Special Education Resources

Walking in the Dark and Full of Vision

Jo Anne Seaman came to live at ( C.L.I.M.B.) shortly after it opened, in 1977. At birth, Jo Ann had no handicaps. However, she was born prematurely, weighing only 2 lbs., 14 oz. In order to keep her alive, her doctor gave Jo Anne large amounts of oxygen while she was in the incubator. When her weight got up to about 5 lbs. she was released from the hospital with a clean bill of health. However, at three months of age, her mother noticed she wasn't focusing on any thing and became alarmed. It was then that it was discovered that the oxygen that had been given to keep her alive had also caused her to lose her sight. On a side note, Jo Anne mentioned that this occurrence is not that rare, mentioning entertainer, Stevie Wonder, had lost his sight this way. Jo Anne also received damage to the spatial thought processing area of her brain due to the oxygen overdose, but as you will see in this article, she has never let anything stop her from leading an incredible and fulfilling life.

At an early age, Jo Anne demonstrated the fact that she was exceptionally gifted in the area of music. She recalled in our interview, "When I was three years old, I amazed my mother by going over to the piano and playing Brahms Lullaby." She began taking piano lessons at age six, at first from a sighted teacher and then from a teacher who was also blind.

There were no schools for the blind in Evanston, Illinois, where Jo Anne was born. So she began her formal education in a public school. With her daughter's interests at heart, Jo Anne's mother wanted a program for the blind to be instituted at her school. She approached the Superintendent of Schools proposing a program based on a school she greatly admired, Perkins School for the Blind in Massachusetts. Her request was granted, paving the way for Jo Anne, as well as other blind children, to have access to additional tools catered to their special needs. Jo Anne learned how to read Braille at the age of five. Learning Braille was more than a struggle because of the fact that she had been taught to read Braille using her right hand, when in fact she was left handed. Someone finally noticed the fact that she was left handed, which made the learning process much easier.

When Jo Anne reached the 5th grade, her parents decided it would be best for her to attend a school exclusively for the blind. Thus, Jo Anne moved to Perkins, the school on which her mother had based the blind program at her public school. Jo Anne stayed at Perkins for two years while her parents set their sights on finding a place which not only offered an excellent high school for the blind, but warmer weather. They decided on Arizona School for the Blind and Deaf in Tucson. Jo Anne received her high school diploma there and went on to further her education at Tuller Episcopal College in Tucson. While in college, she learned how to use a cane. Jo Anne mentioned that children now learn how to use a cane as early as five or six years old.

Jo Anne received her AA degree from Tuller, with an emphasis on two of her loves - Russian Language and Russian Literature. She also took classes in music appreciation at the University of Arizona. And to this day, she remains a fan of the "Wildcats" football team.

From Tucson, Jo Anne moved to C.L.I.M.B. A longtime family friend, whose daughter was also blind and intending to enroll at C.L.I.M.B, convinced her father it would be an excellent opportunity for Jo Anne. Thus, on August 24, 1977, Jo Anne joined her childhood friend as a roommate at C.L.I.M.B.

Jo Anne recalled the history of C.L.I.M.B. for me in our interview as she holds the place very dear to her heart. C.L.I.M.B. was founded by a gentleman named Bill Young, who had been in the field for many years as a psychologist, medical coordinator, and Principal of the Special Education Department for the Foundation for the Junior Blind in Los Angeles. The property location was deemed ideal to Bill, being safe, and having easy access to the community for its future students. The price offered was right as well, with no competing bids. The facility had been a convalescent hospital, shut down by the Health Department, and left in need of many repairs. After purchasing the property, Bill's next hurdle was getting approval from the city council. "The council was terrified", Jo Anne recalled. They were afraid of lawsuits; in the event a resident from C.L.I.M.B. got hurt while walking around town. Bill assured the council that blind people could travel as well as anybody and that there would be no lawsuits. The council was also afraid he would want auditory traffic signals, which they couldn't afford to have installed. He assured them that he didn’t. His request to open C.L.I.M.B. was then granted, with a license issued for a maximum capacity of 36 students. As demand grew, the capacity was eventually extended to 40.

