[music playing] INTERVIEWER: Alabama Public Television presents Spotlight on Agriculture.

JOHN MASCIA: Welcome to the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind.

My name is John Mascia, and I'm the president.

The Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind is the most comprehensive program serving individuals who are deaf and blind in the country.

We have the Alabama School for the Deaf, the Alabama School for the Blind, the Helen Keller School, serving individuals who were deaf or blind and also have other challenges.

We serve individuals who are adults in the Gentry facility.

We also have a very large manufacturing facility.

It's the Alabama Industries for the Blind.

And there were also regional centers statewide.

The Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind charges no tuition.

All programs at the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind offer opportunities for individuals who are deaf and blind to prove to themselves that with the right training and the right supports, they can live an independent life.

We offer orientation and mobility training that specialized training for individuals who are blind so that they can independently travel to their place of employment, to the store, to their church.

We offer interpreter services to individuals who are deaf.

We offer technology services for individuals who are deaf and blind so they can connect with the world.

Running AIDB is I think the dream job.

There's so many opportunities every single day to impact people.

We try every day to dream up possibilities for our students so that their future can be limitless.

The most important thing we can provide to our students is the opportunity for them to realize that with the right attitude and the right supports, they can do anything they put their mind to.

It's very important that people have opportunity to experience life and to succeed and to fail.

What we try to do here at AIDB in all of our programs is not only to provide the academic training that our students need but to provide them with real-life situations, and our goal is to make sure that they have the right technology and the right training and the right supports and the right opportunities to see that whatever it is they want to do, they can do it and they can succeed.

[music playing] DANNYRAY FINLEY: My name is DannyRay Finley, and I am the director of student life here at the Alabama School for the Blind, which is a part of Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind.

I am a former student of the Alabama School for the Blind.

I started school here.

I graduated here in 2010, went off to Troy University where I received my bachelor's in criminal justice.

I am a father figure, older brother, a mentor, a friend.

I do everything.

I don't know if I'm cleaning all the way up to making administrative decisions, I do everything for the kids.

Whatever is needed, I am-- I try to be for the kids and for the staff here.

Keep moving, Red.

Move, move, keep moving, Red.

We got a lot of young talent here at ASB.

This is-- So this is our wrestling team.

So but a lot of our kids do track.

We have-- we offer track.

We offer swimming.

We offer cheerleading.

[cheering] SUBJECT: Hey, hey, hey, let's go.

Pick up the B, let roll.

It's time to get loud.

It's time to represent.

ASB, what time is it.

DANNYRAY FINLEY: We tend to be very structured or try to be a structure as we can so the students can learn and those skills and things like that they need to learn, whether it be independent living skills or it'll be cooking, whether it be how to grocery shop, these are important skills that our students need to know.

They may not understand or appreciate it.

Of course, no teenager appreciate structure when they're going through it, but as they get older and once they leave here, that's when all of those skills kick back in and stuff that they learned and it's drilled in them from a young age.

That is one of the things that I see being a product of the Alabama School for the Blind that I have grown to appreciate being able to learn those skills at a young age.

I am going to give them life.

I'm going to speak life into them or get them my thoughts, give them my honest opinion about whatever they're going through whether there's something they want to hear or something that they like, or it's something that they need to hear.

Because of course, growing up in the '90s, everybody said, oh, you could be the president one day, but you could say that but if I don't understand-- if I don't if I can't grasp the concept or grasp an actual path or a journey to doing that, that means me nothing.

That does me nothing.

Even since being director, some of the staff that was here when I was a student, they still here, so they've watched me grow from a student all the way to that supervisor they like to say.

I met some amazing people here.

One of the staff members here, his name was Mr. Swain, he was actually one of our student life managers back when I was in school here.

He was the first person to buy me a suit.

Stuff like that, you really don't understand the importance of when you're young and you're growing up, but as you get older it definitely makes the tough moments worth it looking back on it because now the things that I may have felt like I was missing out on as a child, I'm able to not only give those things to other children that look like myself but also on my own.

And then I'm able to give out more than that.

Being here, being around people like myself who are dealing with the same life problems as I am or similar, it was very rewarding.

I had trouble with my reading and math when I was in public school.

They weren't able to focus and put as much attention into me as I needed.

Here, I was able to succeed better.

I was able to do more because I had programs tailored specifically for a person like myself with a visual impairment.

