Looking forward

So, it’s a brand new year and time for me to have a bit of fun with my wish list. I always like doing this because it helps me to put a few things into perspective as well as to use my imagination to have some fun. So, what’s on my wish list for this year?

First, I hope that more companies will decide to follow Apple’s lead to make their hand held devices more accessible to blind and sight impaired persons.

Second, that the blind and sight impaired community can work with financial institutions and the manufacturers of POS devices to somehow make their touch screens accessible to blind and sight impaired persons.

Third, that more websites can be made accessible to blind and sight impaired persons, that it would be easier to request and access information and complete online forms more independently, that is, without having to ask for sighted assistance.

Fourth, that we will be better able to request information in alternate formats such as Braille, large print, and in a readable e-text format.

Fifth, that recreational sports is made more accessible to the blind and sight impaired.
Of course, there is more that I could wish for but I think that for now I’ll stop here.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and asking you to go out there and share my wish list with others.
Visit www.nfb.org or www.acb.org to learn more.

Out of sight out of mind

Someone recently put forth the following argument to me.  Out of sight, out of mind; could this be the reason why society often forgets about blind and sight impaired persons when it comes to ensuring that they receive such things as:  equal access to job opportunities, education, health services, equal access to sporting and recreational facilities, and everything else that the mainstream person has access to?

 

I listened with bated interest to this person's opinions and arguments and after our encounter I decided to take a bit of time to contemplate.  It did not take me too long to formulate my own opinion.  There definitely seems to be a common thread when it comes to blind and sight impaired persons being either forgotten or left out of many every day matters. 

 

When it comes to sporting activities, I have found that in my home city of Toronto Canada, there is a definite lack of accommodation when it comes to sporting activities.  Over the last decade, I have tried so many times to catch the interest of the Parks and Recreation folks in Toronto to raise the issue of blind persons being left out of sporting events and they have sheepishly admitted that more needs to be done but to date not much has been done.

 

A few months ago I had a meeting with some officials of a financial institute to discuss making more financial planning services available to blind and sight impaired persons and at that time I raised the issue of making information available in alternate formats such as Braille, large print, and electronic text.  To my chagrin but not to my surprise, the officials admitted that they had never thought of doing so.  I also had a similar meeting with a major supermarket chain in Toronto to discuss making their weekly specials more available to their blind and sight impaired customers either online or through a phone service and again, I was told that this had not been thought of up until now.  

 

So the question of the day would be this one:  Why is  it that so many companies, cities, and even governments seem to often forget about the blind and sight impaired?  Out of sight out of mind?  Because the blind and sight impaired community is just too small to be considered or could it be something else?  This is not just a Toronto Canada problem; it is Canada wide, North American wide, and even global wide. 

 

 

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 my blogs. 

Visit www.acb.org to learn how blind persons interact with the mainstream world.

Barriers to recreational sports

This continues to be a thorn in our sides and this is so because we need to keep depending on the sighted world for help.  We are not fully able to participate in many of the recreational sports on our own.

 

As an ice skater, I need help at the rink for someone to skate around with me because I am unable to ice skate on my own.  I do not have enough vision to skate on my own.  As a skier, the challenge is the same; I need someone to be my guide on the trail.  As a swimmer, I need sighted assistance when I swim in the pool with sighted persons. 

 

I am not sure if these barriers could be overcome but they can definitely be made easier to deal with.  How so?  We need to enlist the assistance of the sighted world.  We need to make our requests and ask for help.  We need to convince the sighted world that there is a definite benefit to making recreational sports available to the blind and sight impaired.  A few months ago, I attended a Ski for Light event in Utah and what an experience it was.  I invite you now to visit this website and see for yourself.  www.skiforlight.org.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and spread the word.