Problems at the Shopping Mall

Almost everyone often encounters some type of problem or other at the shopping mall, but today I'd like to focus on some of the more common ones for blind and sight impaired persons.  So, here is my list.

 

Customer service staff in stores, pharmacies, and supermarkets who do not know how to interact with those who are blind and sight impaired.  They often speak a bit too loudly to us, they are not sure how to guide us, and they are uncertain as to how to describe things to us.  Sometimes, they come across as being a bit abrupt and rude but in most cases they do not really mean it.  It's not what you say but how you say it.

 

Aisles that are cluttered with objects such as shopping carts, bins loaded with merchandise for sale, stands, plus more.  People who do not watch where they're going and who run right into us without taking the time to say sorry. 

Shelves that are extremely difficult to reach.

Racks that are jammed pack with clothing.

Stores that use point of sale devices that are inaccessible to blind and sight impaired persons.  In this case, a blind or sight impaired customer has to depend on sighted assistance to enter their personal information when they come to purchase an item.

Malls that are crowded with kiosks in the middle of them.

 

This list is by no means complete and these are also problems that many mainstream persons encounter.  However, they are the ones that most affect blind and sight impaired persons.  If you would like to learn more, then you can visit www.afb.org, or www.nfb.org.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with the rest of the world.

My Cane and I

No, I do not have a guide dog; I use a cane and I do just fine.  In a previous blog, I commented that guide dogs are not for everyone and I am one of them.  I get along just fine with my cane but it does not mean that I have completely ruled out ever getting a guide dog. 

 

I have used a cane all of my life to get around.  When I had enough vision, I used to use a short cane also known as an ID cane but now that my vision is much less, I use a longer one.  At the end of my cane there is a tip which is made up of a roller and it is so because it will prevent my cane from getting stuck in cracks and potholes.  I was taught to use my cane by a mobility instructor.  She taught me how to use my cane to find doors, walls, staircases, openings, and other objects. 

 

Mobility training could be described as being taught how to use one's cane to communicate with one's surroundings and it surely helps blind persons to get around more independently.  Sometimes, I fold my cane when walking with a sighted friend or family member.  I often refer to my mom as my electronic cane; but on a more serious note, my cane is more often than not my constant companion.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with the rest of the world.  If you would like to learn more about how and why blind persons use canes, then visit www.nfb.org or www.rnib.org.

 

Building Bridges and Breaking Down Barriers

This is something that I have been preaching for years now; we need to start building bridges and breaking down barriers.  For too long, the blind community as been going the other way on these two tasks but I think that we are finally getting it.  I have an idea to promote my idea this day and let's see what your thoughts are on this particular subject.

 

Why not make our blind and sight impaired kids the new builders and breakers of tomorrow?  Why not give them the opportunity to help us build bridges and break down barriers?  They are our hope and promise for the future.  They will be the ones to carry the torch beyond the big blue horizon and they will be the ones to help fulfill our dreams.  They will be the ones who are going to be charged with carrying on our work.

 

With all of this in mind, there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting them involved in starting to build bridges and break down barriers.  If we can help our blind and sight impaired kids to understand what they need to do in order to accomplish all of this, if we can help them to avoid some of the more common pitfalls that we have inadvertently blundered into, if we can cultivate healthy attitudes, motivation, and commitment into them at an early age, and if we can assure them that their future will be as bright as they want to make it, then at the end of the day we would have accomplished our mission. 

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with the rest of the world.  To learn more about how you can motivate blind and sight impaired kids to help build bridges and break down barriers, visit www.acb.org.

Digital Readouts No Good for Me

When it comes to digital readouts, it is a big problem for someone who does not have enough vision to red screens, particularly those tiny ones.  So, we have to depend on sighted assistance to do so.  With more and more manufacturers using digital readouts to enhance their products and as a means for users to communicate with their products, it is becoming more and more difficult for us to find accessible products.

