Success Stories from the Northern California Unit

Abigail

Abigail remembers, “As the teacher said the dreaded words, ‘silent reading time,’ my face turned a scarlet color and my temperature increased 10 degrees … I hated reading.”

After her diagnosis with dyslexia, she was introduced to RFB&D’s services and comments that, “It has allowed me to cope with my learning difference and to excel in school …. Reading is still my weak point, but the audio books have made it tolerable to the point where I enjoy reading.”

Abigail has since graduated with a 4.0 grade point average from Cate School, CA, and her academic achievement is matched by her impact on those around her. Emilie C. Griffin, director of college counseling at Cate School, describes Abigail as, “an all-star in the classroom, a dedicated and committed public servant, and one of the most inspiring forces for good one could want on a campus. Abigail continues to leave her indelible mark on every area she touches ….”

Outside the classroom, Abigail’s interests include soccer, lacrosse, singing, acoustic guitar and photography. She has also taken the lead in a local foster home community service program and has traveled to Mexico three times a year for the past three years to help build schools.

As she continues her education, Abigail says she hopes to utilize RFB&D’s library as much as possible and would like to volunteer to record children’s books during her summer break. Following college, she plans to join the Peace Corps and perhaps become a doctor. Abigail is certain that whatever her eventual career path, it will be to provide support to children or people in need.

Diego

Diego is currently finishing his senior year at Berkeley High School. Before that, he attended the School of the Madeleine, a small K-through-8 school of 350 students. Diego was in 4th grade when he got a sudden loss of vision from an unknown cause. He noticed it when he came back from winter break - suddenly he couldn't see the board or read his books; he thought his whole world was melting before his eyes. He saw many doctors and went through many tests; his visual acuity was 5/200. The doctors diagnosed optic neuritis or severe optic atrophy, which in short means "problem with the optic nerve," but they didn't know exactly what it was or when he got it. Diego remembers that the doctor told him it would be almost impossible to do his regular schoolwork. By the end of 4th grade he was assigned a visual impairment specialist to help with his schoolwork, and that is when he became acquainted with RFB&D.

Socially, the friends that Diego made at the Madeleine treated him the same as before his blindness, which gave him a lot of self-confidence; moving to a 3,000 student body school was a big challenge for him. He needed to accept himself with this condition and he learned to tell his friends about his disability.

Diego thinks that RFB&D helped him a lot in this process; by having the texts on tape, he was able to take really hard classes throughout high school. He believes it would have been impossible to take these classes and keep up with his assignments without the books on tape; he hasn't learned enough Braille, and reading enlarged material gives him headaches and takes too long. Diego has succeeded academically thanks to the support he has received from RFB&D, and he is proud that he got an "AP Scholar Award" because he received grade 3 or higher in four subjects: Economics, US Government, Chemistry, and Spanish Language.

For after-school activities, Diego loves playing basketball regularly with his friends. He also loves music and plays the bass guitar. During his free time he enjoys listening to books on tape, and RFB&D has such a wide range of books related to politics and social justice. Last summer he went to Cuba and brought lots of RFB&D books on tape.

Diego always wanted to continue his education and now this dream is realized. In the fall he will attend UC Berkeley, which he knows is an excellent and academically rigorous school. More than ever he will need to depend on RFB&D to succeed in college, and more than ever he is grateful that such an organization is there to help people like him. His academic and vocational interests at this point are broad - including Psychology, Sociology, Law, and History. He would like to teach, to counsel people, or to advocate for peoples rights. He hopes that he can find his path in college and continue to graduate school.

Julie

Julie, born three months prematurely, weighed in at just under two pounds. Her early entry into the world led to an array of difficulties. The oxygen that kept her alive damaged her retinas. Though surgery at four weeks of age kept her from entirely losing her eyesight, Julie is legally blind. But nothing stops her! She uses a white cane to navigate Menlo-Athertons hectic hallways and takes advantage of accommodations at school to keep up with her rigorous program, which includes honors-level and Advanced Placement courses. Ever since joining RFB&D in middle school, Julie has been able to keep up with the ever-increasing nightly reading assignments.

Instead of struggling for hours with eye fatigue and strain, Julie is now able to enjoy many more books. Recently, with her textbooks on CD from RFB&D, Julie is much more efficient doing her homework. The CD books allow her to jump to the chapter or section she needs quickly, thereby saving much time.

Julie pursues her passion for art with dedication and enjoys sharing her art works with friends. She expresses herself in music and in drawing and painting, using a variety of media, including some tactile media that enables visually impaired people to appreciate her work. Julie has learned Braille to communicate with the blind community, served as a teachers aide in summer school classes for visually-impaired children, and served as a counselor at a summer camp for blind and visually-impaired youth. She also participates in Menlo-Athertons Best Buddies Club, which matches students with disabilities with "buddies" for a variety of activities.

Along with Recording For the Blind and Dyslexic, the Rotary Club of Menlo Park and Family Service Agency of San Mateo County have recognized Julie as an outstanding student and have awarded her scholarships to continue her education.

After her graduation from Menlo-Atherton Julie will head for San Rafael, where she will receive and be trained to use her own guide dog. In the fall, she and her new companion will move to the University of California at Berkeley, where Julie plans to study Biology and Psychology.

Meredith

Meredith is in the top third of her graduating class at Saint Francis High School and has maintained a 3.5 GPA. She is an outgoing and hardworking person who enjoys visual arts. On the weekends, she is an art instructor at an art studio. Meredith learned about RFB&D from the two professionals who tested her for learning disabilities during her sophomore year of high school. She was extremely excited about the idea of getting books on tape because it normally took her an excruciating amount of time to read, retain, and understand the material she read. Meredith had to reread material several times in order to understand it.

She is able to understand what she is hearing and reading the first time. Meredith no longer spends hours and hours reading homework assignments or trying to pay attention and understand what she reads. She has also found that listening to books on tape and following along has made reading more enjoyable and more relaxing. Meredith no longer has to worry about pronouncing or reading words incorrectly. She has also utilized the ability to control the speed at which the book is read, which has actually helped improve her reading speed.

Meredith has been involved in many leadership and community activities. Several of the activities that she has been involved in are: Congresswoman Anna Eshoos Student Advisory Board, Rotary Youth Award (camp), Freshmen Retreat Leader, Voices of Hope-Amnesty International, National Honor Society, and California Scholarship Federation.

Meredith looks forward to attending Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Her personal and professional aspirations are centered on making the most of her upcoming college experience. She is unsure of what career path she will take. However, she is confident that through her broader exposure in academic and extracurricular activities, many new possibilities will emerge. "One thing is certain, whatever professional path I choose, I will seek to make a positive difference in every aspect of my work, my relationships, and my community."