[*CatchingStars*]

Disability speech
Hi I’m Corrina I’m 17 years old and a junior and I am visually impaired. The condition I have is *Coloboma *which is a hole in the eye structure such as the iris ,which is the eye color of your eye, the Retina, which is the light-sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye, and other parts of the eye. The hole is present at birth and can be caused by a gap called the choroid tissue between two structures in the eye which fails to close up completely before the child is born. Coloboma can be up to mild and severe depending on the gap of the hole. If it is mild then your vision will be normal but if it’s more severe you will have less vision. I obviously have the more severe case. This condition is very rare it is estimated to half of 1% to 10,000 births lucky me I get to be one of those special people. Unfortunately there is not cure for this. There are many reasons why this could happen, a mutation in the genes or drug use during pregnancy so when your pregnant always remember what you do to your body your not only affecting one person but two people. I don’t let my vision get in the way of things I like to do. I learned to deal with my disability in many ways like I learned Braille which I started learning in 8th grade and I’m still leaning today and I will continue learning for awhile. In class, I use enlarged papers and a quick look which is a device that makes the words bigger in the book. I also love to read and write poetry. I love hanging out with my friends in my free time because they make me happy and treat me just like everyone else. Some people have a hard time trying to figure out how to interact with us.* We are just like you, but we can’t see as well as you. Just say hi. If you wave it is possible we won’t see you waving at us so talk to us. One thing I can’t do is drive when I get older, but that’s ok because I will be helping the earth by not driving and I can always get my sister to drive me places. I used to be in cheer in the eighth grade and was in JROTC in 9 and 10th grade but I wanted to try new things so I changed it up. I don’t like having this condition but I accept it I don’t mind people asking question about my disability I think its important people know so they have a more understanding of it. Even though my disability has bad side it also *has a good side I met so many wonderful people in this program and they are all my friends. The way I would like to be treated is like everyone else. I may be different but not everyone is the same. How it feels to be disabled isn’t that bad. Yes, we get frustrated when we can’t see what you or anyone else is trying to get us to see. This program has helped me in many ways I am now less shy because of it. I can be loud and hyper at times, and I certainly know how to stick up for myself. In my future I will attend college and get a degree in psychology, I hope so at least. What I want my message to be to you is that we are not much different from you or any one else. We just need a little more help from*others because of our vision, but that doesn’t mean we don’t like the same things you do. *Thank you for listening to my speech.