So I didn't feel as alone as I did when I was in the public school settings.

ASB really changed my life for the better.

I try to be as human as I can and try to make myself more as approachable as I can for my students to provide that representation.

Because who knows, we might have next might have the next Bill Gates running around here or the next president.

Who knows?

[playing saxophone] Good job, brother, brother.

[music playing] RACHEL HYCHE: Going to a public school, there is a standard that you have to fit in with everyone else.

I was very immersed in the cruel world of social standards.

And I think that definitely gave me a realistic view of the world, and that the world wouldn't care whether or not I was blind.

And going here, I feel like you can be much more expressive.

The friends that I've made here are way more like actual friends than just acquaintances, like they were in public school.

[playing piano] (SINGING) --mind up.

It's a reminder you're a liar and you know.

You say you can't live without me, so why aren't you dead?

Why you still breathing?

[music playing] I would have been happier going here my entire life.

I would always passive aggressively complain about how horrible public school was for me, because I didn't have friends, and everyone kind of treated me like an outcast, or like I had some sort of issue other than just being blind.

Because that was, I guess, what they assumed from the outside.

And now that I'm at a school where I have that commonality with literally everyone, my dad told me that my entire personality has changed.

He said that I used to be just kind of going through life, and not really enjoying myself.

But now he feels like every time that he calls me, I seem very happy.

My mom says that I seem much more social.

And she kind of thought I might just be very antisocial and introverted, before, because I never hung out with anyone.

But she said now that she feels like I've really come into myself as a well-rounded human being.

(SINGING) Can I lay by your side, next to you, you.

I am a very hands on learner, personally.

In public school they didn't do this so much.

But here, I'm taking anatomy this year, and a lot of that is about actually having models of things to feel, because I learn so much better from feeling something 3D than 2D.

What a lot of people don't realize is that, if you show a person who is blind a 2D picture of something, all they're really going to feel is a bunch of lines, because we can't relate that 2D to a 3D image in our heads.

And so, as someone who has been blind my whole life, It is so much easier for me to feel a 3D model of something, and actually feel what that would look like, instead of just feeling a picture.

[music playing] I use a device called a Chameleon, which is a 20 cell or professional Braille display.

It has little pins that pop up into the Braille dots that correspond with the letters that would be on an iPad screen or a phone screen.

And I can scroll through my phone or my iPad, and everything that would be showing up on the screen shows up on my Braille display.

It also has a keyboard above it, where I can type out my assignments, or use key commands to scroll through applications, or documents, or search the internet.

I've loved being here, because staying here on the weekends has been amazing for me, because I get to hang out with my friends, and I get to literally have a sleepover every night, and wake up in the morning, and go talk to my friends.

And I feel like it's just been amazing.

It's like going to summer camp every day.

[laughs] [music playing] [music playing] CADE HENSON THROUGH INTERPRETER: My name is Cade Henson, and this is my name sign.

I started ASD in kindergarten, in 2007, and went my whole career there-- 14 years, until I graduated in 2021.

Here at Gentry, I am in college prep.

[music playing] Since coming to Gentry, last October 25, I've been working to remediate some of my academic skills, and I have done so.

So I will soon be, this fall, enrolling in a dual program-- dual enrollment program with the local community college, taking some core courses.

I'll begin that this fall.

And then, in a couple of years, I'll be able to transfer to Penn State University, in which I will start my degree in meteorology.

[music playing] Oh, the best part was learning new things, learning to help students interact, and learn all the things I need to know for my future in the real world.

I preferred going to Alabama School for the Deaf under AIDB because of the equal access to language and communication.

They can help me with athletics, various academic and employment goals.

And peers all around the state, who are deaf like me, can all come together.

I like meteorology because I like studying the radars, the maps.

I've always liked going outside and looking at the weather-- the rain and the thunderstorms.

It keeps me very busy, and I just really like learning new things about it.

I've made several lifelong friends at AIDB, from ASD to here at Gentry.

And we've been together for years, and we'll always be together.

I mean, we'll be friends for a lifetime.

[music playing] [music playing] BENJAMIN MCDOWELL: My name is Benjamin McDowell.

The main purpose of me being here, and the purpose a lot of people share, is just to learn what they can, get certificates and all that.

Just prepare for a real world a bit more than they were before enrolling.

I've been taking independent living skills, and recently I actually got into the driver's education program.

