MY EDUCATION WEEK: MICHAEL O'CONNOR (15):A second-year student in Holy Family Community School, Rathcoole. He was born with a condition called Peter's Anomaly, a degenerative eye disorder
SATURDAY
Had my piano lesson today. I don’t use Braille for music yet – I just learn the pieces on each hand by ear and then I practise, practise, practise. I’m on grade five now and it’s one of my favourite things to do. I often just play stuff that I’m listening to on my iPod at the time – Calvin Harris, Rihanna, Tinie Tempah, that sort of thing.
After that, I went to the 96FM studios to pre-record an interview for my radio slot. I usually do my show live every Wednesday, but it’s good to have that in the bag. I’ve had the show since October – I did a DJ course in Ballyfermot over the summer and I was offered the slot on the basis of that.
SUNDAY
Watched the rugby today. When I say I watch the matches, what we do is we turn on the telly, but we turn the sound off and listen to the radio commentary. It’s more descriptive, obviously enough.
I’ve always had problems with my eyes. You name it, it’s happened – cataracts, detached retinas, glaucoma, corneal transplants – that doesn’t cover much of it, but you get the idea. Right now, I can see light and most colour. I can see a little bit of detail, but the tissues on the retina are being worn down, so that will go eventually. I was nine or 10 when I started learning Braille and using it in conjunction with print. It was a just-in-case measure. We never thought my sight would deteriorate as quickly as it did.
MONDAY
I missed the first two classes because of a hospital appointment. I used to have them every week, but I only need to go every three or four weeks nowadays. You get used to it, I suppose. They told me that another operation is looking likely over the next year or two. It was okay but, you know, not the best news.
Luckily, there wasn’t any homework from the classes I missed – business studies and CSPE. I had English next. We were doing poetry and I took notes on my BrailleNote mPower – it’s like a Braille laptop. I can take notes and read them back on an embossed screen or I can listen to them – the voice sounds a bit like Stephen Hawking, but it does the job. I can get the notes printed as Braille or text. It’s pretty handy.
I need different machines depending on what class I’m in. I use the mPower as a calculator in maths, but I use an old fashioned Braille typewriter called a Perkins Brailler for my maths work. That just embosses the Braille onto paper as I type. I use that for rough work in business too.
Then I have the Braille books. They are absolutely massive – Braille isn’t compact like printed text. In school, most people have a locker. I have a base room for my machines and four full-size filing cabinets dotted throughout the school to hold all my books. Let’s just say I don’t travel light.
I'm really into drama and I had that after school. I'm doing a piece from The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole– it's good fun.
TUESDAY
I’m actually pretty wrecked this evening. Because of all the machines and processes, schoolwork takes me ages.
Today, we had a French test – not my best subject. I did it over two classes. The whole process is quite complicated. Basically, my teacher gives the test to my SNA who scans it and gets it printed into Braille. Then I do the test. I used the Perkins (that’s the typewriter) because I can lay out a letter on it, but it’s time consuming. My visiting teacher will come later in the week and she’ll translate what I’ve written to text and then my French teacher will be able to correct it.
My other classes were grand. I’m pretty good at finding my way around – a good thing since there are five different buildings and my classes are all over the place. I have a full-time SNA, but I like to make my way about myself. I trail my hand along walls and use my cane if I need it to get from place to place. It doesn’t save me from occasionally walking into a door or something, but independence is good.
WEDNESDAY
We have a half day on a Wednesday and double music. Music is one of the classes where I don’t need an SNA – I like managing by myself. When school finished, my mother collected me and we went over to the DSPCA to record a slot for my show. My mum Lorraine is great. She’s like my personal assistant. I worked on my interview questions and listened to a text file about the DSPCA on our way there. We visited the cattery and the kennels and I recorded an interview. It was actually pretty funny – they have Lyric FM on the radio in the cattery because apparently the cats prefer classical music.
To top it off, I’ve no homework to do tonight. Fantastic.
THURSDAY
At lunchtime, I made my way to the hall as usual. That can be tricky because the layout changes, but I managed not to trip over anything. I normally find a bench, any bench to sit on and then my friends come and find me. I think anyone with a disability can identify with how lucky I feel to have a couple of really loyal friends who stick with me.
Today, the student council was practising for a sort of radio station that they’re running in the school tomorrow and they were playing a load of pop songs during break time. A Justin Bieber song came on at one point. We wouldn’t be Bieber’s biggest fans – a couple of us legged it outside and held the door so nobody else could get out. It was pretty funny.
FRIDAY
PE today. At the moment, the mocks are on so we're watching a film called The Blind Sideinstead. Generally, I can do about 75 per cent of what we do in PE. I run on the treadmill or use the exercise bike if I can't take part.
It was a big blow to lose so much sight when I did. I suppose there was a bit of trauma there as well because I had a lot of eye pain at the time. I still have some, but it’s either getting better or I’m getting used to it. I take pain medication a couple of times a day, but only a fraction of what I used to need.
I ended up missing a lot of school back then and between that and getting to grips with Braille, I had to repeat fourth class. I wasn’t happy about that at all, but you just get on with it.
Looking forward to the weekend now. I might go to the cinema. They have audio description kits now – it’s quite a new development but it’s great to have. I used to be a big movie fan, so it’ll be good to get into that again.
This Week I Was . . .
WATCHING
The news and Fair City. I'm not a massive telly fan, but I like those.
READING
The Magician's Apprenticeby Trudi Canavan. It's a prequel to the Black Magician trilogy, which Ive just finished on audiobook.
LISTENING T0
Linkin Park, Jay-Z, Flo Rida and Jason Derulo on my iPod
BROWSING
YouTube – I like catching up on music and stuff like that.
