Laughing as we go: Running through the rain with Mom

I have to admit that this was, indeed, a very amusing day. Here we both were, doing our best not to get too wet in the rain. Mom was actually running; doing her best not to fall and to go a bit more quickly than usual. Then here I was, doing my best not to fall and to make sure that we stayed in step.

The rain was coming down pretty hard and we needed to scurry out of the supermarket and then to run across the parking lot. I had to put all of my trust in her guidance because I could not see where we were going.

It was a matter of the blind leading the blind, in a way, despite Mom having full sight. My trust was severely tested but at the end of the day we did just fine.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advisor, wishing you a terrific day!

If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as an author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids, with their wide eyed smiles and infectious laughter, is secured forever.

Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan

And like me on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan

The benefits of Braille

Statistics show the use of Braille has decreased over the last few years and we can attribute this to the era of computers and technology.  Many of today's generation use Braille sparsely and this is because they depend on their trusty computers with screen reading software to get by.  In addition, there are those who were born with sight and have lost it later in life and have chosen to go the computer way rather than learn Braille. 

 

For me, I was born sight impaired and grew up learning Braille.  Even after I received enough vision to enable me to read and write using the mainstream way; that being pen and pencil and magnification equipment, I still kept Braille as a backup and am I ever glad that I did.  Braille saved me from sure disaster when I found myself without most of my vision almost seven years ago.

 

When it happened, I was able to use Braille to do such things as:  Label file folders and CDs, take scrap notes, and write points for presentations.  I truly believe that Braille has its place in the life of a Blind person. 

 

If electricity goes or if the Internet goes down, I have Braille as a backup.  I don't have to turn on lights to read Braille; I can do it in the dark.  I can use Braille to label things; I don't have to use a device that depends on batteries or power to do it.  Whenever I make a presentation, I don't need a laptop to help me remember my points.  Braille is literally at my fingertips. 

 

I hope that the use of Braille continues to be promoted and used among blind persons.  If you would like to learn more about Braille, then please visit www.nfb.org or www.aph.org.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and asking you to go out there and tell others about how Blind persons use Braille as an important part of their lives. 

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.

 

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.

 

What Does Ugly Mean?

This is a question that many of my friends often ask me; what do I think when I hear the word ugly mentioned.  It's a very good question and through the eyes of a blind person so to speak, the word ugly takes on quite another connotation. 

 

In my view, here are my thoughts.  When I hear the word ugly, I think of persons who are unpleasant, vindictive, unkind, dishonest, self-centered, and thoughtless.  To me, ugly means when someone has done something to hurt another or when they have done something to the detriment of another.  Ugly to me is expressed through actions and words; actions that are not nice and words that are hurtful.

 

I do not think of persons as being physically ugly.  I do not think of an ugly animal, an ugly house, an ugly car, etc.  My world of ugly resides in the words and actions carried out by others.  Ah, through the eyes of a blind person; someone who does not see the physical side of things.

 

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.  Visit www.afb.org to learn more about how blind persons view the world.

Technology Barriers for Blind Kids

As more and more toy companies continue to flood the market with new and improved ways for kids to learn and interact, the adverse effect could be said when it comes to the plight of blind kids.  For example, blind kids are unable to take advantage of all of those wonderful educational toys such as the ones that teach kids how to read, write, count, and spell.  Those wonderful pictionary games are out of the reach of blind kids, and learning by seeing is just not in the cards for blind children.

 

This is not really anyone's fault.  It is just how the ball bounces and it is practically impossible for us to hold technology back.  It could be compared to trying to pin a wave to the golden sand.  Not possible.  So, with all of this in mind, how can we make it a better world for our blind kids?  What can we do in order to try and narrow the gap?  A blind kid is no different when it comes to wanting to be a part of technology and play with technology.  They like their sighted counterparts yearn to learn, understand, and play.  They yearn to interact with the big TV screen just like any other kid and they yearn to be a part of the world of technology.

 

Progress has been made but we need to see more innovation on the part of all stakeholders.

If you would like to see what types of games and toys are available to blind kids then visit www.maxiaids.com to learn more.

 

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 the rest of the world.

