Frustration! Without a color detector

With so many apps now available to help a blind person detect colors, you would think that I would not be too upset if I did not have my cherished color detector at my fingertips.  However, alas!  This is not quite so for me.

My cherished color detector stopped working about a month ago and I am still deciding whether or not to replace it.  Truth be told, I quite like it because I don't have to turn on my i device to use a color detector app.

The stand alone color detector app works by batteries and is very easy to use.  It is portable and announces colors in a very clear voice.  It is accurate enough for me to be able to make full use of it.

Call me old fashioned but this is my preference.

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

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Packing for a trip

I love to travel but when it comes to packing! That's a different story. Now that my vision is down to a bare minimum, I need to be super careful when I pack my stuff, and why? Because I need to ensure that the clothes I take with me all match. That is, what I think I am packing is indeed what it is.

So out comes my color detector and I use it a lot to help me. I am very careful when I pack so as to ensure that I arrange my clothes in such a way that I know what goes with what. I try to take things that are easy to match. For example, black pants with any color top. I am very careful to ensure that things do indeed match. My closet and drawers are all very meticulously arranged so that I know where to find what I seek.

My mom has helped me to do this and I just need to make sure that I keep things in order. It is easy once I have a system down pat. One big challenge for me is to ensure that I know which color shoes I am packing so that I can match them appropriately to my clothes. Fun, fun!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to visit www.nfb.org to learn more about the world of blind persons.

Identical pairs of shoes

Now, here is another problem for me and it comes when the feel of shoes is exactly the same. Let us say, for example, that I have bought two pairs of shoes, one black and one brown. Yes, the same style, length, shape, and everything is identical. So how do I deal with this so that I do not end up wearing one black and one brown?

Hmm, I need to separate them so that I do not get them mixed up. The black pair sits at one end of my shoe stand and the brown pair sits at the other end of the shoe stand. Simple, but I need to also remember where I have placed each pair and which is which. Problems for me if I can't remember but then I can use my color detector to help out. Funtime for me but that's okay.

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 identical shoes. Visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca to learn more.

What color do I think it is?

This is a little game that I developed as a child and still play by myself. It was lots of fun to play this game when I did not have much vision, and when I got much vision it was even more fun. Now, without very much to call my own vision, it is back to my game in earnest.

I should probably know the color of what many of the things in my life should be, but still! It is fun for me to guess. I love doing it with clothes, trying to guess the color before I use my color detector to tell me. I do it with flowers and more often than not, I end up guessing incorrectly. I also try to do it with the skies but sometimes I am a bit off whenever I ask a sighted person to tell me.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and if you would like to learn more about color detectors then visit www.independentlivingaids.com.

The challenges of packing for a trip

In a previous blog, I told you about how much I depend on my color detector in my daily life. This little friend also plays a very important part when I prepare for a trip.

The challenges of packing for a trip for me are that I need to ensure that I can find what I am looking for. No different really for a sighted person but for me there is the additional challenge of ensuring that I know which tops go with which bottoms. So I take lots of time to pack my clothes and arrange them in such a way that I can easily find matching clothes.

I always pre-designate each corner of my suitcase for something specific. Shoes and slippers go in one corner. I place my night clothes and casual stuff in another corner. Another corner is reserved for my dress clothes and the fourth corner is reserved for my toiletries. I have learned to be more specific and thorough with my packing ever since losing most of my vision.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my words with others. Come visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca whenever you have a free moment.

Terror without my color detector

Ever since losing most of my sight, I depend on my color detector to help me with deciphering the colors of my clothes. This nifty little gadget has the voice of an Englishman and here is how it works.

You place this hand-held gadget on a piece of clothing and turn it on. It then tells you the color. The voice is clear and has a pleasant tone. Most of the time it is accurate, and I can only guess that when it is not, it is picking up the colors of various threads in the piece of clothing itself.

