A blind woman's story...

Christiane Audebert & Jazz

I was born in Gannat in 1951, on June 1st. The first years of my childhood were really happy with plenty of images I will never forget. I particularly remember my holidays at the sea side in the south west of  France with my parents where I discovered for the first time the big blue ocean, the noisy waves, the beach with such fine white sand, the coloured boats in the harbour… Today, back at the sea side, I can only imagine it based on my old memories while hearing the waves, smelling the salty wind, touching the sand or tasting the water. But I will never be able to see the fishing boats again…

When I was eight years old, my vision began to decline and ordinary school became more and more difficult. At the beginning, I could still see, but reading a book was not possible anymore and I needed to be very close to the blackboard. At that time, there was no specific help for the visually impaired, so I had to quit elementary school in 1959 to go to a specialised institution for the blind. A new way of life began for me: I learnt Braille, Music, etc. I have good memories of those years even though we were not taught things to help us in our daily lives. Before I was 18, I never went out alone outside the institution. It is the reason why I still have difficulties using my white stick. I have always had a guide dog. I had my first one in 1980 and Jazz, my current guide dog, is my number six. 

I passed my “BEPC” exam in 1966 in the specialised institution and went back to normal high school. I went to Jeanne d’Arc in Clermont-Ferrand. I wanted to become a History and Geography teacher. It would never have been possible without the strong support of my teachers and my classmates; but above all I was accompanied by a visually impaired friend who could see much better than me and I could work with a very noisy Perkins transcription machine. I became much more autonomous when I was at University. I graduated in History and Geography and Music in 1972. I have always been encouraged by my parents and my friends; their support has been so important in helping me overcome my difficulties.

By chance, I had the great opportunity to join the “CRDV” as a replacement Music teacher; I was there until I retired in 2006. I was also the Director of the school during the last ten years of my career. I worked hard to make pupils able to become autonomous and be able to integrate ordinary schools. We set up a partnership with Jeanne d’Arc high school, making use of new technologies like speech synthesis, Braille computer keyboards, machines that can read books, or magnification software. Such progress has been made since I was eight years old!

After retiring, I pursued my actions aimed at helping the integration of the visually impaired. I worked for associations like Voir ensemble and Braille et Culture, to boost access to places of cultural interest. Raising awareness of visual handicap in schools remains a vital commitment for me, as does increasing autonomy through the guide dogs association.

Working to make the lives of the visually impaired has been my lifetime commitment!

Article by Astrid MESSY