 

As a Blind Child

I consider myself to be extremely fortunate; as a blind child I was surrounded by loving and devoted parents who were determined to help me live as mainstream a life as possible.  I also had two brothers, a granny, and other family members who helped me to enjoy so much.  This does not mean that they did not try at times to protect me from certain obstacles, objects, and daily challenges.

 

I learned to fly a kite and pitch marbles.  My dad used a big ball to play football and cricket with me, and he taught me how to swim in the ocean and ride a bicycle.  Heck, he even showed me how to surf and ride the waves.  Dad was my nature buddy; walking with me in the lush green meadows, smelling and identifying the various flowers, and holding those timid little butterflies in my hand.  He ran with me, walked with me, and we had so much fun!  He even took me fishing and showed me how to make boats out of large coconut leaves.

 

My brothers played hide and seek with me, ball games with me, and helped me to embrace the mainstream world.  Mom and granny were my teachers of the domestic side of things.  I hung out in the kitchen with them, learned how to write printed letters, and got a wonderful education on fashion and design.  My cousins filled in so beautifully, helping me to grow up in a wonderful world.  They read to me, cut out clippings from magazines for me, and walked with me on the beach as well as everywhere else; from quiet spots to busy streets. 

 

I had pets; big happy dogs and delicate little birds.  I played with all of them and I learned so much from everyone.  I looked at it like this:  Dad was my teacher of all things outside the home; from nature to politics, and from economics to religion and literature.  Mom and granny were my tutors of life; from the kitchen to the clothes closet and from the school to the church.  My brothers and cousins helped me to have fun.

 

O what it was to be a blind child and I loved it all!  Then came the skates and skis and I was moving on to other things.  I grew up but still I continued to be a blind child!  I still am in so many ways; if only it is in my mind on those quiet nights as I wait for the Sand man to escort me into dreamland.

 

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.  You can visit me anytime at www.sterlingcreations.ca.

Socializing in the Workplace

Now, here's one of the most difficult challenges for me; socializing in the workplace.  At the best of times, when I worked in a mainstream workplace, I always found it a bit difficult to socialize.  As a blind person, it is often difficult at the best of times to be able to tell when and where to socialize.  It is often difficult to find where people are gathered and in many cases we have to use our sense of hearing to find the action so to speak.

 

When it comes to going out to restaurants with coworkers, we often have to depend on our sighted colleagues to lend a helping hand.  Getting to the restaurant, finding a table, knowing what's on the menu, and so on.  We even have to depend on sighted assistance to help us navigate our way to the bathroom and back to our places at the table. 

 

There are many tiny things that much of society may not think of when it comes to a blind person being able to socialize in the workplace but there you have it.  If we are in unfamiliar territory, then we would definitely need sighted assistance to help us navigate and find our way and if we need to locate friends and acquaintances then the same would apply.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and educate your coworkers about how blind persons socialize in the workplace.

Visit www.acb.org to learn more.

How Blind Persons Read Books

When it comes to blind persons being able to read books, we do it in several different ways.  We can read it in Braille,

We can listen to it on CD or cassette, or we can use our computers to download books and listen to them using special

access technology called screen readers.   

 

We can use cassette recorders to play our cassettes.  We can use CD players to listen to our CDs and we can also

use specially developed book readers to read books that have been formatted into DAISY formats.  We can also use

scanners to scan books and listen to them from our computers.

 

A lot has been done and continues to be done when it comes to making books more accessible to blind persons but

there is still much more to be done and this should be seen as a continuing job.  In the meantime, I have some

websites for you to visit to learn more about how blind persons read books and what they use in order to read books.

Visit www.aph.org, www.rfbd.org and www.humanware.com.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day.

Going To The Movies

Much of the sighted world still has the notion that for blind persons, going to the movies is either not possible or probable.  Or, that for blind persons, going to the movies may even be a waste of time.  I can see why this misconception would be present but I'll try to clear it up.

 

The sighted world probably feels that if you are unable to see then you are unable to follow what's going on in the movie.  This is partially true and often time we miss out on a lot when we are able to decipher what is going on during those periods of silence.  We can use our sense of hearing to fill in many gaps but there is much that our sense of hearing would not be able to supply to us.  We can accurately surmise what's going on when the sound of gun fire is heard, sounds of scuffling and fighting, sounds of persons in love scenes, and so on.  However, the fine details are almost often beyond our reach. 