From 1977 until 1985, Jo Anne lived at the center, becoming more independent as each year went by. In November of 1985, Jo Anne moved to a house located directly behind C.L.I.M.B., which had been purchased for those with private funding by Bill Young. Her longtime childhood friend who had been her roommate at C.L.I.M.B. for many years joined her there, along with one other individual. Though on her own for the past 14 years, Jo Anne maintains a very close relationship with the center. She has been a longtime representative of the students at the center on the C.L.I.M.B. Board of Directors. Bill Young had invited Jo Anne to be on the Board because he felt it was important to have a member who could voice the needs and desires of the students. Playing piano with the C.L.I.M.B. Serenaders, Jo Anne performs at the Skilled Nursing Facility, just down the street, once a week. She also enjoys having breakfast at C.L.I.M.B. on a daily basis. "The food is very good," she commented. Other highlights with C.L.I.M.B. have been the summer camps in Malibu and involvement with the Special Olympics. "It was fun meeting all of the celebrities at the Special Olympics,"she recalled.

Prior to our interview, Jo Anne had agreed to take me through town with her to show me how she gets around. However, on the day I met her for the interview, there was no where in particular close by that she needed to go. She did need to go to the post office, however, to mail a package to a fifteen-year-old girl in the Dominican Republic whom she corresponds with through World Vision. Thus, I offered gladly to give her a ride. Not quite sure if I should offer help to Jo Anne in getting in and out of my car, I quickly found that she needed no help whatsoever. When we arrived at the post office she reached into her wallet quickly and pulled out some one-dollar bills to pay for the postage that was due on her package. I asked how she knew she was holding one-dollar bills. When we got back to the car she pulled out her various denominations of money and explained that she folds each type of bill in a certain way. Driving back toward C.L.I.M.B., I overshot our destination and parked in front of the Skilled Nursing Facility by mistake, thinking it was C.L.I.M.B. Not known for my skills at observation, I didn't realize we weren't at C.L.I.M.B. until we were both out of the car. Feeling quite embarrassed; I apologized to Jo Anne for my mistake and suggested we get right back in the car so I could drive her to C.L.I.M.B. However, Jo Anne took my mistake as an opportunity to take me on another field trip. Leaving my car parked in front of the nursing facility, Jo Anne proceeded to guide me back toward C.L.I.M.B., as I remained momentarily disoriented. "I listen to traffic sounds," she explained. Using her ears to listen for the sound of traffic, she knew exactly which way to go within seconds, as I was still trying to figure out which way to go. "If I want to walk from C.L.I.M.B., to Home Savings, which is east, the traffic sound must be on my right." She went on to explain that to head west toward Lima, traffic sound must come from her left. As we approached Moe's Automotive, Jo Anne got herself intentionally lost in the entrance to their parking lot to prove the wisdom of her technique. She walked into the parking lot and spun around. She then stopped. Within seconds, after listening to where the direction of traffic was coming from she easily found her way back onto the sidewalk.

When we reached her home, Jo Anne proceeded to give me a short tour. The living room was spacious and cozy with a beautiful old piano in it waiting to be played. The kitchen was immaculate. Jo Anne proceeded to put on a load of laundry, using the Braille instructions on the machine to set it to her desired setting. She measured out the liquid softener into a small cap and proceeded to pour it into the machine. She then made me a cup of coffee and we sat down to chat about a part-time job she has had for the past year at American Handicapped and Disadvantaged Workers, based in Pasadena. She does telemarketing there and enjoys it very much. "We are all one big happy family at American Handicapped," she explained with a smile.

Jo Anne went on to share some of her other interests with me. She played part of an audiocassette tape that she had been enjoying, "Thrill", by Jackie Collins. An avid reader, she read to me from the John Grisham novel, "A Time to Kill", keeping me in suspense with the wonderful cadence in her voice. She showed me how she types out her grocery list on a Braille typewriter that sits on her living room coffee table. Taking the sheet of paper she had typed on out of the machine, she said, "Take this to show your kids if you like." She went on to mention that she enjoys spending time with her family. Although her parents have both died, Jo Anne continues to have a very close relationship with her sister and her extended family.

