Ariel M. Bohn '07

What kind of effect has Ariel Bohn’s experience at the Perkins School for the Blind had on her? “My work at Perkins has probably changed my life,” the Brandeis University junior says. “I expect to go into this field — teaching infants and toddlers who are blind or deafblind.”

Bohn, a psychology major and education studies minor, worked eight hours a week at the Perkins School through Brandeis’s Experiential Learning Program. Although her spring 2005 internship ended nearly a year ago, she continues to volunteer at the Watertown-based school that once counted Helen Keller among its students. Marya Levenson, the director of the Education Program at Brandeis, supervised Bohn’s internship at Perkins.

“I have learned so much from the experience at Perkins,” Bohn says. “The lead teachers treat me as an equal and have given me the constructive criticism to really learn how to become an effective teacher.”

Bohn works with children ages 8 months to 3 years who participate in a weekly early intervention program at Perkins. Bohn’s kids generally have low vision and function at a variety of levels.

“I just love watching the children I work with accomplish the goals we set for them,” says Bohn, who hails from Arlington, Mass. “It’s great knowing that every little accomplishment is a huge milestone for these children. I love working with this population.”

The rewards — both professionally and personally — are great. Bohn was instrumental in helping one of her students, a little girl who had low vision and paralysis on her left side, take her first steps.

“We first started working on helping her to sit unassisted, and she did that,” Bohn remembers. “Soon after learning to sit, we were working on helping her to walk. When she finally did it, she had this big smile and look of great accomplishment on her face. She came into my arms and hugged me. It was an amazing moment!”

Bohn understands working with the disabled is not for everyone. The job requires patience and compassion. The progress of her students is frequently slow.

“I always have felt for those who don’t have the luxuries I have,” Bohn says. “Its great to be able to help somebody take steps for a better future, particularly kids. To know that their future can be better with your help is a great feeling.”

Her time at Perkins offers Bohn a welcome respite from the intensity of life at Brandeis.

“It’s great to be in the world and not locked in the college bubble,” she says. “I could have had the worst day, but the minute I walk into Perkins everything gets better.”

During the current semester, Bohn is again spending time off campus on an internship. She is working in the Special Education Department at the Arlington Public Schools observing special-needs children who will enter the system as kindergartners next year.

After graduation from Brandeis, Bohn is considering pursuing a master’s degree in special education with a focus on children with multiple disabilities.