So I'm hoping that I can get my license soon.

And basic academics-- I'm basically just trying to catch up on what bit of education I may have either missed out on, or the refresher on the stuff that I've learned before but didn't use very often.

So just stuff like that.

I can tell you, every Wednesday, we actually have cleaning day.

And what that looks like is that we'll either sweep around the classroom, wipe down doorknobs, counters, and all that, just to get a habit out of doing it.

We check our dorm rooms and college rooms to make sure that they're all nice and tidy.

And if they aren't, then we go over what needs to be fixed and fix that.

The topics change throughout the course, like, throughout the time.

Recently, we've actually just started getting into healthy relationships, and going over aspects of what makes a healthy relationship, what makes an unhealthy relationship, and how to work with that.

In this room, I've actually been working towards Microsoft Office Specialist Certificates.

I've got Certificates on Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, so far.

I'd like to be at a point to where I could just work by myself for myself, live in my own apartment or house or wherever, get a job with computer programming.

Right now, I don't have much experience in that field.

I've written a few programs, myself.

But none of it was just by myself.

I've always had to use tutorials, and follow along with other people's instructions.

So I'm hoping to be able to change that.

A lot of it is working at your own pace, so you don't feel you don't feel rushed, but at the same time it doesn't just drag on.

And the programs are really personalized.

So it's not like a high school, where you have to go at the same pace as everyone else, and throughout the day.

They have flexible schedules.

Like, my schedule has changed twice now, to accommodate me, based on personal preferences and where they think I should be.

[music playing] ASHLEI BANKS: This program has given me my capabilities to read again.

I can use a computer without having to look at it.

I can use my phone without having to use my eyeballs.

I can do almost everything I could have done as a sighted person, back when I still had my sight.

This center's name is the Alabama Freedom Center for the Blind.

Here at the Freedom Center for the Blind, we do Braille, cane travel, we do home management and technology.

This program is not like other programs.

You're not going to have your hand held throughout the majority of this.

This program is for people who really want to be independent, who want to go out on their own, and want a job, want to move out, want to do things for themselves.

[music playing] You're going to need to learn how to cross the street by yourself.

You're going to need all the skills, at some point in your life.

[music playing] People don't think that blind people can light a match by themselves, but I've done it several times as I've been here.

And you know, it was safe, because we put them in the water.

You might need that skill one day.

There's just some things that this program does very differently from others.

And if you want independence, you definitely come here.

It's probably the most independence I've ever had.

I don't need anyone to guide me around places anymore since I've been here.

Nobody needs to hold my hand when I go to the grocery store.

I walk right up in the Walmart and ask them for a shopper, and then we go shopping together.

I give them my list and they help me out.

I walk around Walmart with them and stuff, yeah.

But that's because I can't read labels, so-- not that well, anyways.

I see colors, that's about it.

If you want independence, come to this program, because that is what you're going to get here.

Cane travel consists of traveling with this bad boy, which is the long, straight, d-type cane that I have here.

Sleep shades and cane are non-negotiable.

You have to have them for every class.

Home management-- we cook, we clean, we write recipes, and we do stuff for other classes, sometimes.

Technology feeds into home management often.

We learn how to use our phones and use our computers.

Our phones we use to write recipes and research stuff, so that all the classes feed into each other.

I've learned all the contractions in Braille which, honestly, I didn't think I could do in six months.

I've learned how to cook.

I've learned how to make steak.

I've learned how to make brownies from scratch, trifle from scratch.

I've made hamburgers.

I just made a lot of different things in home management.

And cane travel-- I've learned the address system, how to navigate roads and stuff, walking in, like, sometimes crap weather.

I mean, bad weather is going to happen.

You're going to have to learn how to deal with it.

And technology-- I've learned how to type, I've learned how to print, I've learned how-- I'm going to learn how to use an embosser soon, which is basically a Braille printer.

And it just-- it's just been a lot, really and truthfully.

It's a really big jumping point because, as long as you have all the skills and all the training that you need, you can go anywhere.

You can do anything.

You have cane travel.

Y'all can go on a cross-country road trip and understand how to navigate the city at your destination.

If you have Braille, you can read-- you can go to any restaurant in the United States and be able to read their Braille menus, without having to ask someone to read it for you.

With your tech, you can do quite literally anything online these days.

And you can cook a whole meal at your house, and astonish your friends and family.

