We first met Chris Adamson as a high school freshman and member of the Mission Bay High School track team in the spring of 2023. Adamson, who has attended Pacific Beach schools since kindergarten (Sessions Elementary and Pacific Beach Middle School), was born with Alström Syndrome and became blind by the third grade.

At age 9, he started to teach himself Unified English Braille (UEB). By middle school, he was learning Nemeth Braille, a more complex and specialized style of Braille used for science and mathematics instruction.

It was in middle school when Adamson met David Cervantes, his one-on-one aide. At the beginning of each day, Cervantes meets Adamson at school, accompanies him to his classes, makes sure that he has the correct materials for a particular class, assists with navigating the campus between classes, and at the end of the day heads to track and field practice.

Four days a week, Adamson starts his school day long before he meets Cervantes. As early as 7:45 a.m., Adamson will be working with either Shai Wolman, a teacher of students with visual impairments, or Kim Deasy, his orientation and mobility specialist. Technology has become a huge part of the building blocks for Adamson’s high school success.

Wolman is Adamson’s teacher for visually impaired and blind students. He meets with Adamson three times a week before the regular school day starts. Wolman holds a master’s degree in teaching students with visual impairments and is also certified in JAWS (Job Access With Speech). JAWS is a computer screen reader program for Microsoft Windows that allows blind and visually impaired users to read the screen either with a text-to-speech output or with a refreshable Braille display. The Mantis q40 is an example of a Braille device that contains a refreshable Braille display positioned below a standard “qwerty” keyboard.

Adamson can use the standard keyboard to take notes, write reports, and complete homework assignments. Then the Mantis q40 will translate back to Adamson the content of his report through the horizontal rows of Braille cells. In that way, Adamson can check his work for spelling, syntax, and accuracy. Adamson can then move his fingers from the Braille display back to the “qwerty” keyboard and make any corrections.

Wolman, who is blind, provides Adamson with instruction and support with various technical devices designed to enhance Adamson’s acquisition of the content of his high school curriculum. The Braille Note Touch Plus and the Chameleon 20 are two assistive devices used for note-taking, writing reports, and completing homework assignments. When these devices are paired with Bluetooth and his laptop, Adamson can access even more possibilities for engaging with his high school curriculum.

Deasy is Adamson’s orientation and mobility specialist. Meeting once a week for an hour before his school day starts, Adamson is committed to acquiring the wide range of skills to make himself as independent and self-sufficient as possible not only on the Mission Bay campus but in any environment that Adamson chooses to go.

Deasy’s goal for Adamson is to have a basic set of skills by the end of high school. As part of his mobility training, Adamson is continuing to refine the use of his cane: the proper and efficient sweeping technique to protect his body, stair travel and negotiating through doors, and the management, care, and storage of his cane.

Orientation skills are a completely different and complex set of skills necessary for Adamson to develop maximum independence.

“Orientation skills include using landmarks to know where he is, using sensory information such as his auditory, olfactory, and tactile senses to take in information about the environment, using GPS to plan and execute a route, and using apps such as OKO and Seeing AI, which are designed for people who are blind,” Deasy said.

In May, Deasy and Adamson were at Grand and Ingraham streets working on “intersection analysis.” Intersectional analysis works to train Adamson to learn which direction the cars are moving through an intersection by the change in “traffic surges.”

“Global warming is having its impact on my mobility training. The best type of intersection to understand traffic surges is when there are several Ford F-150 pickups on the road,” Adamson said. “The quieter electric cars change the pattern of the traffic surges at an intersection.”

Adamson estimates it may be another 16-18 months before he will cross a street by himself.

Additional skills to acquire in the next two years will include paratransit, public transportation, using the OKO, and seeing AI apps that are becoming more widely available. College-bound (his GPA is 3.5-plus), Adamson has already identified two colleges with strong disability programs: the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the University of Connecticut. Michigan also has a strong adapted athletics program, something Adamson is interested in.

“Chris has a superb work ethic. He understands the value of what he is learning … he is driven and motivated to work hard to gain the skills he needs to live and to maximize his independence and safety. He has the best attitude and is truly a joy to work with,” Deasy said.

Adamson has set and achieved two goals as a track and field athlete during his 10th-grade season. His one-on-one classroom aide, Cervantes, is right there beside him all the way. As a freshman, Adamson started his 100m and 200m events standing up. In his sophomore year, Adamson and Cervantes learned to get down in the blocks to start. A few false starts and some stumbles later, the results have been impressive.

Adamson’s best 100m and 200m times last (2024) season are 14.99 (14.90 windy) and 32.47 seconds, respectively. “During his second year Adamson dropped 2.5 seconds off his 100m time and 4 seconds in the 200,” said MBHS track and field coach Danny Perez.

His second goal was to compete in a field event: the shot put. Adamson’s form and positioning steadily improved during the spring season. MBHS coach Greg Farrar started working with Adamson two days a week in mid-February.

“I use auditory targeting, directional cues, and manual physical resistance drills to simulate various steps in the shot put process. Cervantes also follows my cues as he is the one who assists Adamson into the ring at meets,” Farrar said.

Adamson’s best throw this season was 16 feet 6 inches long.

“I expect Adamson to continually improve as he plans to continue throwing and training this summer. He is just getting started on this journey,” Farrar said.

Wolman spoke about the challenges that Adamson faces every day. “Respectfully, I do not think of what Adamson faces as challenges but rather as building blocks or experiences to overcome that will lead to future success and confidence in him,” Wolman said.

Adamson starts his junior year at MBHS on Monday, Aug. 12.