by Deb Cook Lewis
I often find it challenging to come up with something that fits the theme of the month. While matching the theme is not required, I consider it a worthwhile challenge when possible. You might think it would be easy to list things for which I am truly grateful — and in a sense, it was. Yet, none of those ideas sparked the excitement I was seeking. Now, as the deadline approaches, I’m glad I waited: an idea has emerged that both aligns with the theme and allows me to share a project I’m genuinely excited about within ACB. By the time you read this, I hope the Board will have adopted this project, or at least be well on the way.
If all goes well, ACB will offer a youth track at the 2026 ACB Conference and Convention in St. Louis. This prospect has made me reflect deeply on what I am grateful for from my own youth.
Growing up blind in the 1960s, my parents believed the best education for me would be through the public school system. However, we lived in a rural district without any other blind youth. A vision impairment (VI) teacher from a neighboring, larger district visited once a week to teach me Braille and other essential skills. Although I knew several other blind youths, mostly from other rural school districts — and met a few blind and low vision kids at camp, I had no blind or low vision role models.
My parents made an effort to introduce me to some blind adults, but, in most cases, circumstances had not been kind to them. They were not living the kinds of lives my parents or I envisioned for my future.
I did not feel comfortable discussing this personal crisis with anyone. My solution was simple: I decided I just would not grow up. It was not a path of doom and gloom — more a refusal to step into a future I could not imagine. Some of you may think I succeeded in that goal.
Everything changed during my sophomore year of high school, when I had the opportunity to attend a two-day retreat for blind and low vision high school students from Washington State, Oregon, and British Columbia. Over those two days, I met a group of blind peers my age whom I had not previously known, but the most important experience was meeting so many successful blind adults from two states and one province. And good news — there were a lot of them, and none fit a single mold.
These adults shared their journeys with us in honest, tangible ways, including the hard lessons they had learned. Not all were superstars — though certainly some were — but they were real people with one important trait in common with us high school students.
The experience reignited my interest in growing up and moving forward with my life. I am not sure my parents even noticed the transformation, but I certainly did.
As we look forward to sharing ACB with high school students this summer, I hope you will consider ways we can better engage with the youth of our future. Let’s offer much-needed encouragement and share our stories — because those connections can truly make a difference.