Showing posts with label sight impaired. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sight impaired. Show all posts
Thursday, October 6, 2016
My best friend: When Char fell
She is my best friend and an almost perfect lady. At least, as perfect as anyone in this world could be. I have known her for more than half my life and there is nothing in the world that I would not do for her.
She never complains and despite her hearing challenge, along with her vision impairment, she still smiles at the world every day. So much so that when she fell a few months ago she did not even tell me. But when I eventually found out a few days later I can tell you that her pain became mine.
When I got to speak to her on the phone, the first thing that I did was to scold her for not having told me but she only laughed. Then, when I asked her to tell me about it all, she simply told me with no complaint. Just a slight chuckle in her voice, tinged with hope for a quick recovery.
Char told me that she simply missed the large hole with her cane and down she went. She broke her right wrist and fractured her left thumb. She was placed in a wrist cast.
Happy to say now that she is on the mend.
I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.
If you would like to learn more about me as an author then I invite you now to visit jodhanmysterybook.club/about-the-author
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.
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Wednesday, April 8, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Doctor, I Can Hear You!
This is one of my pet peeves: Doctors who find it more efficient to talk over my head or to the person accompanying me to my appointment. You would think that part of their training would include teaching physicians how to interact with persons who are sight impaired, but it seems not to be the case. So many of my clients continue to complain about the total lack of bedside manners when it comes to doctors being able to interact with them. At the best of times doctors do not really know how to interact with their patients, but when you are sight impaired it makes things even more difficult.
As someone who has had to spend a lot of time in doctors’ offices, I can tell you that they really need to learn how to treat those of us who are sight impaired. Sometimes they create an impression of either not being able to communicate with us or they do not believe that we are capable of understanding. I have had doctors who prefer to talk to my mom rather than me, even though I'm an adult! I have had others who ignored my questions, and still others who have walked out of the office at the end of an appointment without even bothering to say that the appointment was over.
So many times I wish that I could say, "Doctor I am here! I am the patient and you can talk to me. I can hear you and I can compute!" I often wonder why is it that so many doctors have difficulty communicating with those of us who are sight impaired. At the best of times they have difficulty communicating with the mainstream patient but for us my opinion is as follows.
The eyes are what the rest of the world uses to communicate and when there is a situation whereby the eyes are unable to communicate, then all hell breaks loose and everything goes haywire. Blind and visually-impaired persons are unable to use their eyes to communicate. So, what is the solution? More education and more awareness training.
I'm Donna J. Jodhan your accessibility and special-needs business consultant urging you to go out there and tell the rest of the world that they can communicate with blind and visually impaired persons in ways other than through the eyes. To learn more, you can visit www.nfb.org.
As someone who has had to spend a lot of time in doctors’ offices, I can tell you that they really need to learn how to treat those of us who are sight impaired. Sometimes they create an impression of either not being able to communicate with us or they do not believe that we are capable of understanding. I have had doctors who prefer to talk to my mom rather than me, even though I'm an adult! I have had others who ignored my questions, and still others who have walked out of the office at the end of an appointment without even bothering to say that the appointment was over.
So many times I wish that I could say, "Doctor I am here! I am the patient and you can talk to me. I can hear you and I can compute!" I often wonder why is it that so many doctors have difficulty communicating with those of us who are sight impaired. At the best of times they have difficulty communicating with the mainstream patient but for us my opinion is as follows.
The eyes are what the rest of the world uses to communicate and when there is a situation whereby the eyes are unable to communicate, then all hell breaks loose and everything goes haywire. Blind and visually-impaired persons are unable to use their eyes to communicate. So, what is the solution? More education and more awareness training.
I'm Donna J. Jodhan your accessibility and special-needs business consultant urging you to go out there and tell the rest of the world that they can communicate with blind and visually impaired persons in ways other than through the eyes. To learn more, you can visit www.nfb.org.
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