The Real Building 113

Behind the fictional Building 113 series is a real story of blind rehabilitation, independence, and the people who help Veterans rebuild everyday skills after vision loss.

Hines VA Blind Rehabilitation Center

The Hines VA Blind Rehabilitation Center describes itself as the first and largest Blind Rehabilitation Center in the VA's nationwide health care system. Its mission includes rehabilitation, education, and research and technology, with the goal of helping visually impaired and legally blind Veterans become as independent as possible in daily life and adjust to blindness.

What Veterans Learn

The Center organizes blind rehabilitation training around five skill areas:

• Living Skills: individualized training for everyday activities such as meal preparation, cleaning, taking notes, and handling finances.
• Orientation and Mobility: learning where you are, where you are going, and how to travel there safely, including training with a long white cane or other adaptive mobility devices.
• Visual Skills: learning to use remaining vision effectively with prescribed devices.
• Manual Skills: developing nonvisual abilities including touch, organization, visualization, problem solving, and spatial awareness.
• Access Technology: learning specialized access software and technology such as computers, smartphones, and other electronic aids.

Why Building 113 Matters to Me

I am one of the Veterans helped by blind rehabilitation. This series gives me a way to tell an entertaining fictional story while also showing what rehabilitation can mean to a person whose life has changed because of vision loss.

My hope is that someone who finds Building 113 through the story may also discover the real work behind it, and see that rehabilitation, adaptation, independence, and a way forward are possible.