Wheelchair or cane?

A few months ago, I decided to ask this question to the airline attendants as I stood waiting for assistance. I have been an airline traveler for more years than I can remember but it never fails. Each and every time I ask for assistance, out comes the wheelchair and each time I have to politely say that I do not want one. I would prefer to walk and take the arm of my sighted assistant. Even when I specifically ask for assistance by booking the services at the airport before hand, the same thing happens. I always state that I do not require a wheelchair but alas! There is one for me to seat myself in.

Another thing that I have noticed over the years is that when it comes to assistance, the wheelchair passengers are always assisted first and I am the last to be assisted. Now, I know that someone has to be last in line but why all the time does it have to be me? Am I missing something or do I need to be educated? Would it be better then for me to take the proffered wheelchair?

Maybe someone reading this blog can give me a logical answer. I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and share my thoughts with others. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.

Daddy I still wish upon the moon

When I was leaving home for the first time to study in England, my dad took me aside and told me this. He told me that if I ever wanted to communicate with him, all I had to do would be to go out at night and look up at the moon and presto! He would be looking up at it, too, and then we would know what each other wanted to say.

Of course, it was Dad’s way of comforting me and trying to squash my fears of leaving home for the first time, but you know what? It worked. On so many cool British nights, there I was standing out in the cool looking up at the moon and talking to my dad. In those days my vision was very limited but I could still see that big round moon. Sometimes it was quite small and at other times it was as big as I wanted it to be. Even when there was no moon on a given night, I would still go out there and pretend that I could see one.

After Dad passed on I continued to do it and even after losing most of my vision over seven years ago, I still do it. It is not too difficult to do. Not as difficult as you may think. I allow my imagination to kick in to high gear and I could still envision the moon and I don’t even have to go outdoors to do it. Ah yes! Daddy, I still wish upon the moon! I know that you also do the same wherever you are.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to come visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca.

Blind kids sighted kids

When it comes to kids, they are practically all alike. By this I mean that they all love toys! They all love candy! They all love to laugh and have fun! They are all curious! So what is the difference between blind kids and sighted kids?

In my humble opinion, blind kids use their sense of hearing more acutely then their sighted counterparts. Some of their games are talking ones and some of their toys are the same. For those kids who have enough vision to read large print, the scope of games and toys available to them is more than for those who do not have enough to read large print.

When I was growing up, my brothers and cousins made every effort to include me in their games and I played with their cars. At times they went overboard to ensure that I fit in. I rode bikes, scooters, and ran, jumped, and skipped with the rest. I played doll's house with my girl cousins and they, too, made it possible for me to be included.

Blind kids of today have a better opportunity to find some mainstream toys and games that have been adapted for blind kids and it is only going to get better. Sometimes I wish I could be a kid again just to play with all of the technology available today.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and tell others how blind kids play with toys. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.

The challenge with facial expressions

For the most part, I depend on one’s voice to help me determine and decipher expressions. For those who do not have enough sight to read facial expressions, it is the only method for us to use. When I had enough vision, I could read some body language but now that is gone, I have to depend solely on the inflections in one’s voice to help me out.

The reading of body language and facial expressions is so important when it comes to communicating and you can add how so many use their eyes to express themselves and you have the picture. Blind persons for the most part are unable to use their eyes to express themselves but they can certainly use facial expressions and body language to do so.

I refer to this whole thing as a one way communication path. For whereas I can use my face and body to express myself, I am unable to read the return expressions. Just another challenge to deal with.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to come visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca.

No way to verify

We are living in an information society and a knowledge based economy where one heavily depends on the other. Without information we are nowhere and without knowledge gathered from information we are unable to make decisions of any kind. So, just imagine not being able to make vital decisions because we are unable to verify the relevant information.

Does this circumstance really exist? Indeed, it surely does and it is the case for millions of blind, sight impaired, and deaf/blind persons worldwide. Why does this circumstance exist? Well, it all has to do with the inability of blind, sight impaired, and deaf/blind persons not being able to verify online information. Why is this? Because a lot of the information is inaccessible to these persons in alternate formats and more often than not, they need to depend on a sighted person to read it to them. This means that there is no mechanism for these persons to verify the information because they are unable to read it for themselves.

What does all of this mean? It means that without any dependable way of verification, blind, sight impaired, and deaf/blind persons are practically held to ransom so to speak. They are unable to verify information and accordingly they are unable to make safe and sound decisions for themselves. It's something like this: If you are unable to read something for yourself it only goes to say that you really cannot verify it. So then what's next? A call for information to be produced in alternate formats in a timely manner.

What is meant by the term alternate formats? In Braille, large print, and in e text format; that is, HTML, TXT, Word, RTF, and PDF that is appropriately tagged so that screen readers can decipher them.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and learn more about the meaning of alternate formats. Visit www.tbase.com to learn more.

