Vision Impairment

Case Studies

Click on any image in the montage below for information on how other companies have made accommodations or select from a text-based list.

• Bank: teller One of the tellers at the First Federated Savings & Loan in downtown Dubuque has a vision impairment that requires several adaptations to the bank's normal business routine. In fact, when Rob Hallowell first applied, the bank's manager wasn't convinced he'd be able to do the job--but he was willing to take a chance. Find out how it's working.
• Hotel: reservation agent Irene Yu has helped Southern Hospitality hotels change the way they do business. The 25-year-old reservation agent, who is gradually losing her eyesight, uses a variety of assistive tools to do her job (she happens to be one of their best agents, by the way). One of the thing's Irene's helped to do is make training materials accessible to all corporate SH employees. See how she did it.
• Home-based business: entrepreneur Taking advantage of new opportunities created by the passage of the ADA, Callie Hart opened her own home-based Braille enterprise in the early 1990s. She offers customers a variety of products, with the most popular being translation services and short runs of printed materials such as restaurant menus. She's finding advertising on the internet has increased her customer base and taken her into a whole new marketing realm--developing accessible web sites. Read more about how she runs the business.
• Human services agency: receptionist The Agnes Parsons Center, located in Tennessee's rural Schuyler County, is a community services agency that specializes in programs for developmentally disabled adults. It recently hired 23-year-old Jennifer Sandler, who's been blind since birth, to fill a receptionist position. The office manager has already surmised that Jennifer's office skills are excellent. But there are lots of unanswered questions. Will clients be afraid of Maxie, Jennifer's guide dog? (And what will Maxie do all day? How will they adapt their multi-line phone system, which has buttons that light up to show which line's ringing? See how the center and Jen are working together to answer these questions.
• Corporation: attorney Jack Evert's got quite a reputation in the legal business. He's been a practicing attorney for 25 years now; for the past nine, he's headed up Monexko Chemical's corporate law office in Chicago. Given his track record, a lot of the cases he handles are settled long before they ever reach court. (Truth be told, Jack, 50, who has been blind since birth, misses the drama of the courtroom so he also makes a point of doing some pro bono work to keep his litigation skills sharp.) Find out more about how he does his job.
• Middle school: social studies teacher Ridgewood Middle School, located in suburban New Jersey, has one of the most enthusiastic teachers ever to take on an eighth-grade social studies class. All David Leventhal ever wanted to do was teach and now, at 45, he believes he's just hitting his stride. The problem: he's gradually losing his vision due to a degenerative eye condition that may eventually result in total blindness. Already, it's difficult to read some of his students' handwriting and the print in the grade books is just too small. His supervisor knows David's a terrific teacher--but she's worried about the quality of education the students are getting.
• Auto repair shop: head technician For the past 15 years, Malley & O'Rourke's auto repair shop has relied on Thomas Canlon to keep business running smoothly. Despite the fact he's been legally blind in one eye for many years, he's found ways to compensate. Thomas, 60, is now in charge of ordering and dispensing parts for all repairs. But without warning, he suffered a sudden loss of vision in his good eye two months ago and he can't even see to drive himself to work--let alone handle inventory. But he worked with his boss to create a workable solution.