 

Another thing that is happening to us is that more and more stores are using digital screens when it comes to having customers perform their credit card transactions.  All well and good in the name of evolving technology but where does it leave those of us who are unable to work with digital readouts because we are either blind or unable to use our hands to touch the screens?  In so many words, it leaves us up a creek without a paddle. 

 

We need to lobby manufacturers to come up with alternatives to digital readouts for us and we need to push or rather convince them that this is in their best interest to do so.  I think that they would benefit from going to the following websites in order to learn more; www.nfb.org, www.aph.org, and www.rnib.org.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and asking you to go out there and share my blogs with the rest of the world.

Why I Turned to Chess

Up until about six years ago, chess had just been a dream of mine; that is, all I wanted to do was just learn to play.  I had bought a slim Braille booklet on the basics and rudiments of chess back in the early 90s along with an adaptable chessboard but truth be told, I never really paid much attention to it until I lost most of my vision about six years ago.

 

Before turning to chess, I was very much of an outdoors sports person.  I was heavily involved with such things as ice skating, swimming, and skiing but upon losing my vision, I became very nervous about navigating outdoors and I had to really push myself to keep up with my ice skating.  However, I persevered and I am glad that I did but something was missing.  Something I wanted to add to my repertoire of hobbies to compensate for my vision loss.

 

I was born with very little vision but when I was a teen I received a cornea transplant that enabled me to gain a fair amount of sight but I was still considered to be legally blind.  With my new found sight I took the opportunity to explore and learn much and this included exploring possibilities to learn board games.  After buying my adapted chessboard I spent a wee bit of time with it but it was not until 2002 just before losing my vision that I really decided to get serious about entering the world of chess.  In that year I happened to meet a wonderful lady named Nadia Shishkina, a Russian lady, and a chess teacher.

 

It did not take much for Nadia to encourage me to start learning and just before losing my vision I managed to learn enough from her to get started with the basics.  I stayed in touch with Nadia and upon losing my vision it was she who encouraged me to get serious about my chess.  It took about three years after losing my vision for me to really get going and when I did I did not stop.  My first stop along the way was in Ottawa Canada with my friend Ray Barfitt.  He patiently started to coach me and mentor me and he encouraged me to buy some Braille chess books from the RNIB in order to improve my skills.

 

I also took the plunge to expand my circle of chess friends at a local chess club but this did not work very well for me as I ran into some chess instructors who felt that I should be playing with blind players instead of sighted ones.  Nadia and Ray continued to push me to keep on going and last year I took one big step forward when I signed up for the Hadley School's chess program.  This all came about when an acquaintance put me in touch with Alan Dicey, a truly wonderful man and a true motivator.  I completed the Hadley program in September and since then I have been playing in the Swiss division tournament as well as with others on the USBCA list.

 

Chess has opened up many doors for me.  I have and continue to make many new friends.  I am using chess to help me cultivate more patience, become more disciplined in my job as well as in my personal life, and most of all I am using it to help others.  I hope that I can find opportunities to travel to other countries in order to promote chess among blind persons.

 

I'd like to thank Nadia, Ray, and Alan for having been a part of my chess adventures and I look forward to meeting many others like them.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with the rest of the world.  Visit www.hadley.edu to learn more.

If I Believe

If I believe in me, then others will believe too and in turn, if I believe in others then soon the world will start believing.  This has been my motto for all of my life and it continues to work for me.

 

When I was a kid, I believed that if I worked hard enough I could achieve my objectives at school and it worked.  When I was a teen I believed that if I pushed myself hard enough I could accomplish my goals to obtain a master's degree in Business administration and you know what?  I was one of the first blind persons in Canada to graduate with a master's degree in business administration from McGill University.

 

When I graduated, I believed that if I tried hard enough, I could become a member of any blue chip Canadian company and you know what?  I did it in grand style.  I worked for companies like the Bank of Montreal, IBM Canada, and the Royal Bank of Canada. Through good times and bad times, I kept on believing in myself and when I was downsized in the 90s, I still kept on believing in me.

