Educating the sighted

This is an ongoing effort; educating the sighted about the world of the blind and how we do things. How we go about working in our kitchens, cleaning our homes, surfing the Internet, going to and from work, working in our home offices, going to school, doing our grocery and clothes shopping, traveling, and so much more.

Educating the sighted is something that I enjoy for the most part but this is not to say that there aren’t any challenges and barriers that crop up from time to time. There are real barriers, artificial ones, and what I call home made ones. All barriers for the blind world to deal with and overcome because we do indeed have to overcome them. For if we don’t then we will certainly continue to be left behind.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my thoughts with others. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.

Describing clothes to me

There used to be a time when I could see the clothes that I wore, the ones that I bought, and the ones on others. Now, it has all changed for me; I can no longer see enough decipher anything and I have to depend on others to describe them all to me. I can still remember enough to formulate pictures in my mind as to how things look but I need to use certain strategies in order to keep things straight.

Whenever it comes to dealing with clothes and how they may look on either me or someone else, I go through my checklist of questions before I start. Color of clothing, style, long or short, dark or light, type of fabric, and what it is going to be worn with or how is it being worn. I take great care to ensure that I can get all of this info and more often than not it is painstaking but a necessity.

Mom is extremely good with all of this as she describes everything that I ask her to plus more. Others have to be taught my way of doing things if they are not already familiar. So there you have it.

You can learn more by visiting www.independentlivingaids.com to see some of the various devices and gadgets that blind and sight impaired persons use in order to cope with clothes matching.
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 others.

Traveling alone

At the best of times, traveling alone for anyone could be a bit of everything; lonely, boring, scary, anxious, and so much more. However, when you are blind and have to depend on sighted assistance in unfamiliar territory, it sure makes for some very interesting challenges.

As for me, I would like to refer to myself as a fairly seasoned traveler but for all that this is worth, I still have a plethora of feelings each time I do it alone. I do my best to line up sighted assistance before I embark on my trip. That is, I notify the airline or train company that I am traveling with that I am a blind passenger and would need help. I have found that nine out of ten times it works, and staff at these companies are more than willing to help me.

The most anxious moments for me come when I have to go through security; they are not always very accommodating as they often tend to want to take my cane away from me without first asking or advising. Or when I am waiting to board either the train or plane. I sit there with fists clenched praying that they do not forget me.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and asking you to go out there and share my thoughts with others. Visit www.traveleyes.org to learn how blind and sight impaired persons go about traveling the world.

Eating by touch

Yes, you heard me! I often eat by touch. No, I do not pick up my food with my fingers. I use my knife and fork to help navigate the food on my plate. Believe it or not, using touch to decipher the difference between and among such foods as rice, potatoes, pasta, meat, beans, peas, and vegetables does indeed work.

I run my knife and fork lightly over my food to get an idea as to what I am eating. That is, if I am not the one who has laid it out on my plate or if someone has not told me before hand. I do the same for desserts and soups. It works like a charm.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and share my blogs with others. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.

Dogs and canes

In the mainstream sighted world, it is never a good thing to assume the following: That all blind persons use guide dogs. That all blind persons use canes. That all blind persons are unable to travel on their own.

Some of us use guide dogs because it suits us to use them while others like me prefer the use of a cane. I use a cane because I feel more comfortable with one. I admire any blind person who is able to use a guide dog. It is hard work but extremely rewarding when dog and master can develop that special relationship. One cannot pat a cane or talk to them whenever they feel the need to or have to but the use of a cane may still be the preferred method over a dog.

There is so much for us to learn when it comes to understanding how dog and master work together as a cohesive team. I have several friends who are guide dog users and they never tire of teaching me new things about their special relationship with their four legged friends.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and learn more about how guide dogs help to make a difference in the lives of blind and sight impaired persons. Visit www.afb.org to learn more.