There's so much you can do with just these four simple skills that they teach you.

The possibilities are almost limitless.

There's a few people I've come to deeply love and appreciate in this program.

A lot of the people here are-- we're all going through similar things and stuff.

And there's just a lot of different people with different walks of life, and they've all wound up here.

And I feel like these friendships are going to stay with me for a long time, because there's some people here they're just completely unforgettable.

[music playing] It took quite a bit of nudging for me to get into this program.

Because, after a while, as a child in DHR, I stopped listening to my [inaudible] and stuff.

And so I had done so much for myself, at one point in time, I just didn't think this was necessary.

But then when I got here, it opened my eyes to a world of possibilities beyond what my feeble vision could accomplish by itself.

When I leave here, I'm thinking about going back to college.

I'm also thinking about becoming an ONM instructor, myself.

Because I love cane travel, because I'm very good at it, and it's also something I enjoy doing.

[music playing] [music playing] CHRISTOPHER MISTERKA: AIDB has been with me throughout my entire life.

I attended high school for a few years at the Alabama School for the Blind, even went to EH Gentry and worked at the Alabama Industries for the Blind, for a little bit.

I had a case manager for the blind in Huntsville, Isaac Beavers.

He came to my house in early intervention, and was with me until three years ago.

He told me, hey, Chris, I know a really intense center.

It's just about crazy enough that I think you'll like it.

And he was right.

When I first arrived here, I was completely caught off guard by the training going on here.

They-- the first day I was here, the director had told me, all right, so on Tuesday, we're all going rock climbing.

It's like, wait, with the shades on?

It ended up being my favorite activity that I ever did here.

And just stuff like that every day, something new.

Our center really likes to focus on blindness.

Gentry offers everything from anyone with low vision, to those who are autistic, to very specializing in the multidisabled.

Here, we focus on blindness.

We want our students to really get adjusted, and appreciate that word, and not be scared of it-- not think of it as the b-word.

I hold an NOMC, which is the National Orientation and Mobility Certification, given by the Professional Blindness Certification Board.

I teach cane travel, here, and pretty much anything else needed of me to help our students grow.

[music playing] The statistic is actually 90% of blind people do not have a job.

The 10% that do, 90% of them know Braille.

You would really be amazed with how much Braille comes in handy with the real world and getting around.

From elevator floors to hotel room doors, even offices in a hospital-- all that has Braille information that, with just the basic understanding of UEB Braille, you could efficiently get around most places that are set up to be ADA compliant.

Currently, my furthest student will be doing her drop route tomorrow, which I'll spin her around in circles in a car, drop her off somewhere, and tell her to find her way back.

Because of the structured discovery centers, like the Alabama Freedom Center, I have made contacts around the United States.

I've met the gentleman who climbed the Himalayas.

I've met a woman who is a blind actress on NCIS.

Because of this center and the chances and opportunities given to me here, I've met people I would have never, and really done more than I ever would have.

I go, pretty much once a year, to go to Colorado to go snowboarding, now.

Never did that before I went blind.

ATHA HOLLOWAY: My name is Atha Holloway.

Here at Gentry, I'm a graduate.

I graduated last June.

I graduated from the BEP program, Business Enterprise Program.

My eyesight is deteriorating.

I have to think about the future.

And the doctors gave me a 50-50 chance.

So I'm thinking about the future.

So just in case I can't work where I'm working with my children, so I decided to go into this program to have something else to do.

Because I don't want to sit down, oh, woe is me.

I want to be still in the working environment, society-- work in society.

I want to still do, you know?

So in the business enterprise, this is the best thing to happen to me, to be honest about it.

I know people that's-- and I've been talking to people, and they've been trying to get me coming to it for years.

I've been hard headed, but I decided to try it.

I did.

I decided to try it.

And I'm glad I did.

I learned a lot.

We learned the fundamental part of being an entrepreneur, a business owner.

We have to be on our P's and Q's.

But I was thinking, making different decisions.

We learn how to price change our merchandise, fix the machines that we need to, don't have to wait on no service mans to come and work on them.

So we learned a lot.

And not only that-- how to stock the machines, and if somethings not selling, we know to pull it.

Try something different if something's not moving.

One thing about being an entrepreneur, or a business owner, you have to invest in yourself.

So that's what I'm doing.

And that was a lot of vendors, what they do.

