Don’t Limit the Disabled, Blind Man Says : Pursues Counseling Certificate to Help Families With Handicapped

Ken Volonte can point to himself when he says people shouldn’t automatically assume the disabled can’t do much.

The Stockton resident has been blind since birth, but he holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees and is doing an internship with Stanislaus County Family Planning so he can get a certificate in marriage, family and child counseling.

Volonte, 33, gets a ride to Modesto for his twice-a-week intern duties. If he works late, he walks with his Labrador guide dog, Alex, to the Greyhound terminal and takes a bus the 30 miles back home.

He used to sky dive until he got a stiff ankle, not from a bad jump but from getting hit by a car while walking along a street.

Asked in an interview if he wasn’t scared not knowing when he would hit the ground, Volonte said:

“Sometimes it’s better not knowing.”

Then, he admitted that his instructor warned him by walkie-talkie how close he was to the ground.

Volonte also acts as an advocate for blind people as president of a six-member National Federation of the Blind chapter in Stockton and in lobbying legislators and congressmen.

He currently is seeking repeal of a $550 limit on the amount blind people can earn each month before they become ineligible for disability payments.

A resolution he helped push to make apartment owners with no-pet policies accept owners of Guide Dogs for the Blind now is state law.

Throughout his activities, Volonte stresses one point: “Don’t make assumptions about what people with disabilities can do.”

He said he knows of blind pediatricians and psychologists and even a blind welder.

“I couldn’t do it, but I won’t say he can’t,” Volonte said. “I made that mistake once, recommended against a woodworking class for a non-sighted classmate. I’ve never forgiven myself for that.”

Volonte tries to follow his philosophy of not making assumptions as he counsels young parents.

“As a counselor, I am open to all options people want to explore,” Volonte says. “I have no vested interests.”

Volonte, who is married and has stepchildren ages 12 and 13, wants to open a family counseling practice in Stockton after completing his internship. He would concentrate on helping families in their daily dealings with disabled relatives.

“There’s lots of family tension when one develops a handicap,” Volonte explained. “Nobody likes to talk about it.

“Even my family doesn’t know as much about me as it should.”