BLIND, Inc. offers orientation-to-blindness training programs with a positive consumer-oriented approach. We have based our programs on a wellness model. We assume that a person, blind or sighted, has dignity and is capable of making competent decisions. We encourage our students to believe in themselves and in their ability to live meaningful and productive lives.
Many of our staff are blind and serve as positive role models to the students. Our sighted instructors have undergone intensive adjustment to blindness training under sleep shades in order to become adept at the skills they must teach. We feel very strongly that we should not ask our students to do anything that we have not done ourselves.
At BLIND, Inc., we use hands-on classroom instruction, but we also believe that the community is our classroom. Our students are taught to function independently in a variety of real-life settings. To facilitate this process, students in our comprehensive and Life 101 programs also live self-sufficiently in individual apartments with a resident staff advisor on hand to answer questions, provide assistance as needed, and ensure a safe and positive environment. All students are encouraged to participate in the community, using public transportation and traveling independently with a white cane.
"Adventure learning" is an integral part of all of our programs. We encourage students to be physically active and to feel free to participate in leisure activities they enjoy. These may include mall shopping, rock-climbing, and water skiing.
Because our focus is on independence, BLIND, Inc. does not sponsor a "sheltered workshop." We believe our students can achieve much more by setting their own educational goals and seeking meaningful careers in the broader community.
Graduates of BLIND, Inc.'s comprehensive program receive a "Freedom Bell" as a graduation gift. This bell symbolizes the freedom and independence each student has gained as a result of his or her training. Graduates are encouraged to ring the bell as they celebrate successes or personal achievements in their lives.