Watching soap operas with Mom

This is absolutely one of my favorite times to spend with Mom! Watching our favorite soap opera and boy do we have a great time. Mom is the perfect blow-by-blow commentator. She describes everything to me: facial expressions, gestures, actions, practically everything.

If there is no audio description to a show or movie, then it is very hard for a blind person to follow everything. Especially so when there are silences or all we can hear are things being moved or thrown around in the show and we are left to use our imaginations. Or if someone is reading from a paper or book and it is being displayed on the screen, then we have no clue as to what it is.

I would miss out on all of this if Mom was not beside me to describe what is going on. I would not know what the various characters were wearing if she was not here to tell me and I would not know what the interiors of the various settings look like if she was not here to tell me. Example: restaurants, living rooms, kitchens, and more.

Hopefully more audio description will continue to make its way into our living rooms and I urge broadcasters to be mindful of the growing demand for this facility to their programs. You can learn more by visiting www.wgbh.org.
I’m Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.