 

Things have improved for us greatly at the movies over the last decade and thanks to descriptive videos and movies our world has opened up a great deal.  More and more, videos, DVDs, and movies are being developed to include audio descriptions.  I am going to leave you with a very informative website to check out and you can see for yourself what audio description is all about.  Visit www.wgbh.org.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and spread the word about audio descriptions and descriptive videos.

Can Blind Persons Play with Toys?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions that I get and my simple answer to this is why not?  Blind kids do not have to see in order to play with toys.  Blind kids play with all kinds of toys and enjoy many of the things that most of their sighted counterparts enjoy.  That is, except for those high tech toys.

 

When I was a kid, I played with dolls.  I had doll houses, played ball games with my brothers, rode bicycles, and flew kites.  I even had toy guns and played with my brother's toy soldiers and you know what?  I had a whale of a time doing all of it.  I developed ways to play football and cricket.  I learned how to pitch marbles, and I even participated in hide and seek games.  Boy did I ever play with all kinds of toys; from the regular girl's stuff to kicking tin cans in the road and playing ball hockey.  True it is that my family and friends had to adapt things somewhat for me to play with them but despite this I had a world of fun.

 

If you are thinking of giving a toy to a blind child then please, please do not think twice about giving them something that they can certainly play with.  Anything that does not include technology that is.  Anything from dolls to doll houses, toy soldiers to toy cars, and so on.  How do blind kids play with toys if they are unable to see?  They use the touch and feel technique.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and spread my message to others that yes indeed!  Blind kids can and do play with toys.  Here is some contact info for you to check out.

Connie Leblond

Assistive Technology Center LLC

8880-723-5011 Ext. 1

www.atechcenter.net

 

Visualizing what someone looks like

For most blind persons, this is a very difficult chore.  However, if you were born with vision and then you have lost it later on in life, this is not too hard to do.  Why?  Because for someone who was born with vision, they have had the opportunity to see and it is easy to transform this into visualization after losing vision.

 

As for me, I was born with very little and when I was a teen I got quite a bit of vision that enabled me to see faces.  What a shock it was for me.  Before I received my new vision, I had imagined certain things about specific persons; specifically what they would or could look like and when I got to see the real person, then I had to learn. 

 

In a few cases, I was halfway there but for the most part I had to learn about looks, faces, body structures, and so much more.  I had to learn that everyone in their own way was unique in look.  Each person had a unique walk and set of mannerisms.  Each person had a unique combination of facial structure, skin color, mannerisms and gestures, and so on.

 

Now that I have lost most of my vision, I can still visualize and it helps me to characterize persons.  Lots of fun for me.  If you would like to learn more about visualization, then visit www.acb.org.

 

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

             

 

Avoiding a Heartbreaker

I have learned the hard way that avoiding a heart breaker may not always be as easy as you may think.  Sometimes, and especially so in my case, I allow myself to be caught up in the moment as they say and in doing so I often fail to use my logic and experience to save me from heartaches.

 

This is what happened over six years ago when I decided to go for broke and gave my approval to the doctors to perform a third cornea transplant on me.  This despite my gut feeling that I should have left well alone and that my doctor's warning that the success rate would probably have been 50-50%; but the quest for additional vision clouded my judgment and six months after the surgery my heart was aching and breaking and I was fighting to keep my life together.  

 

Anything and Everything that could have gone wrong, did.  My retina detached in three places and the cornea failed.  As the doctor later said to me, it was one of the worst detachments that he had ever seen but there was more.  In a subsequent surgery to repair the damage, the eye itself was damaged and a piece of my heart died that day.  A terrible accident had taken place during the surgery and I was left to pick up the pieces all on my own. 

 

My family and friends were extremely supportive but nothing could have helped me deal with this tragic loss.  It's so easy to say that I should have done this or done that but it's too late now and all that I can do is to use this experience to save myself further pain for the future.  The lesson here for me is this:  Look before you leap.  Think carefully before you act.  Temper my hopes and dreams against reality.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and learn more about causes of blindness. 

