Feature Writer John Christie – Hadley Has a Wide Variety of Courses for the Blind and Visually Impaired To Take Advantage Of
Hadley is a distance education institution which was founded in 1920 by William Hadley and Dr. E.V.L. Brown. Hadley’s first student was from Kansas. She took a course on learning Braille. Now, Hadley has an enrollment of 10,000 students from all 50 states and 100 countries.
Hadley offers four main areas of study. They include adult continuing education, family education, Hadley School for Professional studies and their High School program. Their adult continuing education courses or (ACE) include Braille and academic studies as well as independent living and technology courses. Other courses that are offered in this category include business and employment skills as well as recreation. Family members related to the blind person are also eligible to take these courses.
Family education is another category that Hadley specializes in. Courses which the severely visually impaired person and their families can take include child development, independent living, and Braille reading and writing to adjustment to blindness issues. Family education is really helpful to the newly blind.
Hadley School for Professional Studies is a unique Distance Education Program for professionals who want to work with the blind and visually impaired. HSPS for short is a great program for busy professionals who want to either want to work in the blindness field or volunteer in the field. In addition, you can also earn continuing education credits. Students who are enrolled in a college program or university program may apply as well.
If you are 14 or older, Hadley has a high School program. You can either take a full high school curriculum through Hadley or take courses and transfer credits from Hadley to your local high school.
Hadley also has a variety of web courses. Many of these courses emphasize using the computer.
In September 2011, Hadley launched a new program called Forsythe Center for Entrepreneurship. The objective of this program is to help people launch and grow their own businesses or advance in their careers. The goal of this program is to assist in making a dent in the 70 to 80 percent unemployment rate for the blind.
Hadley has some great course offerings for the blind and professionals going into the blindness field. Hopefully, people will continue to take advantage of these offerings and improve the quality of their lives.