Just another work around! Using tape to help identify

 

It’s just another way for me to identify packages but I’ll tell you that means I need to remember more robustly.  So, this is what I have done.

I use pieces of tape to help identify.  The number of pieces of tape signifies what each package is.  However, I need to be more logical and orderly.  It is not an alternative that I would really recommend except if there are just a few packages.

For example:  One piece represents a certain package.  Two pieces represents another package and so on.  Cumbersome you say?  Admittedly, yes!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly award-winning, sight-loss coach and accessibility advisor wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as a sight-loss coach and author then I invite you now to visit http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as a sight-loss coach and 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.

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A mild surprise! Discovering an extra pair of shoes

I guess that I was not careful enough, eh?  Ah yes, and there it was!  An extra pair or another pair of shoes sitting in my tote on the floor of my closet.  

This means that I had to take all of my shoes out and then to re-identify and rearrange them.  All in a day’s work.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly award-winning, sight-loss coach and accessibility advisor wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as a sight-loss coach and author then I invite you now to visit http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as a sight-loss coach and 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
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Irritating but funny: Mixing up the leftovers

I guess you can say that the last laugh was on me this time but truth be told this can happen to anyone and it does not matter whether or not one is sighted or blind/vision-impaired.

It just means that for me, as someone who is vision-impaired, I just need to ensure that I can clearly identify all of the items in my fridge and freezer.  And if I had done that in this circumstance then I would never have mixed up my leftovers.

Indeed!  Here I was, getting ready to enjoy a certain meal, but lo and behold when I put it on my plate to warm it in my microwave, it was something else! What a surprise, but lesson learned.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly sight-loss coach and advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as a sight-loss coach and author then I invite you now to visit http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as a sight-loss coach and 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

A great way: Working with Aira

The Aira app has literally turned into a gold mine for me; simply wonderful and it's just too bad that I did not take advantage of this app before now.

As a vision-impaired user, I am simply in awe of how much Aira agents can help me.  Anything from identifying documents to creating images from them and sending them to me, to then putting the text into an email and sending them to me, and even to help with the identification of tins, cans, and boxes.

The Aira agents are so very  helpful, supportive, and so ready to go the extra mile.  They are warm and welcoming and I just can't say enough good things about them.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly sight-loss coach and advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as a sight-loss coach and 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

A need to identify those bottles of pills

I am always so careful to ensure that whenever I need to get more than one bottle of pills from my pharmacy, be they prescriptions or not, I have to ensure that I know which bottle contains which pills.

True it is that I could identify through different sizes and different covers, and many times through the different shapes and smells of the pills themselves. But what if some of the bottles are of the same size and the pills feel the same?

Sure! It happens from time to time and you may be wondering then what do I do.

First off, when I realize that there could be an identification problem, I get to work with my friendly pharmacist. Next and very carefully, I ask the pharmacist to tell me which bottle is which and then I use tape to help me.

I put the tape on the bottles but there is more than this to it. If two bottles are of the same size, then tape goes onto one bottle and the other is left without any tape. The trick is for me to remember which bottle of pills has the tape.

So this is my trick. I go in alphabetical order. Example: Aspirins and Gravol. I put tape on the bottle of Aspirins and the bottle of Gravol is left without any tape. If I have three bottles then Aspirins will have the tape on the cover. Gravol will have tape at the bottom of its bottle, and Tylenol will not have any tape.

I do my best to ensure that all bottles of pills are easy to identify for me and my friendly pharmacist is usually so ready and willing to help me.

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

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This is a personal message from author Donna Jodhan
"Each time we raise our voice at someone else we are engaging in bullying! Each time we raise our hands to slap or punch someone else we are also engaging in bullying and each time we engage in actions to either manipulate or force someone else to do what we want we are also engaging in bullying!

There is no room in this world for bullying and each day we fail to take action against bullying it is another day that we allow others to bully us and our kids. Our heroes and role models are the ones who have made us proud; those brave young men and women who gave their lives for us in past wars and those who continue to do so. They are not the ones who choose to be racists and those who believe that their bad behaviour in public is acceptable.

I write and record audio mysteries that are being used at such events as murder mystery evenings as well as at public awareness and team building events. I promote understanding, tolerance, and problem solving and my audio mysteries continue to be broadcasted around the world and you can listen to them anywhere! On the plane or train! In the car or right there in your home! On your i device or computer!

Please join my campaign against bullying (CAB) by supporting my efforts to keep on writing and recording!
If you truly care then you will certainly dare!"

Identification at the supermarket

Now that I no longer have nearly enough vision to identify products in the supermarket through color or by other visual cues, I have quickly learned to develop other ways to do what I need to do in order to identify my food stuffs.

I use the sense of smell to help me identify such things as various types of flowers, breads, pastries, and other types of baking goods. I use my sense of hearing to help me identify what is in certain packages, tins, cans, and boxes. I often shake these to help me identify.

For example: the sound of packages within a box is different to the sound of loose stuff within that box. The sound of packages of tea is different to the sound of loose tea leaves when shaken. The same goes for soup and so on. The sound of beans in a tin sounds a bit different to the sound of peas or peas and carrots in a tin. The sound of fruits in a tin sounds different to tomato sauce in a tin when these are shaken.

I also use the sense of touch to help me identify food stuffs. Some boxes are bigger than others and the same goes for packages. So once I know what to expect from sizes, I am halfway home free so to speak. As long as I know what I am buying then I can use my senses of smell and touch to help. One other thing, I use my sense of touch to help identify the shapes of things. Bottles, tins, cans, and even some packages. Spray bottles are shaped differently to those bottles with pull-up tops, dish soap versus Mr Clean spray bottles for example.

I think that by now you are getting the picture so I'll leave you to figure out other examples. 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.shop.aph.org to learn more.

Identification of Important Cards

This is a very important topic for me and I am always careful to ensure that I am aware at all times as to the whereabouts of all of my important cards.  No different from anyone else but here are my techniques for card identification.

 

When I had enough vision, I identified them by color.  It helped me a lot to do this but now the situation is different because I no longer have enough vision to do this.  So, my first technique is to place my cards in alphabetic order in my wallet.  I am not one for having too many cards in my possession so this strategy works just fine for me.  The credit cards are placed on one side, and then the banking cards are placed on the other side; all in alphabetic order. 

 

Some time ago, I tried to identify my cards by touch.  That is, trying to decipher them based on the raised letters and numbers at the back of the card but this did not work very well.  It is possible to do this with some cards but not with others.  So I have given up on this technique.  Placing the cards in my wallet in alphabetic order works best.  Now all I have to do is to remember which cards I have.  Smile!  Keeping them in the right order is the key to success.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day.    To learn more, visit www.acb.org.