Fresh start at education for blind Aloha man

Online education program allows Sydney Crouch, who is legally blind, to keep pace with other college students

By Christina Lent

The Beaverton Valley Times, Jan 14, 2010

Jon House / Times Newspapers

Sydney Crouch.

Sydney Crouch is no longer stuck between two worlds when it comes to his education.

With new technologies for the visually impaired and the onset of reputable online education programs, the 44-year-old Aloha man is on his way to earning his bachelor’s degree through Ashford University.

“Online higher education equals the playing field among all students, regardless of whether or not they have a disability,” said Crouch, who is legally blind. “Nobody has an advantage... or a disadvantage.”

Crouch does all of his class work online from reading material, completing assignments and communicating with his instructor to participating in discussions with others enrolled in his five-week courses.

He spends three to four hours a day sitting in front of his high-tech computer, which has ZoomText software allowing him to magnify text 20 times bigger on its 36-inch monitor, or select an option to have the computer read the text aloud.

“It’s very independent, but I also have the advantage of learning from the 30 other people in my class who are looking at the same material,” he said of the program. “It broadens my perspective because I can see the topics of discussion through several people’s eyes, and we all have equal access.

“It’s intensely focused study, but it gives you a quick sense of accomplishment if you hang in there and complete the course.”

For the first time in his life, Crouch is experiencing what it is like to be at the top of his class. “It feels really good,” he said. “I have to work harder.

“I don’t take it for granted that I can learn. I take my education seriously. It’s a privilege to be able to study.”

Hard lessons

Crouch was born with congenital nystagmus or tremors of the eye caused when the optic nerve does not fully develop. What others can see from 200 feet away, he can see at 20 feet. What they can see at 20 inches, Crouch sees only when it is an inch away.

He does not read Braille and reading print in a book is impossible without the aid of technology that allows him to scan text and magnify it.

As a young boy growing up in Texas, Crouch remembers struggling in school.

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