Brenda Uptain on why she thinks ASB is an ideal learning evironment for visually impaired students.

Why ASB? Since I am an ASB graduate and have taught here for almost 33 years, I hope that my thoughts and opinions on this subject can influence the decision making process for a parent or student.  However, the time that I spent at ASB is not the only factor that has formed my views about the value of ASB. My years spent on college campuses pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree from Huntingdon College and a Master’s Degree from the University of Alabama and UAB helped me to value the education I received from ASB even more. My teaching experiences in Tuscaloosa County and Auburn City schools helped me to value the work ethic and team building skills that I learned at ASB.

The ability to make friends is an important developmental skill. People who do not form meaningful friendships during childhood usually struggle with that skill as adults.  At ASB, our students spend most of their time in social situations with their peers. Through these interactions, they begin to figure out who shares the same interests that they have and who they can trust. While developing friendships, students sometimes have disagreements, but working through these conflicts, sometimes with the help of adults, is what leads to real life-long friendships. If a visually impaired student is in a school setting where he or she is accompanied by an adult all day, the opportunity for friendships to flourish is lost.

When my children were attending public school, I had the expectation that their teachers would work with them on basic competencies on a daily basis. Often, children with visual impairments are taught Braille reading, mobility, and the use of technology once or twice a week (sometimes even less frequently). While Braille is complex, children of average intelligence who have instruction every day by qualified teachers can keep up with their sighted peers in academic subjects. At ASB, Braille, mobility, technology, and independent living skills are offered by certified teachers on a continuous basis.

At ASB, students have the opportunity to engage in active sports, not as token players, but as real competitors. They compete in wrestling, track and field, and cheerleading against public school teams. Additionally, they compete against other schools for the blind from all over the United States. They get to travel to other states to compete and make friends with students who have similar disabilities. There is no greater feeling than knowing that you helped your team be victorious over an opponent.

At ASB, classes are small, usually six to twelve students in each group, so teachers can spend valuable time giving individual instruction when necessary. Students can join a variety of clubs and organizations including, student government, chorus, band, equestrian team, drama club, and family and consumer science club. With high enough grades, students can be inducted into Mu Alpha Theta and Beta Club. They can be hired to work on or off campus, and they can choose to particpate in dual enrollment at the local community college.

ASB’s family atmosphere allows students to grow and thrive. They have outstanding opportunities to develop leadership skills, learn how to live independently, engage in college preparation and job training activities—in short, they learn the skills needed to become productive, independent adults. Because of visually impaired role models, academic and independent living skills, and friendships that I made as a student at ASB, I have had a full, rewarding life as a mother, a teacher, a mentor, and as a friend.