 

I have been in business for myself for the past 15 years and for the most part it has been a continuing struggle to keep believing in me but at the end of the day belief is what keeps me going.  As a professional student at heart, I have managed to use belief to become one of the first blind persons in the world to obtain certifications in Microsoft Systems Engineering and Novelle Network Administration and I will keep on using belief to enrich my academic as well as my professional life.  I am also going to use belief to convince others to believe in themselves.  As I see it, belief is the only way for us to keep on believing.  If I continue to believe in me, then my task to help the kids of the future believe in themselves will only become easier.

 

 I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with the rest of the world.  I invite you to contact me anytime at donnajodhan@sterlingcreations.ca.

Avoiding the Wrong Car

Now, here's a bit of humor for you.  How do I go about avoiding the wrong car?  When I had vision enough to see, I used to depend on color and size of the car but now that I have lost most of it and not enough to see the car, I have to use other methods. 

 

First, I listen for the sound of either the approaching or idling engine.  In almost all cases, I ask those picking me up to blow the horn a certain number of times when they come to meet me and this works very well.  However, if for some reason the horn strategy does not work and there is more than one car waiting out there, I then have to deploy different tactics and it comes down to teamwork between me and the one picking me up.

 

When I was able to see, and if it was dark, I had a prearranged light signal but now the one picking me up has to come out of their car and call to me.  If I am unlucky enough to walk towards the wrong car then I have to use my sense of smell.  That is, upon opening the door, I have to make sure that the smell is familiar enough to me.  Failing this, I have to use my sense of feel and touch to quickly seek out familiarity with regard to the feel of the car.  Things such as; the feel of the door handle, the seat belt, the seat itself, and anything else that would help me to identify things quickly. 

 

The strategies used to identify the right car to get into depend on the level of vision.  If one has enough sight to identify color and shape, then these are the strategies to use but if one does not have enough sight then strategies outlined above would surely work.   If you would like to learn more, then please visit www.nfb.org.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with the rest of the world.

Never Assume Before You Know

In my opinion, this is one of the more frequent challenges that I deal with as a blind person.  Too many persons often fall into the gaping trap of assuming before knowing.  They often assume for example, that they need to raise their voices two notches in order for us to hear.  They assume that in order to guide us they need to grab us either by the hand or by the arm.  They assume that we are unable to make up our minds at restaurants or in stores when either ordering an item or purchasing something so instead of speaking directly to us they address their comments to our friends or anyone accompanying us.

 

I can go on and on but I won't because by now I am sure that you have the picture.  In short, it is always best not to assume that blind persons are unable to hear properly, speak for themselves, or decide for themselves.  The only difference between me and the seeing world is that I am unable to see clearly.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with the rest of the world.  If you'd like to learn more about how to interact with a blind person, then visit www.afb.org.

 

Dealing with Batteries

I often get asked how I deal with batteries and here is my response.

There are a few things for me to deal with when interacting with batteries:

First, I need to know the size of the batteries needed.

Second, I need to know how many batteries are needed.

Third and most important of all, I need to know which way to insert my batteries. 

 

Through experience, I can normally tell which size of battery is needed for whatever I am working with.  Most times

For me it is either AA (double a) or AAA (triple A) size batteries or in some cases it is the good old C battery or the larger one.  However, I am sometimes fooled between determining whether or not it is a triple a battery or one of those little round batteries.

 

The number of batteries needed usually depends on the number of slots within the battery compartment.  However, in the case of those little round batteries, it is sometimes difficult to tell how many are needed.

 

The most difficult part in dealing with batteries is to determine how to insert them but once you get the hang of the technique it is not too difficult.  I insert the back of the battery, the end that does not have the raised bump, against the spring that is jutting out in each of the slots inside of the battery compartment.  In most cases, there is usually more than one slot and the batteries usually need to be inserted in opposite directions.  Example; if you have three slots, then the first slot would have the spring on one side and the second slot would have the spring on the opposite side and so on.  For little round batteries, it is a bit different knowing how many are needed.

