Hadley decided to raise awareness in Winnetka by installing oversized white canes throughout its front yard. The canes were made with PVC pipe and colored duct tape. The white cane is not only an important tool for navigation, but also is a symbol of independence for people who are blind or visually impaired.

Hadley President Julie Tye commented, “We often associate Guide Dogs as being the best friend of a person who is blind. However, a person who is blind must first demonstrate proficiency with a white cane before even applying for a guide dog.”

Hadley instructor Jennifer Ottowitz says, “My white cane is my companion. It protects me from obstacles in my path, helps me as I explore new frontiers and keeps me on the straight and narrow as I find my way through life.”

With a mission to promote independence through lifelong education, it is fitting that Hadley celebrates the symbol of the white cane and the abilities of people with vision loss.

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Hounds for Hadley Returns SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, October 14, 2017

Back by popular demand — Hounds for Hadley is a family- friendly dog walk through the Village of Winnetka that raises funds for Hadley’s educational programs. Local businesses and organizations provide additional support through sponsorship and teams of walkers. With Halloween two weeks later, both dogs and their owners can dress in costumes with awards presented for creativity. The event also includes a raffle and prizes for “top dog” fundraisers.

Virtual Dog WalkYou don’t need to live in the Chicagoland area to participate. During October, which is Blindness Awareness Month, we will have a virtual Hounds for Hadley that will allow you and your family or colleagues to walk in your local community.

Visit hadley.edu this June to reserve your spot!