Visit www.nfb.org or www.rnib.org.

Can All Blind Persons Play Music?

I'd like to clear up one of the more common myths that society is guilty of and it's this; not all blind persons can play music.  Too often, blind persons are classified as all being able to play music because of people like Steavie Wonder, Ray Charles, Clarence Carter, and so on.  These people are blind and they play music but please do not take this to mean that we can all play an instrument or sing.

 

For the record, I play the piano but I do not sing.  True it is that most blind persons possess more than just a bit of a keen sense of hearing, but that does not mean that they can play an instrument or sing.  Being blind does not mean that it is natural to assume that we can play music.

 

I am not sure how this myth originated but there you are.  Just a myth and nothing more.  In the same way, it is not very logical to assume that because the late Michael Jackson was one of the greatest entertainers, it would follow that all black persons should be the same.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and help dispel this myth.  To learn more about blind persons, please visit www.nfb.org.

Barriers to Careers

Now, please do not laugh when I tell you this one! Believe it or not, most of society still thinks of us blind folks as only being able to play music for a living. Really! They think of us as musicians and probably so because of the successes of people like Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and so on.

Years ago I went on a trip with my parents to Europe and had just graduated from University. My proud papa was going around telling everyone that I had just graduated. Before he could tell them what degree I had graduated with, one very innocent gentleman piped up and said, "Isn't it nice that she got her degree in music!" I gently told him no, I had just obtained my degree in commerce. My parents later told me that the poor man looked as if he wanted to disappear under the table.

In actuality, blind persons face several barriers to careers. For some reason, society seems to have preconceived notions about what blind persons can and cannot do for a living, or I should say that many persons do not even think that we are able to work. They look upon us as people to be taken care of rather than productive and contributing members of society. They falsely believe that we can only work such careers as: piano tuners, teachers to teach other blind persons, social workers to help other blind persons, basket makers and weavers, and musicians. A very disheartening picture if I may say so.

I'd like you to visit my company's website at www.sterlingcreations.ca to see what I do for a living and if you would like to know more, feel free to send me an email at donnajodhan@sterlingcreations.ca.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your accessibility and special-needs business consultant, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and tell the world that blind persons can do a lot more than just play music or weave baskets for a living!

Labels Cannot Talk

You got it! Labels cannot talk to me whenever I need to know the contents of a can, box, or anything else. In general, I am able to tell the contents of a box usually by its size and sound. That is, when I shake it. For example, a box of cereal is bigger than a box of Shake-n-Bake. However, when it comes to those cans and tins, that's when the fun begins.

Being able to read and decipher labels is one of the biggest problems for me. Not only do I often have difficulty deciphering the contents of a tin, can, or box, it extends to being able to read the label itself and knowing the description of the contents of the package in question. So there are two irritants for me: being able to read the ingredients on the package and knowing the actual contents of the package to begin with.

My woes often extend to being able to read labels on other types of packages, including CDs, labels on electronic products, and so on. Labels cannot talk, so I need to get sighted assistance to read them. A few years ago a bar code reader was developed to help blind and visually-impaired persons read labels on boxes and other containers. Some have told me that, for the most part, this nifty little device is extremely helpful, but it is also very expensive like so many other gadgets that have been developed for us. The bar code comes with a database of over 5000 entries and it is possible to add other entries; however, in order to do this one has to depend on sighted assistance. As long as there is a bar code, it is possible to add it to the database if it is not already there.

The bar code reader has made things easier for us but due to its exorbitant price I am unable to take advantage of it. You can learn more about the bar code reader and more by visiting the Independent Living Aids website at http://www.independentlivingaids.org.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your accessibility and special-needs business consultant wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and tell others that blind and visuall- impaired persons can now use a special bar code reader to help them read labels on packages.

Then and Now

I am not really sure why Easter time affects me like this but I usually call it my time for remembering and thanking. This is the time of year when I go back in time and remember what I had, and then thank God for what I have. What am I referring to?

Up until five years ago I had enough vision to do so much on my own, but a wicked turn of events conspired against me. In the matter of just a few months it was all taken away from me. Today I sit here with precious little sight but am extremely grateful that I still have enough to see the light of day.

