A profile of Coreen Faulkner

People living with vision loss are too often invisible to the broader society. We are capable and competent and have much to offer when given a chance.

My name is Coreen Faulkner. I’ve lived in Missoula for 45 years. I spent 24 years teaching in elementary schools here in Missoula, so my name may be familiar to some of you. I raised my children here. I’ve been active in the community over the years and am an avid gardener. I am also blind.

I grew up in Mandan, North Dakota. My father went blind from retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and progressive myopia. RP is an inherited disease, so several of my siblings, along with some of their children and grandchildren, also have the condition or are carriers. I have progressive myopia and became blind in 2009 while I was still teaching fourth grade at Paxson. After hearing the news, my principal told me she didn’t believe I could do the work that teaching requires. I disagreed. Instead, I asked for the “reasonable accommodation” afforded me by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). So, for the last year and a half before I finally did retire, I had a full time aide, and I used a CCTV, along with a handheld magnifier, to review student’s work.

Once out of the classroom. I worked with Blind and Low Vision Services (BLVS) here in Missoula to start learning the skills I would need to cope as my vision loss worsened. I also applied for a guide dog and received my dog, Kiya, less than a year later. My experiences also gave me the impetus to become involved in advocacy for those with vision loss, and I facilitate a support group for adults with vision impairment.

I find myself frustrated with how people respond to my blindness. Too often, others seem to think they know what’s best for me. I don’t know how people see me, but I’m a capable person. I’m not exceptional or somehow superhuman, though living a normal, independent life apparently seems, at least to some, extraordinary because I can’t see.

And this, to me, is the fundamental problem. I manage most things on my own. Certainly, I can’t do everything, so at times I do need to ask for help. But I should be allowed to decide when I need help and when I don’t. Society’s low expectations of the blind need to change, as do the blind community’s expectations of itself. We are undervalued and underemployed. The bar needs to be raised so that those with vision impairment have something to reach for, and those who would teach or employ us make full use of our talents and skills.

You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future.

To contact the Missoula chapter of the NFB, email us at missoulachapter@nfbofmt.org .