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Wednesday, July 30, 2003

By Sarah Zablotsky, Tri-State Sports & News Service

Put your whole body in," volunteer dance instructor Leslie Istvan calls out to her group as members dance in a circle to the Hokey Pokey.

	Kori Colussy, second from right, a student at Fort Cherry High School, helps visually impaired students during a dance program. Colussy is one of numerous volunteers from the South and West suburbs who volunteer their time helping out with activities run by Pittsburgh Vision Services in Bridgeville. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette)

Istvan, 26, of Mt. Lebanon is one of many volunteers from the South and West suburbs helping teen students at Pittsburgh Vision Services in Bridgeville prepare for a dance -- and for life.

During the summer, the nonprofit organization holds programs in a three-story building on Station Street for visually impaired teens, some of whom also have developmental or neurological disabilities.

The summer programs teach students how to interact with the community and function independently while providing a place where they can gather with peers who have similar impairments.

Although agency instructors implement the instructional programs, teenage volunteers act as sighted guides in helping with activities, especially those in the evening and on weekends.

Summer classes incorporate group activities such as field trips to Kennywood and Laurel Hill State Park, craft evenings and specialized computer training, said Eileen Bender, an instructor at Vision Services for 23 years.

Besides appreciating their own good fortune, students who volunteer often grasp a greater understanding of what a lonely experience having a disability can be.

"They just want somebody to talk to," said Eric Barbarita, a senior at Upper St. Clair, who learned about the program from a friend and is volunteering for his second consecutive summer.

Katie Terpack, a Chartiers Valley junior, said she didn't know the Bridgeville center existed before she attended a school assembly that featured community service opportunities in the area.

"I thought, maybe I could help someone and make a difference," she said. This is the second summer she has volunteered for about four hours a week.

Summer programs are designed to meet the individual needs of each student, whose skill levels vary.

The Career and Community Adjustment Program allows visually impaired students in high school to explore their vocational future through computer training and hands-on projects.

The Pre-College Preparation Program teaches students the use of computer software and the basics of dormitory life, when all young adults must adjust to the difficulties of living independently for the first time.

Volunteers empathized with vision-impaired students, saying that, with or without sight, teens are just teens.

"All they really want is just to open up and talk to somebody, just like anyone else," said Leah Caputo, a Keystone Oaks junior.

The social and emotional impact of blindness is a key aspect the center tries to address through its programs, Bender said

Students can develop self-confidence and select a direction that will allow them to become independent and happy within the community, she said.

By stressing daily living skills such as orientation, mobility and various communication skills, instructors try to teach the teens how to deal effectively with varying attitudes of families, prospective employers and the public, Bender said.