My life has changed drastically over the past five years, and I have had to make so many adjustments in order to remain independent. But that's okay. What keeps me going are those wonderful memories that I captured while my vision was good enough. I consider myself to be extremely lucky because there are not many persons who can obtain new vision after being born with precious little. I am one of the few, and I shall share some of my precious moments with you.

In my hay day as I like to refer to it, I was able to read and write with the aid of special magnifying glasses. I used to play air hockey, ice skate on my own, jog along the sidewalk, and enjoy the wonders of nature. I was able to watch the sun come up over tall buildings and set below the line of the horizon. I could see the trees bending and bowing, the flowers swaying gently in the wind, and squirrels scrambling over snow banks. I could watch my favorite hockey team on TV flying up the ice in their red jerseys. I was able to see the blue skies with puffy white clouds chasing each other. I could see the fat white snowflakes falling gently to the ground, the thick green grass, and kids playing innocently in the park. I was able to admire the gorgeous orange plumage of my beloved Scottie Bird, my canary, and see the faces of my family.

One of my favorite memories is that of the silver Air Canada Jet floating lazily over a jade green Caribbean sea with the sun streaming down from above. Another is that of a beach with white-capped breakers rolling gently towards golden sand and pleasure boats laden with merrymakers. Yes, those were good times! I miss them, but it's not the end of the world. I can go on for pages, but I think that by now you are getting the picture. My world today is very different.

Now I have to depend on my senses of smell and touch to help me along. I use my memories to help me picture such things as layouts of stores and restaurants. I use my memory to picture what others may look like. I can find my way around familiar territory based on my memory of what it looks like. I may not be able to play air hockey anymore, but I have taken up chess as a substitute. I still ice skate but now I have to depend on someone else to guide me. I still enjoy movies but now I have to listen more attentively to what's going on. I use my sense of smell and touch to tell me if food is either going bad or if a fruit is rotting. Before now I was able to use my sight to do this.

You see, my world has changed but I am still here -- alive and well to tell the story. My message to you is this: There is always a silver lining in those thick dark clouds. If something is taken way from you, then it is always possible to find a substitute. Be thankful for what you had and what you have.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your accessibility and special-needs business consultant wishing you a terrific day and urging you to enjoy life no matter what.

Please Speak Directly To Me!

This is one of my pet peeves with the sighted world. So many times throughout my life I have found myself being addressed by others in the third person. They somehow find it necessary or more comfortable to speak to me by talking to the person accompanying me. Sometimes the person accompanying me would politely tell the person asking the question that they should ask me what I need instead of asking them. On other occasions, when I am feeling up to it, I would also politely say, "You can ask me directly." This can be a big problem, if I allow it to be; the solution that I have come up with and the one that works for me is to educate those I come in contact with.

There is no pattern to the type of person that chooses to address my companion instead of me; salespersons do it, bus drivers do it, doctors do it, so many do it. I would go into a store with my friend and the salesperson would ask, "What would she like?" I would visit the doctor's office with my mom and the doctor would turn to her and say, "She does not have much of a chance of regaining her vision." Or I would go to the post office to mail letters and the postmaster would turn to my friend and say, "What does she have in the package? Documents or what?" Or at the restaurant, the waiter would ask, "What would she like to order?"

The classic for me is when I am traveling. I get to the counter escorted by an airport attendant and the ticket agent asks the attendant, "Where is she traveling to?" Of course the poor bewildered attendant has no idea where I am traveling to so I have to step in, although I obviously should have been addressed directly to begin with.

Here is another example. I go to the post office on my own with my package to mail, and the friendly postmistress asks, "Do you know what you have in the package?" This time she has no choice but to speak directly to me because I am alone.

On most of these occasions I have taught myself to smile and speak up, but there are the odd times when I become so frustrated and say in a sarcastic tone, "You can speak to me. I can understand you." As I see it, the only way to reduce these types of unnecessary incidents is through education. You can help by spreading the word that blind persons can hear and understand. You do not need to ask someone else to interpret for them.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your accessibility and special-needs business consultant wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to contact me at donnajodhan@sterlingcreations.ca if you would like to learn how to communicate more effectively with blind and visually-impaired persons.