They invest in themselves, because, at first, we don't make a lot of money, at first.

Because you got to invest in yourself.

And once you invest in yourself, you will see the profit.

[music playing] We cook for all the employees here at Gentry.

And we cooked breakfast, we did lunch.

Oh, my god, we did lunch.

We cooked.

You learn the cash register, you learn to ring up.

When your customers come in, they ring up, and you learn how to do that.

You know, count the money back to them.

After all that I have learned, going through the program-- when I got to this program, I was kind of hard headed, a little bit.

You know, wanted to do my own little thing.

But this person softened my head up real good-- Susan Cero.

I tell anybody coming into class, all you got to do is listen to her.

Walk in expectation, expecting something.

You walk in expectation, you're going to get something out of it.

Absorb whatever she got to give you.

Because Susan Cero and Natalia Chapman, they was great with us.

I would do it all over again.

I really would.

[music playing] STEVEN FORNEY THROUGH INTERPRETER: My name is Steven Forney.

That's S-T-E-V-E-N F-O-R-N-E-Y.

And I work for the University of Alabama in Huntsville, UAH, as a research engineer.

And I work for the Center of Cybersecurity for Research and Education.

I graduated in 2003 from the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, here in Talladega, Alabama.

Upon graduation, in 2003, from the Alabama School for the Deaf, I then worked at a welding company locally, here in Talladega.

And during that time, I was taking the practicum test for graduation.

I also went to the EH Gentry school.

After that concluded, I went to the Rochester Institute of Technology for college.

In Rochester, I studied electrical and mechanical engineering for my bachelor's degree.

But after I graduated, I went on to a master's degree in Human Computer Interactions, which is HCI.

There were a lot of things happening in ASD that really helped me with real world experiences.

So things that happen, that you don't expect, in terms of accessibility education was something that I learned here.

There was such a rich wealth of resources and educational opportunities here that prepared me for that.

Not just the school, but the staff as well.

And other families that were around us at that time told us what we needed to know, whenever we left the school and entered the real world.

So looking back on my experience here, now I would love to be able to in turn give that back to the community, for those staff and adults in my life who prepared me for the real world.

Because when I arrived at the Rochester Institute of Technology, I already had some of those experiences and knowledge, because of the preparation the ASD gave me.

I would have two things to share with youth that are considering transferring to ASD.

And that is that the memories that you gain during high school for myself, looking back, if I had stayed in a mainstream school for high school, I feel like it would have limited my experience in some ways.

Being at ASD, I was able to fully participate in any sport that I wanted.

I chose football.

I was on the front lines.

Compared to trying to play in a mainstream setting for high school, maybe a bit more challenging.

You're telling the coach that you want to play, but you may not be given that same opportunity.

And even during practice, arriving at ASD, you have options, for the sports, and those practice opportunities are there.

My second piece would be that the accessibility for education, and the opportunities for learning one-on-one with staff is wonderful.

The ratio that is available, here at ASD, is much better compared to a mainstream school, where you're outnumbered and it's hard to get that one-on-one time and clarifications that are needed for deaf students.

When they arrive at ASD, those struggles disappear.

My current job, I work as a research engineer, which allows me to be very creative in terms of STEM, which is Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

So I'm able to use my creativity and research, which opens up the possibilities to do a lot of different things with technology, as well as learning about cybersecurity in the real world, and the challenges and threats that we face today.

So as I'm learning that, I, in turn, am able to teach younger students how to network safely online, and how to utilize social media safely.

They need to learn what's genuinely out there in the media.

So being able to recognize those threats and cybersecurity is part of my job, and also as a part of my work as a research engineer.

So I work primarily with the NRSC STEM project, as well.

NRSC stands for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Regional Stem Center.

And, UAH University of Alabama in Huntsville, works often in collaboration with NRSC.

We work together as a team to figure out modern technology, and what it's able to do for both of our companies, intents, and purposes.

So we also have a developed curriculum to help their summer camp, that we host annually.

During the summer camp, we provide different projects that students train on, and learn about cybersecurity tools.

[music playing] [whirring] Behind me is the STEM-mobile.

This is under special projects at AIDB.

This mobile is used to travel nationwide, to expose both deaf, hard of hearing, blind, and any other disability, as well.

And those who are non disabled can also access this bus to gain curriculum and information regarding STEM careers.

