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groups/public/documents/PublicWebsite/public_parentypstoriesra.hcsp

Growing up: Rachael Anne's story - Parents' Place

Summary: Rachael Anne tells her story of growing up with a sight problem and the challenges she faced.

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Early life

I started life in a small town called Rotherham in South Yorkshire. Back in the late 1980s, there was very little support for disabled parents and their children, especially in that sort of town. My father was between jobs and my mother had four children to look after, however, that didn't stop her; nothing could ever get in her way!

My eye condition - bilateral congenital cataracts

I was diagnosed with bilateral congenital cataracts at an early age. The condition runs in my family and I am part of the third generation to have it.

I am the second youngest of four children in my family. My mother and two brothers have this condition, but my older sister didn't develop an eye condition and is fully sighted.

Going to school

When I was 3 years old I attended Newman Specialist school, which children with all kinds of disabilities attended. My parents were keen for me to enrol in a specialist school full time. They fought and won a two year battle to get me a place at Tapton Mount School in Sheffield.

While my two brothers attended the local mainstream school in Rotherham, I attended Tapton Mount. The journey took one and a half hours, and I would travel to and from school every day until I was in my second year.

Settling in

Tapton Mount was a residential school and many of the students stayed overnight during the week. Although I stayed for only two nights a week, I found it hard to adapt to being away from my parents for the first time - as any six year old would. After all, they had set the home routine and this was what I was used to.

However, my first night at school was one I would never forget: it was tipping it down outside, and the faulty fire alarm kept us going all night and right through to the next day - such fun and excitement!

Christmas and Nativity plays

I remember very fondly the Nativity plays we would put on every Christmas. The first year I was there, I had the roll of the Angel Gabriel. I enjoyed this tremendously; however my opening solo would never be forgotten, as my dad would remind me of it in later years to embarrass me.

Every Christmas, my parents would come to see the nativity play and for the raffle afterwards. My mum would crochet a blanket and donate this as a prize. I remember the Christmas she decided to venture into making scarves; the one she made me wouldn't stop growing. I think it is around 3 metres but it keeps me warm in the winter all the same.

Going to a mainstream school

When Tapton Mount was forced to close, due to lack of funding, many of my friends moved to other residential schools, and the nine remaining students at Tapton Mount moved to Hallam, the local primary school.

We had been attending this school for one day a week the year before, and I had already made friends. I found that being in a mainstream school was totally different to a specialist school; I didn't feel so intimidated, and in fact almost felt normal.

Musical talents

It was at Hallam that I started venturing a little deeper into my musical talents. I joined the school choir and started having flute lessons. What a joyful Christmas it was when I received my first flute!

Moving again - a new school

In 1996 we moved to Hampshire as my parents wanted to train to be rehabilitation officers.

Having spent a year teaching my friends how I worked differently to them, I was confident that I could do this again. I had some members of my class helping me to copy things from the whiteboard and reading handwriting and small print. I carried on singing in the school choir and managed to learn everything by ear.

Learning to type

One thing that I'd always struggled with was handwriting; I dreaded my teachers reading my written work because my handwriting was so poor. Thankfully, the school had a special needs centre where I learned new writing techniques and touch typing. I now have clearer handwriting, though there is still room for improvement, and a touch typing speed of 70 words per minute.

Getting an award

The reward for not missing a day of school was the day my teacher, Mrs Cope, sent a letter to my parents to tell them that I would be receiving an Endeavour award at the end of year assembly. It was such a motivating day for me to leave primary school that day knowing I was the only person in our class chosen for this special award.

Making friends

In September of 1997, I moved up in the big world and started secondary school. This was only for three months as we were moving up to Yorkshire again. But in that short time I was able forge a friendship with a girl two years older than me.

Claire was the most immature 14-year-old I had ever come across and she was always getting me into trouble. It was the most trouble I'd ever been in and I can honestly say it felt good to rebel. I look back on this now and think it was maybe the worst thing I ever did.

Moving - a difficult experience

I can only describe my moving experiences as difficult. I don't have the best packing abilities and my reluctance to move again was quite immense.

Going to secondary school

When we moved back up to Yorkshire, I enrolled at my new school in Huddersfield, known then as Moor End High School. The building seemed to go on for ever. I remember having a lot of issues with getting lost and trying to find the right classroom. Having a full class of students laugh at you for turning up to the wrong place isn't exactly motivating, but that problem soon subsided as I started to make friends.

As far as my sight was concerned, it stayed more or less the same throughout all my school life. I had enough sight to do most normal things. I was still bullied but I never used to let it get to me.

Becoming more independent

When we moved up to Huddersfield, my mum had just got her first Guide Dog. This gave me a new prospect of independence.

I saw my mum venture into new territories, especially as she had to travel to Leeds and back every day by herself. That gave me motivation to try and be a little more independent myself; doing my own washing and ironing, cleaning and being a little more organised. Well, that lasted the whole of a week, as you can imagine of a 12 year old!

Finishing school

I carried on at Moor End and finished with 2 GCSEs at C and above, grade 2 in flute and a GNVQ in ICT.

I had also started to learn how to play the clarinet and taught myself how to play the violin. I added these talents to the ones I already had and decided that I was a miniature walking orchestra!

Royal National College for the Blind

I carried on my education at RNC, Hereford, which is a residential college for visually impaired students. Being away from home full time was exciting for me as I wanted to learn how to be independent and learn things for myself.

Life away from home

I truly enjoyed living and learning for the first time. I did find it hard living away from home, however I was always in touch with my parents and they supported me the whole way. I walked away with a BTEC first Diploma and BTEC National in Performing Arts, both distinctions, plus another GCSE at grade C.

Another sight loss

Unfortunately, two months into my course at RNC, I lost a substantial amount of sight, leaving me with tunnel vision in one eye and no sight in the other.

I was worried at first at how this would affect my level of learning, mobility and living skills, however, with the help of a good rehabilitation officer and a few injuries I managed to find a way of doing everything for myself.

Life after college

After college, I moved up to Edinburgh to live with my then fiancé. This was a great experience for me; managing finances, keeping up with the cleaning and making sure we were generally OK was tough but I loved every bit of independence I was given.

In the end, we split up, and I moved back down to Birmingham to live with my parents again. I had a few job interviews and accepted a job at RNIB.

Working life

Volunteering on the RNIB Vacation Scheme

After only three weeks on the job, I was away as a volunteer on a Vacation Scheme. I'd thrown myself into the deep end and was swimming confidently. My line manager, Rachel, was so proud of the things I'd done on the scheme. We work closely together and are very good friends.

Conclusions

So here I am a year after finishing college. I am working as a trainee FSO. I love my job. It has given me the confidence and motivation to want to do things I've never done before and do them to the end. I'm studying one day a week at Matthew Bolton College, doing a City & Guilds award in Preparing to Teach.

I think that even when life is tough, anything is possible and you should never give up. After all, I didn't - and it's paid off.