 

How do I know that batteries have been inserted correctly?  Simple!  If I have done it the right way then things work when I flip the switch and if I haven't, then it does not.  Now that I am unable to see clearly, I can't really tell readily when a light is on so I put my hand close to the screen or light bulb to see if it is warm.  Truth be told however, batteries only work if you have inserted them correctly and if the device works after you have changed batteries.  My most difficult task I think is when I deal with clocks.  I sometimes need sighted assistance to tell me if the hands are moving and if I am unable to remove the face of the clock to feel the hands.  This trick however does not work for digital clocks and other digital devices.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with the rest of the world.  To learn more about how blind persons interact with batteries, visit www.aph.org.

Keypads and Keyboards

We depend on keypads and keyboards to communicate with our devices, to make phone calls, and to do so much more.  Keypads and keyboards have shrunken in size over the past years and as technology continues to zoom along, some manufacturers are now using touch screen technology to emulate keypads.  Touch screen technology is fast becoming a way to use a keypad and all that I ask is that manufacturers remember those who are unable to see, and those who have problems with their hands when developing keypads and keyboards of the future.

 

Blind persons depend on such things as keys with raised dots, keys with cut edges, and larger sized keys to help them navigate keypads and keyboards.  For those with some vision, keys with contrasting colors are also of help.  If the keys are flat, then a blind person has difficulty distinguishing the keys.  If they are raised, then it's a great help.  If the keys are jammed packed together, it's also difficult for blind persons to use them. 

 

My wish is that manufacturers come up with ways to accommodate all persons and with a little bit of hard work and thought, it can be done.  If you'd like to learn more about how blind persons go about using keypads and keyboards then please visit www.acb.org.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with the rest of the world.

The Influence of Parents

I do not believe that anyone would dispute the fact that parents have an almost exclusive stranglehold when it comes to being influential on their kids and this trend is probably not going to change anytime soon.  Speaking for myself, I will tell you that my parents definitely influenced me to keep on fighting the good fight.  They were most influential in molding me into a well rounded person; using the weapons in my arsenal to full effect.  They influenced me to adopt the philosophy that the world does not owe me anything as a blind person.  That in order to fit into a mainstream world, I need to be as mainstream as I can be. 

 

So what do I really mean?  My parents influenced me to use every resource at my disposal in order to build a good life for myself.  They taught me to develop a sense of commitment and obligation to help make a better life for blind and sight impaired kids of today and tomorrow.  They taught me that I should use my resources to help those less fortunate than myself and to do everything that I could to improve opportunities for my fellow blind colleague.  They influenced me to have respect for myself and for others, to be humble, and be honest always.  Above all, they taught me loyalty and a deep appreciation for life and to never forget that my religious beliefs should never be compromised. 

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and share my blogs with the rest of the world.  You can write to me anytime at donnajodhan@sterlingcreations.ca.

 

Those Little Dots Often Save Me

If you take a moment to look at your computer keyboard or even the keypad on your home phone or your cell phone, you should see that more often than not, certain keys are marked with either a dot or some sort of cut edge.  For the phone's keypad, there is often a raised dot on the #5 key and on several computer keyboards, there are cut edges placed on certain keys such as the f and j keys.  Some phone keypads may even have a raised dot on the #0 key as well and I do believe that some remotes are similarly configured; either with a dot, a raised edge, or keys of different shapes.

 

In the normal scheme of things, there are many blind persons who depend on these very subtle indicators to help them quickly locate keys on their keypads.  Keys with dots, cut or raised edges, and keys with different shapes often save me from pressing the wrong key and I am grateful for them.  Now, if only we could find a way to standardize all keypads in this way and if it is already a standard then I do apologize.  Blind persons need keypads to help them communicate with their devices; they are unable to use devices with touch screens.  What would be ideal is if manufacturers were to come up with accessible ways for blind persons to be able to communicate with touch screens.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with the rest of the world.

Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.