[music playing] The program that we work most with is GenCyber, which is a cybersecurity camp for deaf and hard of hearing youth.

And students are able to come, with the assistance of NRSC, to provide that nationwide training.

And if it wasn't for the support of NRSC, we would have an issue recruiting deaf and hard of hearing youth to participate in this.

The NRSC is wonderful at providing additional services and contacts throughout the country.

They're a partner for us, and they help us complete our work.

The staff for NRSC is deaf themselves, as well, so they can help with that student interaction.

[music playing] KRISTEN WILBURN: I had already known about AIDB as a community resource.

When we received my son's hearing loss diagnosis, we did go ahead and decide to contact AIDB regarding ASL classes.

When I called, I reached Judy on the phone, and she was so sweet.

And we just got to talking, and she just got a little more information about my son Thomas.

And she let me know about early intervention.

And it just-- we went on from there to grow our relationship.

Thomas has received a lot of services with AIDB.

As I mentioned, we have done early intervention.

We have done mommy and me classes.

I've taken ASL classes, as well as my husband.

Grandparents are in the ASL classes.

And then Thomas has been able to continue his education, and be part of the kinder prep program.

So it has just been phenomenal to watch his language develop from nonexistent, when he first arrived home with us, to where it is today.

He has been participating in their kinder prep program.

They have been so great to work with us, and they are going to continue to provide us ongoing support, as he makes that transition over to a mainstream school.

We actually started with total communication.

Since he is adopted from China.

we don't know how much language he received prior to being adopted.

So we started off with ASL, spoken language, we also took pointing and grunting.

Everything was welcome.

We just wanted to make sure that he knew his needs could be met by adults.

From there, in working with AIDB, we have made the transition to ASL and spoken language.

And we continue to go down that path.

So when Thomas transitions to a mainstream school, we are going to be requesting an ASL interpreter.

His language seems to be best facilitated when he has ASL in front of him.

So we definitely want to see that continue.

He is receiving, of course, speech therapy.

Every week, it's a new adventure with him.

And it is adventure for any parent with a deaf, hard of hearing child.

He is learning, of course, the basics of preschool.

We are learning to count.

We are learning our ABCs.

We are learning very basic reading.

We are learning how to trace lines, how to draw, how to color within the lines.

But of course, Thomas does have an IEP, Individualized Educational Program, that he is working with, as well.

So we do have special things that he is working to accomplish every year.

AIDB does help to facilitate that, to make sure that those goals are also being reached.

His class does have two aides that are absolutely wonderful.

Thomas is a strong-willed, energetic, little boy, and he does not-- they are not fazed by him.

He loves them, and I know that he is very well kept when mama is not around.

With his teacher, she goes above and beyond, to make sure that he is being well instructed, and well taken care of.

We do love his speech therapist, who is working with him every week.

And then, also, he is receiving-- well, the entire class receives musical instruction, which is so great for them.

I know that they love it, and every Monday, when I pick him up, after he's received musical instruction, he is singing to the top of his lungs in the car.

So I know he enjoys it.

So once Thomas leaves the kinder prep program, and transitions into mainstream, he will continue to work with the deaf case manager, here, to ensure that his needs are being met with the mainstream school.

[music playing] JOHN MASCIA: The Alabama Industries for the Blind is a $30 million manufacturing facility.

The majority of the employees are blind or visually impaired.

The purpose of the Alabama Industries is to not only provide employment opportunities, but it's also to provide quality products to the government and, mostly, the military.

The employees at the Alabama Industries for the Blind show the world that, just because you have a disability, doesn't mean you can't be a productive citizen.

Our employees want to be taxpaying citizens.

They want to do their share to make this country great.

They want to do their share to make sure that the communities are strong.

Our people not only work hard every day, but they're active members in their communities, and in their churches, and in their civic organizations.

They don't want to take from society.

They want to give back, and they do so every single day.

BARBARA PRICE: My name is Barbara Price, and I work at Alabama Industries for the Blind.

I've worked here for three years.

I work on the embroidery machine for soldiers ties.

I really love working on the sewing machine.

It keeps me positive.

I love working hard.

I'm really happy being able to work here, and go to school at DH Gentry.

Alabama Industries for the Blind, or AIB, is part of AIDB, or Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind.

AIB is the state's largest employer of people who are blind.

[music playing] JOHN MASCIA: The Marianna Greene Henry Special Equestrian Program is a very important part of the services we provide at AIDB.

