Condition: Albinism

Roger Price [email protected] 214-288-9000

Date of Birth: 11-13-1943

Condition: Albinism

Roger Price has classic Albinism: myopic and photophobic. Symptoms and conditions of his condition consist of fair skin (requires sun avoidance and sunscreen) and sunshades. He experiences frequent eye fatigue which is primarily light related and he also suffers eye strain from reading. He has never undergone any eye surgery, but has frequent skin treatments by dermatologists. His degree of vision impairment is 20/240

OU but, great interference from light. Roger uses glasses for cosmetics and light protection and a 5x hand-held magnifier as a visual aide.

In the first grade, Roger lived on a farm in north rural Houston, so there were no

VI services, not even large print books. Considering this, by the second grade his parents sold their dairy farm and moved into mid-town Houston for him to attend 'Sight Saving

Classes'. He had no optical aids, except sunshades so; he used large print books, large print typewriters, and manila green-lined, wide-space paper. By the time Roger entered junior and senior high, there were VI resource classes available. As a student, he faced many peer issues in junior high but the issues got better in high school. He developed a good sense of self-acceptance and found that good humor helped tremendously. His first glasses that enabled him to read regular text came in the 10th grade with the Feinbloom magnifying lens embedded in a standard glasses frame. Those glasses in 1960 were $250 paid for by the Lions Club. He experienced many issues with the chalkboard. Considering that Roger attended school in the 1950s and early 60s it was a different climate in terms of optical aids and attitudes. Roger did not attend Orientation and

Mobility. Following high school, Roger received college support from the Texas

Commission for the Blind. Through it all, his parents were infinitely supportive.

As for his mobility skills, he goes anywhere he wants (NY City, subways, etc...... ) but admits that driving has been a hassle. In Houston, he took advantage of

Metro Lift par transit, but has found that in the DFW MetroPlex, transportation is not so easy. Though Mr. Price has had a successful career (teacher, Principal, Superintendent), some jobs have been forfeited due to his poor vision. The primary reason for forfeit has been mobility (not being able to drive).

At the end of the interview, he offered advice “There are special adjustments to life issues from just being different, but on the whole, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL! Really!”

He has many stories from society, both positive and negative but feels “if you give out positive messages, you get positive feedback.”

Completed by:

Luci Pool Amy Hansen Deborah Bruening Cori McGehee