Great working buddies! Good days with Fern and Greg

Yet again, here were two wonderful people that I met so many years ago when I worked for the Royal Bank of Canada.   They taught me so much.  They were never afraid to help and assist me.  They imparted their knowledge so freely and they were always so very pleasant to me.  

Fern was like a big sister, always having time to chat, and Greg was like a big brother always wanting to show me something new.  

Such wonderful people who were only there for a season and a reason.

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

Not that difficult for me: Adjusting to a changed workplace

The Covid-19 pandemic has definitely been responsible for a very new type of workplace. That is, more folks are now working from home.

For me, it is nothing really new but what has changed is that because more folks are now working from home, it means fewer face to face meetings and more teleconferences.

Believe it or not, responses to requests are a bit slower in coming and call to action appears to be a bit more sluggish, at best. I guess that many are adjusting to this new type of workplace.

This probably means that more folks are being challenged to stay on track and on their work schedule while at the same time they are being challenged to resist the call from the fridge and snack jars.

These are changing times but at the end of the day, not much different for me.

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 Internet as My Workplace

This is now my new workplace; where I can be as comfortable as can be. I don't have to tell anyone that I am blind, that I am unable to see. I can play in an environment on an equal footing. No one is going to penalize me if I am unable to see. That is, no one is going to feel uncomfortable if I am blind.

I don't even have to tell anyone about my blindness. My clients are satisfied to know that I can fulfill their requirements. I work with clients from all over the world. They correspond with me either by email or by phone. There is no need to tell. The Internet as a workplace is so different and so much more fun to work in and why? Because I can be me.

I set my own parameters. I set my own hours and my own limits and I dictate which jobs I work on and which I reject. I do not have to make excuses to anyone. I don't have to worry about attitude barriers. I do not have to be concerned about what the mainstream world thinks. As long as I can perform my duties and fulfill my end of the bargain; no one really cares if I am blind.

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 persons interact with their clients through the Internet. Visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca to learn more.

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 Big Is My World?

In the normal scheme of things, my world should be as big as I want it to be, but in today's society it is very difficult for me to define the size of my world. You see, my world is not really in my hands. For the most part and sadly so, my world remains in the hands of society; there are days that I wish I could change this, but I can't.

One of my favorite quotations is by Robert F. Kennedy: "Some men see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say why not?!" And this is the philosophy that I use every day of my life in order to define my world in my own way.

You may be wondering why I would say that my world is not in my hands but rather in the hands of society.

Society has, inadvertently, continued to erect countless barriers for me and others who are blind and visually impaired. They have erected daunting barriers for millions of persons with disabilities and have even gone the extra mile to do the same for seniors. In the case of persons with disabilities, and in particular persons who are blind and visually impaired, one of the most challenging barriers that I and my cofrères face is a barrier called Attitude.

This barrier is nothing new and has been around for a long time. If we do not take steps to bring it down, then I am afraid that we will find ourselves short changing tomorrow's generation of disabled kids, preventing them from experiencing a better future. In short, if we do not start to be pro-active in stead of re-active, we will be robbing our disabled kids of their rights to a future that ought to include them as contributing members of society.

All my life I have had to battle attitude barriers from society. As early as I can remember, my parents had to battle the system to allow me to obtain my formal education. Then, as a university student I had to endure constant remarks from those professors who made no effort to hide their discontent about having a blind student in their class. In the workplace I and others have had to deal with the narrow-mindedness of managers and co-workers alike who do not believe that blind and visually-impaired persons can be productive.

This is why I am so glad that I can now use the Internet as my workplace. Most of my clients are blissfully unaware that I am blind and, frankly, they would probably not care as long as I was able to perform to their satisfaction.

I am not content to sit back and wait for things to happen and this is why I have managed to expand my world much more than many others like me. I challenged an ice skating school to teach me to ice skate; I have learned to play chess; I have written two books; I have hang glided, sailed, and even driven around in a parking lot. No, I am not showing off! Just trying to motivate others to expand their world. Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it, but one has to be realistic.

The attitude barrier needs to be addressed. To be charitable (which I am), I can say that 99.9% of the time, this barrier is erected by those who are limited by such things as: cultural beliefs, fear of the unknown, fear of interacting with those who are different, and an unwillingness to learn new things and meet new people.

Here are two websites that you can visit in order to learn more about the world of blind and visually-impaired persons: National Federation of the Blind (http://www.nfb.org) and American Foundation for the Blind (http://www.afb.org).

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 help us to lower the attitude barrier. You will not only be helping us but you will also be helping to create a better future for others.