Strength lies in one voice

As an advocate for the rights and concerns of blind persons, in my country first and foremost and internationally as well, I truly believe that our strength lies in one unified voice. It is often said that strength lies in numbers and it is the same if we are somehow able to present ourselves in one voice. A voice that is strong, unified, and unwavering. A voice that is consistent, persistent, and one that is continuous.

Like many other groups, it is often difficult to present or represent ourselves in or as one voice and it continues to be a challenge but we need to work more on this. Too often, governments and those we seek to engage count on us to be fragmented, and in many instances they are even seen to use the divide and conquer strategy. So forward and onwards!

I’m Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to spread my thoughts around to others. Visit www.nfb.org to learn how and why they are so successful as advocates.

The problem with prescriptions

Prescriptions are definitely a part of our lives and a great blessing to us all, but when you are blind and are unable to read printed labels on boxes or bottles or read what your doctor or physician is asking you to take to your pharmacist, then here is where the challenge occurs.

At the best of times, the majority of the sighted world is unable to read the handwriting of their physician or doctor so just imagine what it would be like for us as blind persons. Whenever we ask a sighted person to read our prescriptions, we are literally at the mercy of how much time they can devote to reading it accurately to us. It may be time for our medical system to come up with some sort of way to enable us to read our own prescriptions. I can only make suggestions and hope for the best so here goes.

For those with computer access, email the prescriptions to us. This can also help sighted persons as well. Or maybe some sort of telephone system that enables us to hear our prescriptions? Or maybe a call for manufacturers to come up with some sort of device to help us read our prescriptions? Maybe some sort of label reader? Maybe we could use the Pen Friend reader to help us label our prescription boxes and bottles but here again, a sighted person’s time and help is needed to read the contents to us.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and discuss our prescription challenges with others. Visit www.maxiaids.com to learn more about the Pen Friend.

My chiming clocks

Now that digital time pieces rule the world of clocks, I have had to find ways to ensure that I keep up with the times. In other words, now that I am no longer able to remove the face of a clock in order to feel the position of the hands, I have had to turn to chiming clocks in order to help me keep track of time.

Of course, I can still use Braille clocks, but in the past I used to use non-Braille ones because they were more affordable. With the advent of the digital clock it is no longer possible for me to remove the face and feel the position of the hands so I have had to turn to the chiming clocks.

For the most part, the chiming clock works extremely well for me, especially those that chime on the quarter hour, but the drawback to this is that I have to depend on sighted assistance to set the time for me. I can easily change the battery for myself but because most if not all of these are digital, I am unable to feel the position of the hands and the dots that represent the minutes and hours.

I guess that I can’t win them all, so to speak. I have three chiming clocks in my home and I love them all. They keep me on time and they have become an integral part of my daily life.

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. Visit www.independentlivingaids.com or www.maxiaids.com to learn more about the types of clocks that blind persons can use. time

A talking remote?

Maybe one of these is already on the market but I have not had the opportunity to find one as of yet. If I am wrong and anyone reading this blog knows otherwise, I would be really grateful if you can tell me where I can go to purchase one.

I think that a talking remote would be so good for so many. If someone could develop a talking remote that enables us to hear what keys we press for starters. I do not know how difficult it would be for a manufacturer to do this. With so many keys on a remote these days and more to come, it is very difficult to remember where everything is.

Maybe someone out there is listening and has already started to work on this. A talking remote could help so many in addition to blind persons. We are using remotes for so many gadgets and devices these days and as time marches on, we are going to see even more uses for remotes. So how about it? How about a talking remote?

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.aph.org to learn more about some of the gadgets and devices being used by blind and sight impaired users.

Walk a mile in my shoes

This is usually the tack that I take whenever I feel that someone does not quite understand my world. Whenever someone challenges me to explain why it was necessary for me to have sued the Canadian Government over their inaccessible websites, my response is: Walk a mile in my shoes and see what it is like.

For the mainstream person, it is easy for them to gain access to information on the Internet if they have access to a computer and Internet connections. For us as blind persons, it is not that easy. Several additional components must be in place in order for things to work for us.

First, we need to have access technology installed on our computers. What is access technology? The software that enables us to hear what is on the screen or software that enlarges the text on the screen. Or software that enables us to communicate with our computer via Braille.

Next, we need to be able to communicate with websites through the use of our access technology and if websites are not configured so that this communication can take place, then, in a word, we are sunk. In short, websites need to be designed so that we can all read and communicate with web content, forms, and files.

We are living in a society whereby we depend on information to help us make decisions, keep up to date on the latest happenings, plus much more. So here is the question of the day: How would you feel if you were unable to read information on the Internet? Chances are you would be extremely unhappy and you would eventually do something about it, and this is exactly what I did.

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.bakerlaw.ca to learn more about why I sued the Canadian Government over their inaccessible websites.