Case Study Noah

by :Makena Roe

Case Study

            Noah was born a typical healthy baby on November 14, 1987 in Muscat, Oman.  At 7 months old Noah went blind. His parents say they noticed him running into objects. As a child he visited several doctors that could not explain why exactly he went blind. They say it could be genetic but typically he would have been blind from birth if that was the case. Noah’s oldest sister is also blind since she was three months old. Her blindness differs from Noah because she can see colors and has uncontrolled eye movements. Noah on the other hand can only see light or dark.

            Noah is one of four children; he has two older sisters and one younger sister. His dad used to work at the ministry of housing and his mom was a housewife. All of Noah’s family is still back in Oman. Thanks to a scholarship Noah was able to attend school at Saudi Bahraini Institute for the Blind in Bahrain. After ten years in Bahrain, Noah moved to Saudi Arabia finish high school. While there he worked Nattiq Technologies, a company that manufactures adaptive equipment for the blind. He worked as a salesman and in technical support.

            In 2009 Noah wanted to come to the United States to attend college and achieve his dream of getting a degree in computer science. Noah moved to the U.S. only speaking Arabic, alone and being totally blind. He moved to Arkansas learned English and attended college. Due to a lack of resources Noah transferred schools in 2010 to Colorado State University. Noah is the first blind student to come from Oman and also the only one of his siblings to attend college. Currently Noah is still attending CSU as a sophomore studying Computer Science. 

            Noah strives to be independent and this is achieved through a lot of adaptive equipment. He is a lover of gages and computer equipment; this can best be seen when looking at his devices. Noah has two computers that are screen readers and will verbalize the written document out loud. Also Noah uses a small computer that can turn text files into brail. He has a calculator, watch, phone, microwave, coffeemaker, liquid detector, timer and scale that all talk. There is a piece of equipment called a Penfriend, it can scan barcodes to identify an object then makes a brail label or records his voice so that later he can identify what that object is. This is used mostly for labeling objects in the kitchen such was spices.  A color identifier is used to make brail labels which then Noah has sewn on his clothes so he can match his outfits. One major adaptive piece of equipment Noah uses is his iphone. Through his phone he can download apps which assist him in daily living. Currently, Noah 80 apps on his iphone including a money reader, bill scanner, and barcode scanner. Noah has an extensive collection of adaptive equipment but each one is helping him be more independent. He recently has got a guide dog as well.

            Through Adaptive Recreation Opportunities Noah has tried many activities for the first time. This past year he has learned to water-ski, alpine ski, rock climb, and swim. He wants to experience everything he can including driving a car! In the coming years Noah hopes to get his diploma and return home to open a technical school for the blind.  Also he wants people at home to understand how useful guide dogs can be for the blind instead of just seeing them as a dirty animal.