Christopher Butler executive director of INSIGHT, a nonprofit organization that provides programs and services for Rhode Islanders who are blind and visually impaired based in Warwick, recently received the 2015 Distinguished Service Award from the New England Chapter of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (NE AER) at their annual conference.

Butler, who has been the Executive Director of INSIGHT since 2006, was recognized for his efforts over the past ten years to build summer programs for blind and visually impaired kids and teens in collaboration with other local agencies. The INSIGHT summer youth program provides two weeks of intensive training that focuses on building skills in areas such as orientation, mobility, independent living, social, and interpersonal skills.

Among those supporting Butler’s nomination for the award were Heather Hargis, whose son has participated in the INSIGHT summer program. She wrote, “Mr. Butler has provided an opportunity for children with visual impairments to try new and exciting ventures.  He has offered my son and others like him, the opportunity to explore all the things he can do instead of focusing on all he can’t or shouldn’t because of his vision loss.  In doing this, Mr. Butler, along with the O&M teachers from the Sherlock Center, have taught me and my family that there is so much more out there that we can do together and our choices for activities do not have to be limited by our misconceptions of the what vision loss means to someone.”

 Spencer L., a twelve-year-old participant wrote, “Mr. Butler organized many chances for kids to learn different skills that are important for us to have in life.  We were learning things but didn’t know we were learning at the time because he made sure to find ways of putting it together where we just thought we were having fun. The On the Move Camp has allowed me to make new friends while practicing my mobility skills in different places.  Without Mr. Butler I wouldn’t know that I could enjoy different things I never had the chance to try before and probably would not have wanted to, like a nature walk, and be safe, or how to shop for items and compare prices to make sure I found the one on sale.  He even made us make our own lunches, which my family usually does for me.”

The mission of AER is to support professionals who provide education and rehabilitation services to people with visual impairments. The vision of AER is to be recognized as the leading authority in providing the necessary services and tools to help educators and rehabilitation personnel in serving the blind and visually impaired. The New England Chapter includes professionals from all five New England states as well as two Canadian provinces.

The mission of INSIGHT is to inspire confidence, build skills and empower people who are blind and visually impaired to become fully integrated, equally valued members of society by providing diverse services that produce opportunities and choices.