Daily Herald
August 6, 2004

"Blind mother sees success"

Lehi woman raises child, graduates from high school and gets ready for UVSC in spite of 
xtremely poor vision

At 24, Rebecca Malone felt a little abashed walking across a stage in Illinois to accept 
her high school diploma.

"I mean, I was 24 and graduating high school - it was a little embarrassing," she said. 
"But oh well, it feels like I really earned it rather than just taking a test."

At the same time, the event marked the culmination of two years of work - made even more 
intense by the fact that Malone is blind. At 15, Malone, who now lives in Lehi, had dropped 
out of her Michigan high school because she felt teachers didn't adequately accommodate her 
blindness. 

Earning the degree nine years later was the result of hard study and late nights, and doing 
the work of three years of high school work in two years.

Malone was born with optic atrophy, or damage to the optic nerve, and has 20/400 vision. 
She can see a little bit, but can't read small print or see long distances. She is unable 
to drive.

But the challenges have not kept Malone from graduating, having a daughter, and now 
attending Utah Valley State College starting at the end of this month.

Malone took correspondence classes through the Illinois-based Hadley School for the Blind 
to earn her high school diploma. She listened to books and took tests, all with the use of 
cassette tapes, and then would send in her reports and tests to the school. Now Malone 
feels ready to attend UVSC. She has not decided on a major, but is considering studying 
social work or education.

Malone balances her school work with the demands of caring for her 6-year-old daughter, 
Hannah, who is just starting to learn that her mom is different than other moms, Malone 
said. Still living with her parents, Malone gets help with the rambunctious Hannah, who 
likes to hide behind trees and call her mother's name.

"She has finally realized she can hide from me," she said. "But she has grown up with it 
and is used to it."

The one obstacle is that Malone has to constantly face is how people not used to blindness 
treat her. When Malone talks with someone face to face, she looks above the other person's 
head. Often people look over their shoulders and to the ceiling to see what Malone is 
looking at, and this bothers her."

"They look up to see if something is wrong with their hair. They just don't get it," she 
said. "It kind of bothers me because then people can be really rude. I would never ask 
someone, 'What is wrong with you?'"

Her lack of vision is the only impairment that makes her different from a person with sight,
 Malone said.

"Many schools are not trained to teach the blind and discount lack of vision as an 
insurmountable disability," said Holly Goldin, spokeswoman for The Hadley School for the Blind. 
"On the other hand, the Illinois-based specialty school is well-equipped to deal with the blind
and their families," said Goldin. 

Goldin was able to meet Malone for the first time when the school flew Malone out for her 
graduation in Winnetka, Ill., in June. "It was neat to watch Malone's excitement at meeting 
other graduates and her instructors for the first time," Goldin said.


"This is a big deal for many of them because this is years and years coming, and we should 
make a big deal about it," she said. "It is a really special occasion. And she seemed like 
a great person who is very ready to move on with her life."

And Malone did not have to worry about the cost of her education for the last two years 
because Hadley is free and runs off private donations.

For more information on The Hadley School for the Blind, visit www.hadley.edu or call 
1-800-323-4238.