There is a student that I know that really wants to become an engineer, currently in the fourth grade. he is having a harder time with math like geometry because he is having problems with his vision. Is there anything that can help him or is there anything out there that can help him do what he wants?
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It’s devastating to hear about the challenges he’s facing, but inspiring that they don’t deter him!
I don’t have personal experience to offer for this situation, but I found a thread on another forum that has some good suggestions, from school-provided resources to programming and technology tools that may help “visualize” math and science concepts.
https://www.applevis.com/forum/accessibility-advocacy/blind-engineer-help
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My uncle Bill is legally blind. Here’s some of his story.
He grew up in Bridgeport, Connecticut in a household without many means. His dad had a sixth-grade education. With a year of drafting classes under his belt, he went to work for the biggest employer in his hometown, Sikorsky Aircraft.
If you’re unfamiliar, Sikorsky (now part of Lockheed Martin), is a aerospace company that has been at the forefront of helicopter innovation for the last near hundred years.
He was very excited to start work, he eagerly arrived, well dressed, with drafting supplies in tow. His supervisor handed him an apron and ammonia. Instead of designing blueprints, his job was to refill the machines that printed them.
A lot of people would’ve been easily discouraged given the circumstances. Notwithstanding the fact that my uncle could hardly see. That didn’t stop him though. He went to the University of Bridgeport at night, four times a week, taking four courses. In five years, he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering. After that, he attended courses at Yale, under the same circumstances, and graduated with a masters in mechanical engineering.
Throughout the years he rose through the ranks. From an engineering assistant, to engineering lead on the BLACK HAWK helicopter, chief of rotor and aircraft design, chief engineer, vice president of engineering, etc. 28 years after he walked into that blueprint room, he was promoted to president of the whole company. He held multiple patents, was honored in professional societies, and a award bearing his name is in the Smithsonian Museum. By the time he retired, he was senior vice president at United Technologies (Sikorsky’s parent company at the time).
My uncle has been an inspiration to me my entire life. Someone who overcame adversity to achieve something nobody thought possible.
I hope this anecdote can help you work with your student and show him that his vision issues do not define who he is or what he is capable of. Assistive technology is also excellent. If he doesn’t already have those support systems, help him get them. Good luck.
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It doesn’t look like they’re around any more, but there was a mostly blind/vision impaired team in Iowa:
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That’s sick, thank you.
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Incredibly inspiring!
Who is gonna play him in the leading role?
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Thanks all for the comments. I’m glad that his story is interesting to you all.
Here’s some text he wrote for the Sikorsky archives you can read if you’re interested in the engineering projects he worked on.
Funny enough if anyone wanted to make a show or motion picture about his life he would never allow it. In addition to all I’ve described he is the most humble man I’ve ever met.
I was visiting him several summers ago with my grandmother (his sister). In his stairwell is a picture of him at a banquet, receiving an award. My grandmother, curious as to where the award was, asked him. He just kept replying “They don’t let you keep it.”. My grandmother kept prodding - “What do you mean? Where does it go?”. His reply was “They just put it someplace. You can’t keep it.”. Eventually after enough questioning he put his head down, lowered his voice, and said “It’s in the Smithsonian.”. We were all taken aback. Never had he mentioned that’s where the award ended up. Humble to a fault. I think that’s one of the reasons why he was so well loved from the factory floor all the way up. He actually abolished the corporate dining room when he became president, making it so the managers and engineers ate shoulder to shoulder with the skilled craftsman who implemented their designs.
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Here is one of the articles B.
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Thanks
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