Why I Learned to Ice Skate

Growing up in Canada often means that ice skating is par for the course, but what about for blind and visually-impaired kids? Many of you may think that it is not possible but I am here to tell you that it most definitely is. Really!

You're probably trying to figure out how or why would someone want to skate on ice if they are unable to see where they are going. Why would they want to put themselves through such torture? How on earth would they be able to retain their footing and keep from falling? These are all very logical and legitimate questions.

I'll be very honest with you. I took the step to learn to ice skate in order to improve my confidence. Skating without much vision can be very daunting and scary, and that was indeed my experience when I first started, but I was determined to overcome.

When I first learned to ice skate I had some vision; so it was not too bad for me; it has helped me tremendously to continue on now that I have lost most of my vision. I managed to complete four of six levels and learned to do such things as: glide on one foot, skate backwards, skull, do cross cuts and hockey stops, plus more. I still skate regularly, but without much vision I have to use different techniques in order to stay on my blades.

Ice skating gives me the feeling of power, self-control, and togetherness. Up until five years ago, I used to skate on my own with limited guidance, but now I skate by holding on to a friend’s arm. Ice skating brings me freedom! The feeling of pure bliss and exhilaration! I can be myself when I step on to the ice. I can fly high by feeling the wind on my face and smelling the fresh air and as Whitney Houston says in one of her songs: “Give me one moment in time. When I’m more than I thought I could be! When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away and the answer is all up to me.”

When I am on the ice, I am on the top of the world and sight or the lack thereof really does not matter to me. I know that when others see me ice skating they stop and stare but I do not really care. My friends often tell me that occasionally skaters bump into each other while staring at me. Let them! I am blind but I can skate and have fun just like them.

I even played ice hockey! No, not within the mainstream environment, but with a team of blind and sighted players. This hockey team has been in existence since the 1970s and has traveled to such places as Russia and Finland to play other teams of blind players. If you would like to learn more about this team, then please visit www.iceowls.ca.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your accessibility and special-needs business consultant inviting you to go out there and tell everyone that yes! Blind and visually-impaired persons can learn how to ice skate and enjoy it like anyone else.

How Do I Communicate With The Internet?

How do I communicate with the Internet?

I am asked this question nearly daily, and as long as it helps to educate mainstream persons, I will never tire of answering it.

I communicate with the Internet through software known as screen readers and self-voicing browsers. These pieces of software, also known as access technology, enable me to hear what is on the screen and, for the most part, I can hear what a sighted person sees but there are some drawbacks.

Firstly, screen readers and self-voicing browsers are unable to decipher images, graphics, and icons. The only way that they can decipher them is if they are appropriately tagged with textual equivalents.

Secondly, screen readers and self-voicing browsers are only able to read PDF content after they have been properly tagged by content developers. In addition, a blind or visually-impaired person needs to use the right version of screen reader. Many of the earlier versions are unable to communicate with PDF content, so it is important to have the latter versions at hand.

Thirdly, screen readers and self-voicing browsers can only work for us if websites are accessible and usable.

Unfortunately, over 97% of websites are still inaccessible to both sighted and blind persons alike. In a future blog, I will talk about some of the barriers that presently face me on the Internet as a blind person and will share what I am doing to raise awareness. In the meantime, I have some urls for you to visit. These websites will enable you to learn all about screen readers and much more.

Visit: http://www.freedomscientific.com and http://www.dolphincomputeraccess.com.

Just to give you a sneak preview: Screen readers and self-voicing browsers can read as follows: Entire screens, by paragraph, by sentence, by word, by letter. They can spell entire words, perform phonetic spelling, announce punctuations, read and ignore punctuations, plus much more. However, they often have difficulty with handling pop-up screens and pull-down menus, and they are unable to communicate with CAPTCHAs because CAPTCHAS require users to enter security codes based on proffered images.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your accessibility and special-needs business consultant wishing you a terrific day and reminding you to go out there and tell others all about how blind and visually-impaired persons use screen readers and self-voicing browsers to communicate with the Internet plus more.