The Colorful Voice Of Change: See Beyond With Blind Influencer Oceanne Comtois

Social media influencer, creator and TikTok star Oceanne Comtois is not your typical girl, she is much more than that! Oceanne is albino and legally blind, causing her life experiences to be more challenging. These experiences and Oceanne’s strong opinion is what makes her account stand out. With a healthy dose of self-love and -self-confidence, she grew up to be an important voice for acceptance and tolerance. 

Blind Influencer Journey to Self-Acceptance 

Oceanne was born with a genetic condition called albinism which affects the production of melanin in her hair, skin, and eyes. As a result, she has white hair, pale skin, and her eyes are extremely sensitive to light. She has also been legally blind since birth.

It was only when Oceanne entered high school at age 14 that she became aware of her visual impairment and started to realize the difference between her and her peers. Feeling self-conscious about her blindness at the time, it was something she felt uncomfortable talking about. As Oceanne got older and her friends started learning to drive and do things independently, she felt very alone and struggled to accept this part of her identity. 

Finally, when Oceanne went away to university she had to adjust to living independently and was forced to overcome barriers at school and in the community. She started to find strength, learn more about her visual impairment, and met members of her community who made her realize she wasn’t so alone after all. 

@oceannec_

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♬ original sound – Oceanne

Blind Experiences that Educate a Community

“Blindness is a spectrum” is one of Oceanne’s most common mantras. Oceanne can see shapes and colors but struggles with details, particularly things that are small like instructions in a manual, letters in the mail, or price tags at the store. She also struggles with seeing things from a certain distance, or anything requiring depth perception. 

Oceanne is an Influencer, and on her successful TikTok account, she raises awareness of her condition by speaking out and sharing her daily struggles and success. Through her videos, she opens up about her challenges as a legally blind albino woman. For Oceanne, her followers are like a group of friends that relate to or wish to know more about her life and she takes them with her on her colorful journey. 

Through the Gift of Technology 

Disability and accessibility are often subjects that are left behind by the rest of society, for no reason, says Oceanne. Today, blindness and vision loss are not the problem, and you can achieve so much with advanced technology like the OrCam MyEye. 

For Oceanne, the OrCam MyEye has been extremely helpful, enabling her to read anything from book pages, letters, packaging at the store, and so much more.

Thankfully we live in the digital age, where we’re able to easily connect with people across the globe or subscribe to people who embody our values on social media. Being a part of a community helped Oceanne feel confident and comfortable with her visual impairment. 

That way, when she has a problem navigating a challenge, she has the strength to overcome the barrier knowing she is not alone.

The OrCam MyEye is a voice-activated device, designed for blind or visually impaired people. 

This assistive tool will help you read signs, and documents (printed and from screens), identify products and recognize people. It’s small and compact so you can take it with you anywhere you go and use it wherever and whenever you need, instead of looking for help!