@blindishlatina: IT TAKES TIME ✨ Story Time: I was born hard of hearing. I’ve worn hearing aids from a young age. Being deaf is all I’ve ever known so it wasn’t hard for me but then… I was diagnosed at 17 years old with Usher Syndrome. I found out I had a progressive vision disability along with my deafness. Was not ready for that, was not expecting it, and didn’t know how to handle it. My blindness was a surprise. I cried about it. A lot. I didn’t know anything about blindness. It seemed scary. But then… Life went on. I lived in denial for a long time. When I was 21, I moved to NYC and stopped driving. This was my decision and it felt empowering. I started to meet other blind people. I received services and support. I started to accept my blindness. Things got better. I made the big decision to start using a white cane 7 years ago and never looked back. I became publicly blind. I became confident and unapologetic. My blindness isn’t a tragedy to me anymore, it’s simply part of who I am. ❤️ Now I travel the world full-time and have my own business as a speaker/consultant helping orgs become inclusive for disability. Disability identity is a journey. Just keep going ❤️ Can you relate to my story? Let me know in the comments ⬇️ Video Description: Catarina is a light-skinned Latiné woman with dark brown hair wearing a white tank top, red dangly wooden earrings, sunglasses, and a maroon bucket hat. She’s sitting at a café in Tihany, Hungary having tea and desserts near a beautiful view of a large blue lake called Lake Balaton. She’s high up. Catarina sips her green tea slowly, then the camera pans to the lake view. View of the table with small scones and a cake. Then a smiling photo of Catarina. There are black text boxes with white text (all text is above) and emotional instrumental music in the background. Cover title is “Story Time: My disability identity journey ❤️” #Blindness #Disability #DisabilityAwareness #DisabilityPride #BlindishLatina #deaf #deafness #HardOfHearing #DisabilityIdentity

Catarina | Public Speaker

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Monday 26 August 2024 09:34:08 GMT