Waiting at the airport

For me, waiting at the airport is probably one of the most nerve racking things, especially when I have to depend on others for assistance because I am blind. In the normal scheme of things, waiting at a Canadian airport for my flight, whether it is domestic or international, usually goes relatively well.

I usually get assistance from the special services department at the airport. They meet me at the door and assist me to the airline’s counter. There they wait until my travel documents have been processed and my luggage checked in and then they escort me to the security check-in area. After I have been processed at the security area they then escort me to the departure gate and they make sure that I have boarded the aircraft before taking their leave.

If the airline that I am flying with is Air Canada, the Air Canada staff takes charge of assisting me as soon as I get to their check-in counter. All sounds well thus far but every now and then there is a hitch like everything else and I have to deal with spurts of anxiety. For example, if someone forgets to come and get me when passengers have been asked to board the aircraft, or when security personnel asks me to wait for someone to escort me to the gate and then there is no one to help me.

The arrival leg of my travels could be just as nerve racking for me. Particularly when I need to depend on sighted escorts to assist me through customs and immigration. I have not had too much trouble at Canadian airports but have had some anxious moments at some American airports.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and share my thoughts with others. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more about how blind and sight impaired persons navigate the airport.

Looking forward

So, it’s a brand new year and time for me to have a bit of fun with my wish list. I always like doing this because it helps me to put a few things into perspective as well as to use my imagination to have some fun. So, what’s on my wish list for this year?

First, I hope that more companies will decide to follow Apple’s lead to make their hand held devices more accessible to blind and sight impaired persons.

Second, that the blind and sight impaired community can work with financial institutions and the manufacturers of POS devices to somehow make their touch screens accessible to blind and sight impaired persons.

Third, that more websites can be made accessible to blind and sight impaired persons, that it would be easier to request and access information and complete online forms more independently, that is, without having to ask for sighted assistance.

Fourth, that we will be better able to request information in alternate formats such as Braille, large print, and in a readable e-text format.

Fifth, that recreational sports is made more accessible to the blind and sight impaired.
Of course, there is more that I could wish for but I think that for now I’ll stop here.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and asking you to go out there and share my wish list with others.
Visit www.nfb.org or www.acb.org to learn more.

Shopping by touch

A few weeks ago, as my mom and I wended our way through the busy supermarket, I realized that in order to help find items on the crowded shelves, I would need to deploy my touch technique to help mom locate what we were looking for. It was very difficult because of the crowded aisles, so many people seemingly looking for the same thing, and so many things to choose from. So, I decided to do things a bit differently. Besides, it was Christmas and we had to do our best to find what we were looking for.

Mom would tell me what she was seeking and because I knew the layout of the supermarket, I was able to tell her which aisle to look for. Then as we rolled our shopping basket down the aisle in question, I would run my fingers along the shelves searching for the item. If it was a box, then I would hunt for boxes and the specific size before calling to her so that she could check the label to see if I had located the right item. The same went for jars, bottles, and packages.

Believe it or not, it worked really well and both mom and I were quite surprised. I did my part and felt really good that I could help her. The strategy also worked in the produce and meat sections.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and tell others about my touch technique for shopping.

Skating without vision

Over the Christmas holidays I decided to resume my ice skating, and boy o boy! What an experience for me. When I first learned to ice skate, I had enough functional vision to see where I was going. I could see in front of me and beside me. I could see most of the rink, make out the blue and red lines, and I could see when people were coming at me. Especially the little kids hurtling towards me.

This has all changed! Now I have to depend on sound. I have to listen more carefully for the scraping of approaching blades and the air stirring around me as skaters rush by. It’s a different way for me as I skate around now and in addition, I have to take the arm of the one who is skating with me. Still, I do love my ice skating and nothing can ever change the feeling of exhilaration whenever I step onto the ice.

The smell of the ice, the coolness of the rink, the sounds of kids laughing, and music blasting out of speakers. I can no longer see the flashing lights or can I see what others are wearing but that’s okay! I have my memories to help me enjoy! Ah yes! Ice skating! My passion, my joy!

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 others.