[Missouri-l] Dawn Turco is the winner of the 2009 Excellence in Rehabilitation Award

[Denny Huff]

Winnetka, IL - Dawn Turco, senior vice president of Educational Operations
for The Hadley School for the Blind, is the winner of the 2009 Excellence in

Rehabilitation Award from the Illinois Chapter of the Association for
Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER). The
award

is given annually for outstanding work and dedication to promote, develop
and improve the lives of individuals who are blind or visually impaired. 

 

George Abbott, Hadley%u2019s VP of Development, Dawn Turco, husband Tony
Ayers and sister-in-law, Cindy Ayers. 

 

Turco, who has been with Hadley for 15 years, oversees the school's
strategic initiatives, accreditation process and program development,
including the

design and delivery of approximately 100 distance education courses. 

 

"This is the first award of this type I have received during my career,"
says Turco. "Having served on the AER Nominating Committee in the past, I
know

how challenging a decision this is because the quality of candidates is
tremendous. I was especially touched by all the letters of support from
those who

nominated me. It reminds me why I undertook this work in the first place 30
years ago." 

 

Born with a congenital retinal condition that resulted in low vision,
Turco's own disability was the impetus for her going into the rehabilitation
field.

"Not only was I disabled, but our neighbors had a child with developmental
disabilities while I was growing up, and the mother was a teacher of
children

who were blind and deaf," says Turco. "I spent a lot of time watching her
and learning about her career. By the age of 10, I knew what I wanted to do
with

my life." 

 

Turco began her career in 1977 at the Missouri School for the Blind as a
teacher working with students who are visually impaired and have multiple
disabilities.

After receiving her Certificate of Advanced Educational Specialization in
Education Supervision and Administration from Boston College, she returned
to

the school as its principal for seven years and also served as interim
superintendent. Turco then became the American Foundation for the Blind's
Midwest

Regional Educational Consultant. Based in Chicago, she held the position
until joining Hadley in 1993. 

 

Turco has been a member of AER since 1984. She was instrumental in forming
the organization's Missouri Chapter, served as its president from 1984-1986

and co-chaired the North Central Regional Conference in St. Louis in 1987.
Turco also has been very active in the Illinois School for the Visually
Impaired,

where she served on the advisory board, and the Illinois Vision Leadership
Council, of which she was a member for many years. She is an officer for the

Discovery Low Vision Conference, responsible for program planning, and has
played a key role in the creation of the Families Connecting with Families
Conference.

Turco earned her B.S. in Special Education from Syracuse University and her
M.A. in Special Education from Columbia University. 

 

Looking back on her education and career, she notes that there is still a
misperception about low vision: people don't understand the condition and
are

often confused when she asks for help in reading a menu board or comments
that subtitles are moving too fast across the movie screen. "They can grasp
what

it means to be blind, but the low vision thing throws them," adds Turco, who
has magnifiers all over her house and keeps one in her purse at all times.

(She uses a monocular telescope for theater, concerts and other large
events.) 

 

Poking fun at herself, Turco, who is also color blind, shares a story about
some of the challenges she has faced with low vision. "In the 70s, we had a

Chihuahua named Taco that blended in with our avocado green shag rug. My
younger brother has low vision too, and so we used to accidentally step on
him.

Boy, did he learn to move quick!" Today, Turco and her husband have a
high-contrast, two-toned Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. "Now I don't have to
worry

about making the same mistake again!" 

 

As her work at Hadley continues to evolve, Turco loves the fact that she is
never bored. Impressed by the changes the school has undergone over the
years

to meet its mission of providing lifelong distance education to its
students, she is very proud of the impact she has had during her tenure. 

 

"It's really quite amazing to see Hadley's transformation and the incredible
changes that have taken place in the field. New technology, in particular,

has not only revolutionized the way we deliver programs and courses, but it
has helped level the playing field for those with disabilities." 

 

She adds that the development of access technologies such as screen readers
and new mobile text-to-speech devices has completely changed the way we
communicate

with those who are blind or visually impaired. "Today, there is much more
immediate access to information, education and career opportunities. That's
a

very good thing, especially since there is still a lot more work to be
done." 

 

The Hadley School for the Blind is the single largest worldwide distance
educator of blind and visually impaired people. Since its founding by
William

Hadley and Dr. E.V.L. Brown in 1920, all of Hadley's distance education
courses have been provided free of charge to blind and visually impaired
students

and their families. Today, the school serves more than 10,000 students
annually in all 50 states and 110 countries. In January 2008, Hadley
launched a

School for Professional Studies to meet the needs of professionals and
paraprofessionals actively working with the blind and visually impaired.
Hadley

relies on contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations to
fund its programs. For more information, visit: www.hadley.edu 

 

Author Information

 

Josie Whetstone

The Hadley School for the Blind

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 

 

 

 

_______________________________________________________

 

Denny Huff - President

Missouri Council of the Blind

5453 Chippewa

St. Louis, MO  63109

 

Phone: (636) 262-1383

Toll Free: (888) 362-1383

Phonecast: (816) 298-8969

FAX: (636) 629-1710

 

DHuff at MoBlind.Org

www.moblind.org

 

MCB - A GREAT PLACE TO BE!

 

The purpose of Missouri Council of the Blind shall be to promote the general
well-being of our members and legally blind people in Missouri, and to
support or participate in other programs promoting the best interests of
legally blind people everywhere.

 

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