Brave student sees beyond his disability

Brave student sees beyond his disability

Pawin Piamthai has been totally blind since the age of 12, but that hasn’t stopped him getting into an elite engineering faculty.

Now hear this: Pawin Piamthai, the first blind student accepted to Chulalongkorn’s engineering faculty, performs complex mathematical equations on a calculator equipped with an audio system. (Photos by Cory Wright)
Now hear this: Pawin Piamthai, the first blind student accepted to Chulalongkorn’s engineering faculty, performs complex mathematical equations on a calculator equipped with an audio system. (Photos by Cory Wright)

Describing himself as "man of science", Pawin Piamthai refuses to succumb to his fate. In August, he will become the first blind student at one of the most selective colleges, the faculty of engineering at Chulalongkorn University.

Earlier this month, he passed all the written and oral exams to study computer engineering, which has always been his dream. He took the same test as the sighted students.

There was no special treatment involved in the selection process, with the exception that a volunteer read some of the questions for Mr Pawin to answer.

Chulalongkorn's faculty of engineering has never been known to compromise when it comes to the selection of its students.

Mr Pawin was a top student at Saint Gabriel's College and passed entrance exams for other well-known colleges. He turned them down in favour of Chulalongkorn.

“I chose Chula because I want to be a computer engineer,” he told Spectrum.

The 23-year-old student is likely to blend in easily with the crowd of other freshies. He is obviously smart and pleasant to talk to. He can travel independently, commuting around town using trains and buses.

On the day of the interview, Mr Pawin travelled from his house in Samut Sakhon to meet Spectrum at a BTS station. Earlier in the day, he had been at a science fair at Mahidol University.

With a folding cane, a MacBook laptop and a few learning devices in his backpack, the young man likes to talk about his fascination with the rules of physics and science. “Did I go into too much scientific detail?” he said several times during the interview.

But when asked if he has ever been teased for his handicap by others and how he felt, Mr Pawin paused and said, “Yes. I felt a bit annoyed. But it’s already behind me and I don’t want to dwell on the subject.”

LEARNING CURVES

His journey to Chula has been extraordinary. The faculty of engineering is not for average students. It is not common for blind students to study science and maths subjects in their high school years because they involve graphs and charts. Most blind high school students would choose to study liberal arts.

“I would like to be a programmer or researcher. I am strongly interested in the work of computers, especially artificial intelligence, machines and neural networks,” he said.

Mr Pawin was not the only blind student at Saint Gabriel’s, which has nine visually impaired students. But his choice of subjects made him work much harder than the others.

“When I study with my sighted peers, I have to listen to the teachers and I take notes in Braille to memorise. But when teachers show graphs on the board, I cannot comprehend just by listening. I have to meet teachers after class and ask them to explain the charts and graphs for me.”

Charts and graphs aside, there are more problems for him to tackle. Most of the classroom textbooks, especially for science and maths, do not have Braille versions for visually impaired students.

“We need a Braille counterpart or a volunteer to read the book for me. Usually, my mother would read it and record it so I can listen whenever I want to, rewind and fast forward.”

In addition, Mr Pawin has a modified calculator with functions for visually impaired students. “It is more capable than a normal calculator. It can solve geometry problems by inputting the number of variables,” he said.

Mr Pawin puts the calculator close to his ear and presses a number to demonstrate the black calculator's audio system.

He solves the problem of drawing graphs using a wooden frame with a wire net on top. To demonstrate, he places a piece of paper on top of it and writes the formula of methane chemical compound.

Mr Pawin used a ball-point pen to draw four Hs, representing hydrogen atoms, like the points of a compass, and one C, representing a carbon atom, at the centre. Pressure on the wire net makes bumps on the surface of the paper, which he feels to make sure he gets it right.

While drawing the edge of the diagram, he explains, “The formula of methane is that H is everything and it is connected with the C.

“I use this board along with the pen to write so I can touch the surface for my chemistry class.”

