Taking a Gap Year for Adjustment-to-Blindness Training
Preferred Citation
Salisbury, J. M. H. (2020). Taking a gap year for adjustment-to-blindness training. Journal of Blindness Innovation & Research, 10(2). https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/jbir/jbir20/jbir100204.html. doi: http://dx.doi/10.5241/10-186
Abstract
Blind students in or approaching higher education often consider taking a gap year from higher education to receive comprehensive adjustment-to-blindness training at a residential center. This article seams together existing bodies of literature and explains how and why such training can be a helpful and productive option for a gap-year experience for blind students, especially when that training is provided under the Structured Discovery model. Many of the features of Structured Discovery training in a residential environment have already been designed in ways that preempt the common fears about gap years. Training at a Structured Discovery center fosters personal development, which pays dividends in career development. This article also discusses factors influencing the decision to go to training and the benefits of seeking training as early as possible in the career process.
Keywords
blindness, adjustment, training, higher education, gap year, Structured Discovery
DOI: http://dx.doi/10.5241/10-186
The Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research is copyright (c) 2020 to the National Federation of the Blind.