What is CATIS?

I have been involved in assistive technology for more than 30 years as both a user, trainer, consultant, and advocate and as a career goal I couldn't think of anything different for me.

My first experience with assistive technology was when my high school electronics teacher brought in the talking clock from Radio Shack that he bought for his Father in-law. I wasn't blind yet but after I did become blind a few years later, I knew this was my first piece of assistive technology I needed.

Back then in 1994, Radio Shack was a great place for buying talking products.

A few years later that is where I went to buy my first mobile phone. It wasn't talking or anything yet but the buttons were spaced out enough that it was easy to dial numbers, I had memorized the buttons to change ring tones and the phone had a larger battery I could attach on the back of the phone.

The guy at Radio Shack helped me pick out a phone and suggested the extra larger battery. He said there is one more thing though with this phone purchase. He will teach me how to use it but before I can take it, I have to show him how to use it. He wanted to make sure that I could teach him the things he taught me. That is just how the employees where at Radio Shack.

I looked into career options as a totally blind person, did lots of career interest surveys etc.. The thing I kept coming back to was teaching the assistive technology I have come to love in the last few years. Looking back, working with computers and other technology and tools always sort of came easy to me. I think that was part due to my Dad who was an instructor for Xerox and was also a repair tech for them. There were just some things that made sense to me with how they worked.

I had been watching computer related shows on PBS before I ever got a computer. My first computer was from Radio Shack, years before I became blind but I am the one who taught myself how to use it, save data to cassette tape with the cable that connected the two devices and along with the tv shows there were at the time I learned more and I had a computer magazine subscription too.I remember entering the coding for a basic program that would take in the input of my vocabulary words at school, sort i them, put them in alphabetical order and then I would print them.

I was one of the first kids in my school who was printing his homework on a computer printer.

That early start encouraged me to keep on doing things like that. I would make seek and find puzzles for teachers and get extra credit for my work. I worked at a catalog showroom were I asked the store manager about this part of the software we don't use and when he didn't know why, I told him I was going to take a look. I discovered a part of our network 1that would let people at our location check the inventory at another location. We could place pickup orders or even put things on hold which gave them time to get to the other store during holidays. They were bringing people from other stores for meetings at our store so I could teach them. 

It just works out that way for me, I teach what I learn.

From teaching that Radio Shack employee how to use the phone that I had just learned to use, to being in a blind rehab program in 1997 and teaching other students at that program plus teaching basic computer use as someone forgot that would be good to teach to some people, to helping other students at a community college and even a few instructors, its what I do.

The other thing I did not want as I am 53 years old is to start college without anything close to a degree and spend the next 4 years or more trying to get my bachelor's degree.

I found the CATIS program at WSB learned about their certifications and found a training program that not only teaches you what you need to know but also teaches you how to teach.

The place is 

World Services For The blind

https://www.wsblind.org/accessibilityprofessional

I can learn what I need to get my certification i1n 18 months. Their programs have an 85% placement rate. I love that one of the things I'll be doing as part of this program is meeting with other students in the program but also my instructors to discuss different teaching methods for people who like me, learn in a different way. I love the idea of discussing how and what I'm teaching others and other ways to do that.

Once certified I do have to maintain a record of ongoing learning in order to stay certified. I like that as things are changing all of the time, this requirement keeps me active in learning new things and always learning of new technology that can help people.

Currently WSB, World Services for the Blind in Arkansas is the only place certified to teach the CATIS certification.

Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialist for Individuals with Visual Impairments 

With the certification and ongoing certification I will be qualified to teach at any state K-12 school program, college, university or state program or private training program. This is nationwide and not limited to just one program or location.

I will be able to travel to where I am needed and help people learn how to use assistive technology.

This program involves me training on and learning from about 1500 hours of material and experience. That is all documented and actually gets verified when I go to sit for my certification test.

Its everything I have wanted and done on this journey of mine. It is what I enjoy and its not only what I want to do, its what I desire to do.

Before I am ready to start this 18 month intense program I need to get current on my blind skills with a program that is supposed to start in February 2026 here in North Carolina.

Things like Orientation and mobility, Jaws training, cooking and other daily living skills, braille etc.. They should be able to do that with a 15 week on campus program. Then I'll be working with my vocational counselor about getting sponsorship for this one of a kind training at WSB in Arkansas. I prefer being in person and on campus for that program too as there is so much more to in person learning. Also I think in person training for that would also be better for me as someone who uses hearing aids. There have been times in almost the past year of using the hearing aids, that things are more clear when not using Zoom. That is with some very good over the counter hearing aids.