Teresa sitting on couch using her iPad

Teresa Fabre is a customer receiving services from IATP as part of a state contract with the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS). She graduated in 2013 with a degree in culinary arts and had planned to make that her life long career. Upon entering the work force, she was employed at a recreational cooking school. Just five months after marrying her husband in 2019, Teresa suddenly lost her vision due to glaucoma and detached retinas. She knew after spending a month flat in bed and undergoing seven surgeries in a single year that her vision was not going to return.

Having the desire to serve and believing she could use her personal experience to empathize with and make a difference in the lives of others, Teresa is now planning to take a completely different career path. In the fall of 2021, she began attending Northern Illinois University to obtain a Master’s degree in Visual Rehabilitation Therapy.

In order to prepare for her studies, Teresa sought assistance from DRS and IATP to obtain the tools and skills she would need to be successful in her studies and career. She participated in an AT assessment with an IATP Assistive Technology Specialist to determine the appropriate technology she would need. As a result of the assessment, she was provided with a laptop computer and iPad with screen reading software from IATP’s Open-Ended Loan Program. She is currently receiving training in the use of her assistive technology in conjunction with software and applications she will need to use to complete her class work.

Teresa says that she believes deeply that life is too short and you need to live it and do something with it. She says she has always wanted to help people since she was young and give back to society. Through her own hard work and infectious positive attitude along with the appropriate tools and support from IATP made possible by IDHS/DRS, Teresa will no doubt be successful at reaching her goals and be a tremendous asset as a professional in the field of blindness rehabilitation.