Whew, it’s been a while since I’ve posted! But don’t worry, I’m back. I’ve just been super busy at work….

…because yes, I work! I went to college and got all edumicatedand everything. As I’ve started to reach out to my shifty-eyed community, I’ve learned that one of parents’ biggest concerns is whether or not their child with nystagmus will be able to work in a normal environment. Which shocked me, because it was something I had never even thought about. Of course I would work, how else do you live?

So, as a person with low vision, what do I do?

I’m a book editor! Yep. I read and edit manuscripts and turn them into books. I also manage the production process, which means I work with the designers who make it pretty, work with the printers who will make lots of them, and various other small jobs that you never think about, but need to be done to turn a manuscript into a genuine, beautiful, readable book.

It’s important to remember that people with low vision (or no vision at all for that matter) certainly enjoy reading just like everybody else. I was an avid reader as a child. For a few years, my bedroom was in our family’s library. I slept surrounded by hundreds of books collected over many many years (some date back to the late 19th century). Literally, anytime I wanted I could reach out and pull a book off the shelves. I began Milton’s Paradise Lost this way when I was about 10.  I can still smell the pages; books are very comforting to me.

Now obviously, my nystagmus is not so bad that I cannot read regular print books. Many shifty-eyed people out there may need a little help. However, there are a great many resources for low vision readers, and millions of books are produced in Braille every year. if you have a child with nystagmus (or if you have nystagmus) encourage them to read! Reading is so important to the development of any child.

And though some careers will not be available to people with nystagmus (i.e. the military) most careers are wide open to those who have the dedication and confidence to pursue them.

To my shifty-eyed friends, what do you do for a living?

xoxo

Jo