Denali Littlewind attended student short-term programs (STPs) at NDVS/SB throughout her elementary, middle school, and high school years. A member of the Spirit Lake Tribe, she kept coming back because she knew the skills she was learning “were going to be really helpful for the future,” she says. “I learned so much about vision there.” Now, as a 21-year-old working young adult with low vision, she’s putting those lessons learned to good use.
Like many people with low vision, Denali doesn’t always use a cane. “I feel comfortable in my daily routines,” she says. But when she’s traveling, she takes her white cane, along with Orientation & Mobility (O&M) skills she perfected at NDVS/SB. Over the past year, Denali has traveled all over the country. “I really love traveling to concerts,” she says. She’s been to Minneapolis a few times, and traveled to Milwaukee in September, Arizona this past February, and Ohio in May to hear her favorite artists. But her low vision has never been an issue, and her O&M skills have put her at an advantage as she traveled. During Teen STP weeks, students learn bus routes, practice getting Ubers, and follow walking directions on their phone. This practice makes using it in real-world situations a lot less stressful. “Even when I’m just looking at traveling to a new city, I know more of what to look for,” she says.
The connections Denali made with other students attending while attending STPs is another reason she kept coming back to Grand Forks. In fact, she is still in touch with many of them. These friends, she says, “have vision loss just like me, so it’s another person to relate to, and to get help or advice from. If you’re stuck on something, you can ask them for advice. They’re important people in my life.”
Denali says the idea of attending an adult short-term program is appealing, but right now, she’s content with her life and her skill level. She’s working as a manager at McDonald’s, where she’s found that many accommodations are built right into the programs – like the ability to zoom in on the screen – and she enjoys her job. “I was nervous about how fast-paced it was when I first started, but I talked it over with my manager – who is actually my brother! We started out slow and worked our way up,” she explains. “Any job that I’ve had – my vision loss was always one of the first things I’ve mentioned.”
Denali’s comfort in sharing her vision loss is another skill she acquired at NDVS/SB. “Having vision loss it not easy, especially mentally,” she says. And that’s why attending STPs was so impactful, she believes. “You find people who are like you. It just feels a lot easier when you know others who have vision loss. Don’t be scared to reach out to them and ask for help.”