Remembering to check the tins

Yes, I constantly need to keep reminding myself of this each time I go grocery shopping. As they come, most tins feel alike and it is only with constant practice that I am able to keep tabs on them whenever I buy them and whenever I pack them away in my pantry.

Of course, you will always find that some tins are smaller than others and are shaped a bit differently to others but on the whole and in general, many tins feel alike to the touch. As a blind person, I need to keep these points in mind on a daily basis.

Tins of tuna are different in shape to tins of beans and tins of soup are also a bit different as well. When you shake a tin of soup it sounds a bit different to a tin of beans but the challenge comes when I have to distinguish between different types of soup, different types of beans, and so on.

So how do I deal with this? I take my roll of masking tape with me to the supermarket and use it to help mark the tins. Sometimes I use my house key to make slight rips in the labels on tins to help me to decipher differences.

I am still working on a bar code reader to help make my life simpler and easier but this will come later. Meanwhile, all in a day's work for me.

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 others. Come by anytime and visit me at www.donnajodhan.com and there you can listen to some of my audio mysteries.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan.
Or you can chat with me on Skype at habsfan0526.

Handling the mail with no one around

Here is yet another challenge that I as a blind person face on a daily basis: having to handle the mail when no one is around. For the most part, it is difficult for me to find someone to sort and handle my mail on a daily basis and for the most part I need to find someone to help me do it and at their convenience.

This could be frustrating for me only if I let it be so and I have had to strategize in order to help myself. I use my portable scanner to help read the envelopes and this cuts down tremendously on time spent on this daily task. Nine out of ten times the scanner can decipher the text on the envelope and from there it is easy to sort the junk mail from the real mail.

I know what flyers and brochures feel like so those are usually tossed in the garbage first. After this the junk mail that is in envelopes follow suit and then it is time to read the bills and other letters.

Handwritten mail is usually the most difficult for me to deal with and here is where I need to find sighted assistance. With regard to bills and other mail that is typewritten, I need to take my time and read it thoroughly. All in a day's work I say to myself as it needs to be done.

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 memories. Visit me anytime at www.sterlingcreations.ca.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and @author_jodhan.
Or you can chat with me on Skype at habsfan0526.

Checking out labels on packages

Bar code readers for blind persons have certainly come a very long way. There used to be a time when a blind person, including me, used to have to depend on sighted assistance to get our packages read. Over the years this has improved greatly and now we have a few sources on hand to help us.

There is the bar code reader that you can buy at the websites listed below. There is also a device called the Pen Friend and here is how this works. You record your info on a special tiny label and affix it to your package. You will need sighted assistance to do this the first time. Someone to tell you what is on the package and after recording this you have it all there. You can then go back and use your special pen to read what you have recorded.

If I receive a package in the mail and need to read it, I do this in two ways. First, I could either use the scanning software in my talking cell phone, the KNFB reading software. Or I could put it under my scanner, the IPal Solo, or any other scanner that is similar to this scanner.

Of course, with the evolution of the IPad, there are apps out there to help you with this task as well. You can find apps to do this at a very cheap price. Both the apps and the scanning software utilize a camera that takes a picture of the printed matter and then converts it to voice output. Being able to read the info is becoming more important to everyone and the blind community certainly does not want to be left out of it.

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 blogs.
Visit www.maxiaids.com or www.independentlivingaids.com to learn more.

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.