Her elementary school classmates may remember Natalie Barrett as that girl in the front row always squinting to see the blackboard.

At Kaimuki High School, they knew her as that "special needs" student who got tests with extra-large print. If she was lucky, maybe a kind teacher would let her hang out in their classroom during recess and lunch. Better to sit alone in an empty classroom, after all, than face all that teasing.

But who would recognize Natalie Barrett these days? Is that really Natalie the blind girl walking around the Kapi'olani Community College campus without help? Cruising the Internet all night? Hooking up with friends for lunch and "girl talk?"

Could that be Natalie Barrett going to Japan — Japan! — on a student exchange this month?

Believe it.

Barrett, 24, left Honolulu for Tokyo last week as one of a dozen young people with disabilities selected by the Oregon-based Mobility International USA to take part in a unique cultural exchange program aimed at helping participants expand their personal horizons while raising awareness of disability rights.

The itinerary calls for Barrett and her new-found friends from Texas, New Jersey, New Mexico and other states to take part in workshops on disability rights and leadership, participate in a five-day volunteer service project, and interact with the local community.

The trip is a significant milestone in Natalie's ongoing development as a strong, self-reliant woman with a disability. it's also a rare opportunity for her to feel secure in the knowledge that, for the next three weeks at least, she's not so unique.

"I always wanted to go on an exchange trip, but thought that if I went with a sighted group, they might not be able to make the accommodations that I need," Barrett says. "With other blind people, I won't be out of place. When I'm in a group of non-handicapped people, I always feel lost, like I'm floundering."

Barrett was diagnosed with chronic uveitis — inflammation of the uveal tract that lines the eye — at age 5. The condition is hereditary and it was apparently passed on through Barrett's mother, Gladys, who is also blind. Barrett's older brother has also lost sight in one eye because of the condition.

In her first years in college, Natalie was still able to see well enough to read large-print texts, but now she can make out only light and shadow.

Chronic uveitis does not necessarily always result in blindness, but Gladys wasn't willing to let her daughter get taken by surprise if the worst-case scenario played out.

"She told me to be prepared," said Barrett. "She told me to assume that it was going to happen."

And Gladys had good reason behind her get-real approach. She was born with both chronic uveitis and cataracts. At 18, she had cataract surgery that restored her vision; fourteen years later, when Natalie was just a baby, Gladys lost her vision for good.

"There is no cure, and I wish I had known that," Gladys said. "I fooled myself into thinking that it couldn't happen to me, but when I lost my sight the second time, it was rather hard."

And so, for as long as Natalie can remember, Gladys has gently exhorted her to accept the reality of her coming blindness, to be assertive and not let other people's perceptions of her limitations bind her.

"My mom is always telling me to assert myself," Barrett said. "She says if you stay still and keep quiet, no one will notice you."

Fed up with constant harassment from misguided classmates and tired of having to educate teachers who didn't know what to do with her in the classroom, Barrett, with the help of a her special needs counselor, arranged to have the state's service program for the blind, Ho'opono, put on an educational assembly at her high school.

Barrett also took advantage of Ho'opono's training programs to learn how to walk with a cane and gain other skills necessary to be more self-reliant. She availed herself of a reading computer and other technologies that helped her engage with others.

At KCC, Barrett continues to work with TRIO counselor Nora Furuno to overcome practical obstacles to her education. She's determined to transfer to the University of Hawai'i to further her dream of becoming a writer.

"She's really blossomed," said Furuno. "There is no guarantee of success. We can provide guidance and assistance, but it's the student who has to take responsibility for their education — and Natalie has done that."

As difficult as it is for students without disabilities to adjust to life on a college campus, the challenge is even greater for people like Natalie, Furuno said.

Barrett uses audio books instead of printed textbooks when she can, but jumping back and forth between chapters or paragraphs can be tedious and confusing. She has a student employee to help her take notes in class, but transcripts can take up to a day to be delivered.

Natalie has been at KCC for six years, hardly unusual for a special needs student (although some struggle with full class loads to qualify for health insurance). And while it's a recognized problem that many community college students never transfer to four-year institutions, the numbers for disabled students are believed to be even worse.

Still, Natalie has found ways to succeed. She says having other blind people in her family has been "an advantage" and that the help she's received from her counselors has given her the confidence to take on new challenges.

"I was reluctant at first," Barrett admits. "You don't want to admit (that you're going blind) because you're scared. But now when I talk to other blind people, I tell them that they don't have to be afraid. It's OK to ask for help."