Jo Anne also enjoys frequenting places in town such as "Beantown", "The Only Place in Town", "Pepper Tree Grill" and her favorite, "Village Pizza". I asked how she feels being part of the Sierra Madre community. "The people love us," she replied. "And we love the townspeople for accepting us and looking out for our well being." "I also feel the people in Sierra Madre are very honest," she added.

I asked if there was anything she would like to communicate to Sierra Madre in this article. "I would like the town council to know that we blind people have shown we can travel as well as anyone,"Jo Anne replied. I then asked, "Is there anything that we don't have in town that you would like to have instituted to aid the handicapped of our community?" "I would lie to see "Dial-a Ride" run on Sunday so my roommate could go to church." On her special wish list are auditory traffic signals, though she noted that she is aware that our town couldn't afford them. Though a car has never hit her while walking on our streets, Jo Anne stated that crossing the street remains the greatest challenge to her in being blind.

When I asked Jo Anne what she would want to do if she could see, she gave two answers. "I would like to be a medical doctor, perhaps a pediatrician." Having no anger for the doctor who caused her blindness, she added, "I would like to give kids as much love as my doctor gave me." Her second desire would be to be a flight attendant as she loves to fly and travel, with traveling favorites being Ireland, England and Russia. Curious as to what she would want to see first if she could see, I asked what that might be. "The faces of my sister, my grand nephew and grand niece, and my coworkers at American Handicapped,"she replied.

One of the most special parts of our interview for me was listening to Jo Anne sing while she played her piano. She had mentioned that she liked to compose songs so I asked her to play something she had written. She first played and sang a song she had written about a villainous character, named Samantha, from the soap opera, "Days of Our Lives." It was witty and fun. She then played a favorite song composed by Scarlotti, called "Cuban Waltz". Lastly, she played a song she had written called "C.L.I.M.B". The lyrics included the following words: "Climb, Climb, we climb all the time. We're just like anyone else, except that we can't see. And we're climbing with people who show us the way. "Teary-eyed, I clapped when she was done, touched not only by what she had sung, but by the way she had opened up her life to me that day. The tremendous vision in her heart and in her life became clear to me as I listened to that song - vision that most of us spend our lives trying to see.

MEET YOUR PAL

Helen Simmons Conroy

Born with congenital hip dysplasia, Helen grew up with a limp. Though her handicap gave her some limitations it did not prevent her from being very active physically as a child and young adult. She spent much of her youth outdoors, with her pet cats, homing pigeons, and doves. Her other childhood love was horses. She enjoyed English riding lessons for six years. Helen discovered a love for writing in college, but did not continue that pursuit for many years. After college, she worked in advertising for several years, before leaving the workforce to start a family. When she was thirty-five, her defective hip began to cause her severe pain. It was the pain from her handicap that made her begin to start writing again. At night the pain would become so severe that she couldn't sleep. So to kill time and find a new release she began to write poetry. She decided to submit some of her poetry to her town's local flier, and after seeing her name published, caught a writing bug that hasn't left her since. The following June, Helen had a total hip replacement that rid her of pain. Focusing more time on writing, she wrote her first short story. It was published in her local paper, The Sierra Madre News, in February of 1997. In November of 1997, Helen became a designated contributing writer for the Sierra Madre News. Helen has also done publicity work, with submissions published in all three Sierra Madre newspapers. Her publicity work has included covering events for her church's Ladies' Guild and children's school. Helen has also written articles for her church's parish council, with a regular column called "Connecting with the Catholic Church". With this column she explores how and why Catholics connect with their faith by interviewing fellow parishioners as well as sharing experiences from her own faith journey. In addition, Helen covers local events that interest her.

Helen grew up in Sierra Madre, a small town situated in the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California. Though she moved to the beach area for nine years after high school, she returned to Sierra Madre when she was twenty-six, and hasn't left since. She loves her hometown, and has found it to be an ideal place to raise her kids. Aside from writing, Helen enjoys spending time with her family, which includes her husband, Pat, 10-year-old daughter, Lauren, and 8-year-old son, Brian. She has a strong passion for classical music, enjoys studying piano and composing music. Other favorite pastimes include baking gourmet desserts, gardening, making crafts, and walking. Helen also enjoys her family pets; two black cats, and two gold fish.