There are times when a teacher, or another student, might not be able to connect with the child, but sometimes an animal can.

There are so many innovative ways that we can provide services to kids who are deaf and blind at AIDB, and the services we provide at the MGH arena are just one example KATE STORJOHANN: My name is Kate Storjohann.

I am the lead program instructor at Marianna Greene Henry Special Equestrians.

We have the best job in the entire world.

We get to teach students from AIDB how to ride horses.

We see students from ASD, ASB, and Helen Keller.

And they start as young as three, and they age out about 21.

So it's really awesome to see the little ones get on a horse for the first time.

They just light up.

They get so excited.

They're my favorites.

[music playing] The magic happens when they get off that bus.

Just watching them interact with the horses is incredible.

The bond that develops between them and their horse is really special.

Taylor has been riding with us for about four years, and he was very nervous when he first started riding.

He's obviously very athletic.

He loves sports of all sorts and types.

TAYLOR GANNON: I am on the Riders Club at MGH arena.

This horse name is Reba.

Reba is a Belgian cross.

I play volleyball, basketball, golf, powerlifting, and horses.

I like horses and basketball the most.

I remember when I took the volleyball team to state championship.

We got to go play in Birmingham.

We brought back first place.

I help sweep the barn.

Sometimes, I help untack my horse.

And sometimes I've helped tack, before.

KATE STORJOHANNON [inaudible].

TAYLOR GANNON: [inaudible].

KATE STORJOHANNON: [inaudible].

We met him through PE classes with Helen Keller.

And we kind of recruited him for Riders Club, because we saw potential there.

And he loves the horses.

If he had to pick one sport, I think it would be equestrian, so.

TAYLOR GANNON: I go to school at Helen Keller School, in Talladega, Alabama.

I ride Reba, I ride Nick, and I used to ride Roger.

I qualified to go to US Games in Orlando, in June of 2022.

[music playing] KATE STORJOHANNON: We got a call last year that he had qualified for the US Special Olympic Games in Orlando, Florida.

So we've been working with him here, recently, trying to get him really prepped for those, because it's a very high profile competition.

He will be riding on horses that he has never seen before.

And it's going to be exciting.

[music playing] For a lot of these students, their first interaction with a horse is when they come here.

And a lot of them do go on to either pursue having their own horse, or get involved in other therapeutic facilities in Alabama.

Or if they're interested in the veterinary field at all, this gives them really good experience in that way.

So with therapeutic riding, just sitting on a horse has benefits, in and of itself.

So when a student sits on a horse, it moves the human pelvis in the same way that you would if you were walking.

So it's beneficial as far as balance, and position, and posture, and bone structure, muscle coordination, all of those things.

So just sitting on a horse has its own benefits.

But then when you add in controlling this massive animal, using your reins, and your seat, and your eyes, and your weight-- there's just so many more benefits that come along with that.

Horseback riding is so much more than just a pony rides.

You get to develop confidence, and grow with your peers, and just really improve your riding skills, but also your social skills as well.

We had a little girl who had never spoken before, and she was from Helen Keller, and we were doing some groundwork lessons.

And I was explaining to her the different parts of the horse, and she was feeling with her hands.

And she started repeating the words that I was saying, like the mane, or the shoulder.

It was just incredible to hear her saying what I was saying to her as she learned the different parts of the horse and felt this animal under her hands.

It was really special.

Our horses go through a very extensive screening and training process.

We look for, usually, over at least 10 or 12, former showing or trail horse.

Really, we don't have any specific things that we're looking for.

Just a good, safe, dependable, trustworthy horse that has what we call therapy heart.

They have to love their job.

[music playing] [music playing] RACHEL HYCHE: To a student who is considering coming to ASB, I would say think about yourself in five or 10 years.

Think about what you want to do with your life, and think about who you want to be.

And I would say go for it.

Because the chances of becoming who you want to be, going to the School for the Blind, are so much greater, because you have people who really understand you and who understand what it's like to live the life that you live, and go through the challenges that you face, and who can help you make an educated decision on your life, based on understanding those challenges, and knowing what you will face, and being able to help prepare you for that.

Because a public school is not going to prepare you for being blind.

[music playing] CHRISTOPHER MISTERKA: Do not be scared of going blind.

Appreciate what sight you have.