This little gadget plays a very important part in my life so just imagine how I felt when it died on me a few months ago just before I had to pack for a trip. I suffered for a few days until I was able to purchase a replacement. You can learn more about the color detector by visiting www.independentlivingaids.com and www.maxiaids.com.

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 others.

The challenges of a clothes closet

If I am able to stay on top of it, my clothes closet is just another thing for me to cope with but the minute I fall behind, then here is where the problem starts. In short, I need to ensure that everything is well organized. Not much different from a sighted person but for me, there is the extra mile to go.

My clothes are organized by color, and yes, by occasion. That is, when I would wear them. Casual clothes are off to one side and business wear is off to another side. Blouses are organized in alphabetical order of color. So for example, and from left to right, beige, black, blue, green, purple, red, white, yellow, and so on. The same goes for suits, pants, and skirts.

I use my talking color detector to help me keep my colors in order. It all works well if I am careful enough to keep everything in order but the minute something goes out of order, then all hell breaks loose! You can learn more about this wonderful little device by visiting www.maxiaids.com.

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.

Mixes and Matches

As a blind person, it is always a challenge to ensure that one's clothes are well coordinated; that they match.  Sometimes, I have been known to mismatch my clothes but I have managed to conquer this challenge with relative success.

 

Having had vision before, I can manage to remember which colors would match and which will not.  For example; some blues and greens will not.  The same for Oranges and yellows.  Reds and pinks, and purples and blues.  So here is my system.

 

I arrange my clothes closet in such a way as to have all of my clothes matched up and placed side by side.  Everything is color coordinated and if I want to be a bit daring then I would match a pair of black pants with any blouse or shirt in my closet.  A pair of jeans would normally go with almost everything but the greatest challenge comes in making sure that stripes match, flowers and multi colored clothes are coordinated, and that the right trousers is worn with the right top.

 

I use a color detector to help me out and for the most part it is very accurate.  This one talks; there are several of them on the market and you can learn more about them by visiting www.maxiaids.com. 

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and tell others what blind persons do in order to mix and match their clothes.

Getting Dressed In The Dark

For most blind and visually-impaired persons, this is it! It does not really matter whether the lights are on or off; we literally get dressed in the dark because, for the most, part we are unable to see what we are putting on. True it is that some of us can see enough to decipher colors, but as a general rule of thumb we are unable to see ourselves in the mirror and consequently we have no idea how we look when we step out in to the sighted world.

As for me, up until five years ago I was able to see enough to decipher colors and was able to match my clothes sufficiently so as not to look like a clown when I went out. Now, things are different for me. I have had to spend a lot of time getting my mom to organize my closet for me. She has helped me match up all of my clothes, and I have had to organize them in such a way that I know exactly where to find what I need. I use a color detector to help me decipher colors. This nifty little gadget talks and for the most part is accurate enough to give me an idea as to the color of a piece of clothing, but every now and then it goes a bit crazy and mucks things up for me.

Having had sight before helps me to deal with getting dressed in the dark, but for those who were born not being able to see colors, it is very different. These persons do not understand the concept and meaning of color, and as a result they need sighted assistance to help them match and coordinate their clothes. It is literally impossible to describe colors to someone who has never seen them. How can one describe the color red? I could say that red is like a rose and someone who has never seen the color red would associate it with the scent of a rose and that would be the extent of their mental picture.

I use my sense of feel and touch to identify my clothes, but if two pieces of clothing feel the same but are of different colors, then I use safety pins to help me. For example, if I have white and pink blouses that feel exactly the same, then I place a safety pin in the inner side of the collar of the white blouse.

My closet is super organized, and it is imperative for me to always have everything in its proper place. Blouses and skirts, pants and jackets, sweaters and suits, shoes, and coats all have their designated places. If I make just one slip in replacing anything, then all hell breaks loose and I then have to spend time reorganizing.

If you would like to learn more about the nifty color detector, then visit http://www.independentlivingaids.org.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your accessibility and special-business needs consultant wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and tell the rest of the world: Yes! Blind and visually-impaired persons are able to get dressed on their own despite not being able to see what they're doing.