Giselle J. is determined to help people with visual impairments. She knows she has much to offer, because she has been through her own challenging journey with vision loss and wants to share her lived knowledge, including expertise with assistive technology. Giselle also has tremendous energy. She is on track to receive her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Rehabilitation Services program at Cal State LA, has a job reviewing websites for ADA compliance, has just started volunteering at Braille Institute’s technology center, and cooks dinner most nights for her husband and two grown children.
Born with congenital bilateral glaucoma, Giselle had surgery to preserve her eyesight when she was only one week old, but was considered legally blind by the time she could talk. When she was 17, she had her first child, a daughter, and dropped out of high school—later graduating by passing the GED exam. By the time her daughter was old enough to start school, Giselle had lost all vision in one of her eyes, but she was determined not to languish. In 2008, she was hired by the Los Angeles Unified School District as a special education assistant, working for nine years in several elementary schools. She briefly visited Braille Institute in 2010 when her vision worsened, but in 2017, at age 39, the pressure in her good eye spiked, medications did not work, and she lost her remaining vision.
“After that, I lost my job and benefits for my family,” she says. “I told myself, ‘I can either roll over and play dead or grow with this new life.’ I decided to grow. I am the pillar of my family. I went back to Braille Institute to see if they could help. It was the best decision of my life. Braille Institute has been incredibly helpful in my growth.”
Over one year, Giselle took assistive technology classes, learned to use a white cane, attended support groups, and learned about other organizations that could provide additional support. “I took in everything and ran with it,” she says. “Braille Institute taught me how to walk again, how to read again, and how to live again.” After spending a year in a residency program, learning more skills, Giselle returned to Braile Institute in 2019 and then enrolled in Los Angeles City College, earning an associate’s teaching certificate and associate degrees in Psychology and Behavioral and Social Science in 2024.
At that time, she planned to either return to school or get a job. She ended up doing both. Giselle is also volunteering in Braille Institute’s Connection Pointe technology center as part of her degree requirements, to give back, and because she is skilled at using assistive technology.
“I love technology,” Giselle says. “I know how to use screen readers and how to use the VoiceOver function on iPhones and TalkBack on Android devices. I’ve trained new employees at my job. Without technology, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do.”
“I want to be an example to people who are losing their vision,” she says. “Everything is possible. Maybe we’ll do things differently, but we can do it.”