Do not let that scare you.

It's not as bad as you think.

[laughs] DANNYRAY FINLEY: I would tell him or her-- dream, keep dreaming.

By coming to a place such as this, you won't be on that journey by yourself.

Everybody's here is searching for life.

[music playing] RACHEL HYCHE: To the parents of a 10-year-old, thinking about going to ASB, I would say it may be really challenging, because people all over the state do come to the school.

And that may mean that you have to leave your house and live here.

It is a great decision.

And I think it is a very selfless decision to choose to send your child to the School for the Blind, because they can really prepare your child for things that you may not know will happen.

And they can prepare your child for the years to come, and for the things that they may be experiencing as they get older, that you may not even know they'll experience.

[music playing] STEVEN FORNEY THROUGH INTERPRETER: To a parent who has a deaf infant, I would tell them to please don't lose hope.

AIDB provides many wonderful opportunities and hope.

There is a wealth of support for your deaf child.

CHRISTOPHER MISTERKA: If someone were to have a blind child, I would really want to emphasize not to give up on them, and to always push them.

You probably don't know their limitations, and they don't know either.

That's something that you'll need to learn together.

ASHLEI BANKS: Don't give up on your children.

There is no reason why your child can't do anything a sighted child can.

Your child is precious to you, and you should treat them as precious as they can be.

Doesn't matter if society thinks they can't do anything with themselves.

Show them otherwise.

They can break out of that mold if they want to, because they have the mentality and the capability of any other child.

Just let them grow.

[music playing] CADE HENSON THROUGH INTERPRETER: I would tell that person to come to Gentry because of my experiences.

They'll tell you all the things that you need to work on to improve your skills in whatever areas that you need, because Gentry will provide everything that you need to accomplish whatever it is that your future goals are.

KRISTEN WILBURN: Get the information.

Just go ahead, start learning as much as you can.

Talk to as many people as you can, and not just other parents going through the same situation.

But also, if you have the ability to talk with, also, any deaf mentors out there.

See what their experiences were like, what things they wish their child had known as well.

KATE STORJOHANNON: If I were speaking to a parent of a child that was considering AIDB, I would highly recommend it.

I can't think of a school system that offers as many opportunities as they do to their students.

I know that there's not very many that offer equestrian during the school day, that come over during their PE time.

But they are truly limitless here.

They get to experience life in so many areas that they wouldn't at a traditional school setting.

So I would recommend it.

DANNYRAY FINLEY: Trust god.

Trust god.

It is hard.

And although it may be fearful, you're a parent until you're not a parent anymore.

If you don't know, that's OK.

It's all right to not know how to parent a child with a visual impairment.

That's why we're here.

The Alabama Institute has been around for over 100 years.

We know what we're doing.

It's OK, you can trust us.

We're the professionals for a reason.

We are all about empowering, and that's definitely what ASB is, what AIDB as an Institute.

Being ourselves and empowering others, especially those that look like us and deal with what we're dealing with on a day-to-day, whether it be hearing impairment, or visual impairment, or any other kind of uniqueness about ourselves.

I don't care for the word disability, because I don't think I'm disabled.

I don't think it's something that I can't do.

I think adjustments will have to be made.

But that's life.

But I can do anything else that I want to do.

It just like anybody else is in my shoes.

Anybody can do what they want to do.

Pursue your dreams.

Come to school here at ASB.

This is a family.

We love-- we love everybody.

It's love.

It's all love and positive energies.

Can't go wrong.

[music playing] JOHN MASCIA: The purpose of AIDB is to level the playing field for people who are deaf, blind, and deaf-blind.

They do need special training and special technology.

And they need to have the opportunity to work with individuals who have the special ability to provide that training.

And honestly, there's something very, very special between the bond our instructors have with their students.

We become a family here at AIDB.

Our kids live with us.

They're here 24/7.

They're here at night, and on the weekends.

They're here when they don't feel well.

They're here when they're upset about something that might have happened in their life.

And so the bond that forms between the staff and the students is beautiful and special.

And that special relationship translates to a very passionate culture here at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind.

And if AIDB didn't exist, there would be many individuals who are deaf and blind, and who could offer such a rich perspective-- in the workforce, at their church, in their home community-- that wouldn't have that opportunity.

AIDB levels the playing field for people who are deaf and blind, so they can enjoy the same opportunities we all want.

[music playing]