Dick Pryor: The summer season is in full swing and for many kids that means a chance to go to summer camp but not all camps are created equal. ONR’s Liz Exon joins us with more on that, Liz.
Liz Exon: Dick, there is at least one summer camp in Oklahoma that is unlike any other. It's a place where all of the students have one thing in common. They're all visually impaired. ONR’s Angela Rosecrans spent the day with campers at the Oklahoma School for the Blind summer camp.
Angela: Lunchtime at the Oklahoma School for the Blind summer camp looks much like any other school cafeteria. Students make their way through the lunch line and it gets louder as a student catch up with their friends. But it's in the classrooms where they're doing things little bit differently than at a typical summer camp. For example in this technology class students learn about computers through touch. Garrett Nichols comes to this camp for the blind every summer and like his peers he has a visual impairment.
Garrett: My diagnosis is Nystagmus and that’s rapid movement in the eye causing visual impairment.
Angela: But that doesn't stop him from excelling in the classes that camp has to offer, especially when it comes to computers.
Garrett: and below the heat seat will be the CPU being central processing unit
Angela: Barbara Collins is the camp co-director. She says summer camp here is more than just play.
The students are here to learn valuable skills.
Barbara: So while we’re doing a little bit of academic thing and little bit independent living and expanded core curriculum which is really much needed for our vision impaired students. They're doing it under the umbrella of lots of fun.
Angela: Some of the independent living skills include a living in their own apartments for several days. Dorm rooms are equipped with microwaves and ovens with braille labels. There are ironing boards and daily chore lists to teach students how to be self-sufficient. The students also spend a lot of time learning their way around the kitchen and using special tools designed for the blind identified.
Instructor: So what we’re going to do is, place the card in the top of the machine like this. First were going to press the button, what do we have, we have a can of corn. So press this, hold the card in and say “corn.”
Student: Corn.
Machine plays recording of the student saying “corn.”
Instructor: There you go. So we have a label for our can of corn.
Loud beep until the woman removed the sensory from the cup.
Angela: Jasmine works with her instructor learning how to use night of these knives are specially made for the blind.
Instructor: Your going to curl them fingers in, girl. Always remember curl them. Come all the way down, then slide it and you’re going to move it a little bit of time.
Angela: The students maybe learning skills, they will use for lifetime but they're also making friends to last a lifetime. The summer camp runs three weeks each summer and is completely free of charge for the students. For ONR I’m Angela Rosecrans.