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The
Kaye Holmberg Story
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My name is
Kaye Holmberg. I have Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). My vision did not
begin to deteriorate until I was in my 30's. Prior to this I only
wore glasses to read very small print. My career had been as a hair stylist owning my own salon. I knew I would not be able to continue with this if my eyesight kept getting worse. Fortunately for me, a friend of my aunt's knew about the Division of Services for the Blind and shared this with me. I contacted them, and a counselor from the Manhattan office came to visit me. Mr. Fuller explained all about the services that would be available to me. Our children were still young, and I did not feel that I could be gone for weeks at a time to Topeka, Kansas, to attend the Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired (RCBVI). So he had one of the rehab teachers come to my home to start working with me. She helped me mark my appliances and worked with me on some daily living skills. She also started teaching me Braille. At this time, I still had pretty useable vision for reading but I felt it would be in my best interests to go ahead and start learning Braille. A couple of years later I decided that it was time to check out my options about attending RCBVI for vocational assessment so that I might train for a new career. I was enrolled for a two-week vocational assessment. I went as a day client, commuting 90 miles a day round trip with a neighbor who worked in Topeka. After the third day at RCBVI, I knew that I wanted to go through the full program. I was in awe of all the adaptive equipment that was available for a visually impaired individual. It was actually going to be possible for me to pursue another career. I was enrolled in vocational assessment testing, basic communication skills, techniques of daily living, orientation and mobility, keyboarding, computers, college readiness, leisure skills and Braille. Each instructor worked with me on an individual basis to outline my program based on my needs and goals. After completing the vocational assessment, I decided to become a medical transcriptionist (MT). This was going to require very proficient computer skills. In school, I had good grammar and spelling abilities that are also important. When working on the computer I learned to use both a screen reader and also screen magnification. At that time I did not need much magnification to be able to read, and, of course, I wanted to depend on my eyes to do the reading for me. My computer instructor kept telling me to use my ears and the screen reader. It would be so much faster for me, and I would not be straining my eyes so much. Finally, one day, he shut the monitor off so I had to use the screen reader. That was the best thing he could have done for me! I have learned to be a very proficient computer user, depending on the screen reader, and now I don't even turn on my monitor when I am doing word processing. I also became a student assistant to the computer instructor, and then later after completing my program, I was a volunteer one day a week at RCBVI in the computer area. Towards the end of my six months at RCBVI, I started getting the equipment that would be needed to take the MT course at home. The equipment that I used was a computer, CCTV (closed circuit television), scanner, tape player, word processing software, OpenBook software for scanner, screen reader program, and screen magnification software. I enrolled at California College for Health Sciences in National City, CA, which is a distance learning program. The beginning course would be an 18-credit hour course which included English, Human Anatomy and Physiology, Medical Terminology, Pharmacology, Laboratory Essentials, Physicians' Desk References, and SUM Transcription Unit. This was a very rigorous program as you were expected to score 90% or above on each unit exam before you could continue on with the next section. On the actual transcription portion of the course, there were tapes dictated by doctors of all nationalities and accents and in all kinds of professional settings. There might be people visiting in the background or music playing. The doctor might be eating something while dictating. Locker doors might be opening and closing or the chair might be squeaking. I worked very hard to take every test without using the book, and I always scored at least 90% on each exam the first time I took the test! After completing the beginning course, I then enrolled in radiology, orthopedic and cardiology specialty courses to further enhance my knowledge in the medical transcription field. I worked very hard to learn everything I could while I was attending RCB. Since I had enrolled to be in the medical transcription course, I was eligible to apply for a scholarship through the American Council for the Blind. I was so fortunate to be chosen as one of the recipients in 1996 and again in 1998. My husband and I went to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Orlando, Florida, to attend the National Conventions for ACB. It was such a rewarding experience for us. We met many wonderful people who were blind or visually impaired who had very successful careers of all kinds. It made me realize that it was possible for me to once again have a successful career of my own. Now it was time to put my newly learned knowledge to use as a medical transcriptionist. Here is where I really hit a brick wall. I started applying for jobs and going for interviews. I had two strikes against me—the first one being that I had no experience and the second that I had a disability. At first I was looking for transcription work that I might do at home, but that seemed to require at least three to five years of prior experience in an office or institution. Then I decided to start applying on-site for a job to gain experience. Ketch Job Placement Service was working with me at this time. My job placement specialist and I worked very hard setting up and sending out resumes to many facilities that might need medical transcriptionists. I applied for many jobs and did receive calls to come for interviews. But when I got there, and they saw that I had no experience and then a disability, they just were not sure that I would be the right person for the job. The job hunt was becoming extremely frustrating after spending three years studying and training for a new vocation. During this long period of applying, interviewing and being turned down for jobs, I returned twice to the Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Topeka for further training with computers and Braille. In Braille, I completed the last grade 2 Braille book for contracted or literary Braille. I also learned how to use a Braille writer, printer, and a notetaker called the Braille Note. At this time I was also brushing up on several software programs that might be used in an office setting as I had started applying for jobs in the clerical field as well as in medical transcription. Finally, this past spring, my vocational rehabilitation counselor set up a job trial at Disability Determination Services (DDS) under the Social Security Administration where I would do medical transcription for two weeks. Once again the RCBVI was there for me. We had to get the proper adaptive equipment in place in one week before I was to start work. This endeavor went quite well for me. On the third day I was on the job, the computer manager asked me if I was having trouble with my computer. He had several employees come to him to tell him that they had walked by my cubical and noticed that my monitor was not on, and they were concerned that my computer was not working. My computer was working just fine, as I do not need the monitor on because I strictly use the screen reader when I am doing word processing. On the last day of the job trial, the transcription supervisor commented on how amazed she was at how I could do the work without being able to see what I was doing and to still have done such a great job. The next week, after completing the job trial, my VR counselor received a call from the director at DDS suggesting that I put in an application for a medical transcription position with them. Two weeks after completing the application and interview, I was offered a job. Once a good friend said to me when I was feeling very unsuccessful in the job hunt, "Kaye, when one door closes, another one will open." This has been very true in the past ten years. When I started losing my vision, I was not sure what I was going to do. The Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired was a life line for me. I felt that every experience while at RCBVI was a stepping stone to make my life easier as a visually impaired individual. I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to go through the full program. I could never have accomplished as much as I have in the past seven years nearly as fast without the assistance of RCBVI and Services for the Blind for my training and purchasing of equipment which made it possible to succeed in the goals I had set. Living in the rural area, I was shuffled through four different area offices in the state because of cut backs. Of those four, only one of them was not a good experience. The VR counselor in one of the offices definitely did not have my best interests in mind and was not willing to do anything to help me become employed. When I finally realized that this was not a beneficial situation, I did submit a request to the district manager to be transferred from there. My request was granted. This was a step in the right direction as in less than a year, I became an employed medical transcriptionist! We are very fortunate in the State of Kansas to have the Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The new center that they now have is state-of-the-art and offers excellent training. Many people are overwhelmed at what I have accomplished since my vision loss. I do let them know that the best thing I did to deal with my disability was to have gone through the program at RCBVI. When I meet new clients at RCBVI, I encourage them to take advantage of any opportunity they have and learn as much as possible while attending the center. I tell others that funding is available and necessary for RCBVI to continue. In time of cutbacks and when it is important for all people to be employed, the facility is even more essential for blind and visually impaired individuals to receive vocational training and learn life skills. I am indebted to the work of the Late Joe Perez. I thank Debbie Lingenfelter for being my transportation. And I thank the RCBVI for opening doors for me. |
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