Mr Pawin learned how to use the board to overcome his visual impairment at the Bangkok School for the Blind. His parents made a cheaper version by using a wooden frame and wire net. “I have plenty of these boards at home,” he said.

LOSING HIS VISION

Mr Pawin was not totally blind at birth. He was diagnosed with glaucoma.

“The condition, I believe, makes your eye pressure go up really high and you cannot see things. The condition cannot be cured," he said.

He said when he was 14 days old, he underwent an operation to replace his corneas which gave him limited vision for 12 years. When he was 12 he underwent another eye operation, but that time it failed.

“The operation went wrong somehow and the retina detached from the optic nerve. I have been blind since then,” he said. “I was devastated. To tell you the truth, I was quite depressed. I had a period of OCD [obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms] for almost a year.

“Since I was little, I have been fascinated by computers. When I lost my sight, I thought it would be impossible for me to use a computer.”

But something renewed his hope.

TALKING COMPUTERS

“I found that I can use a computer when I was nine years old. One day, my mother brought home a computer for her work. I snuck into her room and messed around with it. I tried to do various stuff. I found it very fascinating.

“My parents knew. They supported me on this quest. They brought me many learning materials and CDs. I really got into computers.”

When he became totally blind and could not use computers any more, he was heartbroken.

But later, he learned about software called Screen Readers, a program which can read the screen aloud for the blind.

“I contacted the Thailand Association of the Blind. They were very kind to give me the information that I can use the computer again. That gave me hope.

“I thought, maybe I might be able to learn to be a programmer. It brought me back to life.”

Mr Pawin showed Spectrum a MacBook equipped with Screen Readers which allows blind users to hear a speech synthesiser read text or Braille. “I can write a document, print it and submit it to teachers like other students.”

Mr Pawin went to the Bangkok School for the Blind when he was 16 to continue his studies. After passing primary level, he studied high school at Saint Gabriel’s College.

To make up for an absence of books in Braille, especially in maths, he found volunteers to read to him. His mother, an accountant, also played a pivotal role in helping him with his homework. “I am able to get help,” he said.

Some volunteers were concerned because they could not understand the complicated scientific texts they were reading. “I told the volunteers, just read it verbatim, that’s enough for me to understand.”

He was a straight-A student, with the exception of physical education. “I did not get an A because I could not play with others. The teachers asked me to write a paper instead.”

DEGREES OF DIFFICULTY

Despite his disability, Mr Pawin said he has much to be grateful for. An only child, he said he wished he had brothers and sisters but always received encouragement from his parents and friends.

He returns regularly to the School for the Blind to mentor and inspire young students. He is also thankful to all the teachers and friends from Wat Tha Sao Primary School in Samut Sakhon, Saint Gabriel's, the National Science and Technology Development Agency for accepting him under its scholarship programme, and Chulalongkorn University for giving him the opportunity.

Asked how he has stayed motivated, he said, “I have loved science since I was a child. I am a man of science. I love to be able to discover something new, I love to read about computers, maths and physics.

"The thought of being able to continue my studies to be able to go to college has encouraged me.”

Mr Pawin plans to study to doctorate level. He hopes to explore more possibilities to use computer science to help disabled people. “Science makes things possible,” he said.

He said he wants to use his knowledge of computers to create devices to help disabled people.

Asked what he wants to be in the future, he said he may become a scientist.

“In fact, I have always wanted to be a teacher for young children.

"But I think a teacher’s salary may not be enough,” he laughed.

by the numbers: Pawin Piamthai has a range of equipment to help him with his studies, including a calculator with an audio system, an abacus and a board with which he plots and feels graphs.

It all adds up: With the help of an abacus, Mr Pawin is able to track and solve complex mathematical equations by feel.

Getting around: Mr Pawin relies on assistance from staff at the BTS stations while in transit.

Lots to like: With the help of built-in audio software, Mr Pawin is able to use apps like Facebook on his iPhone.

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