Too Many Objects Often Confuse Me

Whenever there are too many objects either on my desk, on my kitchen counter, or even in a room, I get totally confused.  I am pretty sure that this is probably the case for most of the mainstream world but without enough vision to help me, it is a real challenge for me.

 

I do not like clutter.  I do not like things and objects scattered around me because it means that I will have to spend more time deciphering what they are and trying to place them in my mind.  I am probably considered to be a very organized person.  So no clutter for me. 

 

I sometimes wonder whether this is due to my blindness and I really do not have an answer.  All I know is that I really dislike too many objects in my way or anywhere near me.

 

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

My Poor Little Toes

 

For most of us, it is always our poor little toes that bare the brunt of the pain whenever we fail to avoid objects at ground level but for a blind person it is even more painful.  I can tell you that without a doubt, whenever I bump into objects at ground level, it is almost always my toes that are the victims of pain.  In addition, it is often my poor little toes that I use to scout things out whenever I am either looking for a fallen object or when I am attempting to navigate my way around the house.

 

Yes, whenever I need to find fallen objects or navigate my way around, I use my feet, mainly my toes to do the finding and navigating.  Maybe I am a bit too lazy to feel around for fallen objects with my hands, but I use my toes.  Most of the time it works quite well but whenever I encounter unexpected objects or obstacles, it is my toes that have to face the pain. 

 

I have developed a thick skin so to speak but nevertheless, it sometimes hurts more than I would like.  In essence, I use my toes more than my hands to feel around at ground level.  If you would like to learn more about how blind persons locate fallen objects and/or navigate their way around, then please visit www.nfb.org. 

 

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

My Medicine Cabinet

You got it!  My medicine cabinet is super organized and when you are blind, it makes it even more vital for things to be organized.  I have specific spots for specific things; pills on one shelf, liquids on another, and other things on another.

 

When I had sufficient vision, things were still well organized and I used to use color of bottles and boxes to help me identify but now that my vision is so bad, I use labels to help me.  Or, I use shapes and sizes of bottles and boxes to help me navigate.  Everything is carefully placed.  Liquids by themselves and pills far away in another spot.  My sense of smell also helps to make things easy and smooth running.  Yes, sometimes when I am not sure of what a liquid is, I sniff it in its bottle.  You would even be surprised to know that some pills have a unique smell.

 

If things are well organized then everything is great but if anything either falls out of place or is moved around on me by someone else, then all hell breaks loose!  I label things either with Braille labels or by placing one of those label dots or squares on the bottle or box.  This latter way of labeling is done through a product called the Pen Friend; a product that was developed in Britain some time last year.  It is a lot cheaper than its competitor the bar code reader and if you would like to learn more about it you can visit www.rnib.org.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and tell the rest of the world how blind persons navigate their medicine cabinets.

How Clean is My Carpet?

How clean is my carpet?

This is one of the most difficult tasks for me. There is really no hard way for me to tell; except if something spills onto my carpet and leaves either a wet or sticky spot. Otherwise, I am in trouble. So, I have to be extremely careful when I am on my carpet.

When I vacuum, I do it methodically; going slowly back and forth with my vacuum cleaner and making sure that I cover as much of the carpet as possible. I am very slow with this task. I can hear when the vacuum picks up any particle because it makes a noise like something being picked up; like tiny pebbles being picked up. I am mindful not to run into my furniture and it takes up a lot of hard concentration on my part to be aware of my surroundings.

Having had vision before makes it a bit easier for me to visualize my rooms and what is located where. I am careful not to go too close to my plants and to wires and chords. All in a day's work; not my favorite task.

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. If you would like to learn more about how blind persons go about cleaning their homes then visit http://www.independentlivingaids.com.

Finding the Mold and Moss

Whereas the mainstream person can do this with their eyes, I do it with my fingers and with my sense of smell. Mould and moss are very unique to the touch. Mold feels a bit rough and moss is slimy. They also have a distinctive smell.

When it comes to mold and moss, I have to be on a constant watch for them around my food and in my bathroom. I am constantly sniffing my refrigerated food to ensure that these two evils have not invaded and I use my fingers to confirm any suspicions of their presence.

When I had enough vision, it was easier to spot mould and moss but now that my sight is so bad, my fingers and my nose have to do the detecting.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and tell others how a blind person goes about detecting mold and moss. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.

Bank books and Passports

Two very important little books for me to guard with my life. People often ask me how can I tell the difference between the two and it's very simple. The bank book is noticeably smaller than the passport.

I keep these two little gems very close to me and hidden away from prying eyes. I have memorized my account numbers as well as my passport number so that at a moment's notice, I am able to rattle them off without having to ask someone to read them. This ensures that I only have to show these two important books whenever it is absolutely necessary.

When you are blind, you need to make doubly sure that at all times, your important documents are well protected; just like the mainstream person but in my case I need to ensure that my important details are never made known to strangers.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and share my thoughts with the rest of the world. Visit me anytime at http://www.sterlingcreations.ca.

Learning the Way

For me, learning the way is always one of my best techniques when it comes to dealing with unfamiliar territory. It is best for me because it makes me more independent. When I had enough vision, I used to depend on such landmarks as counting pathways and driveways; counting doors and cubicles; using color and contrast to help me identify places; and even using contrast between sidewalks and grassy embankments. I also used to count hallways and corridors and use contrasts between carpeting and bare floors. In short, I used a combination of my limited vision and my sense of direction to do it all. I also used sounds and my sense of smell to help me.

That was then and this is now. Today, I use my cane a lot more to help me count doors, corridors, hallways, and driveways and pathways. I am no longer able to use color and contrast to help me but that's okay. Having previously had vision enables me to picture layouts in a room because believe it or not, most rooms and hallways have similar layouts and if you have been lucky to have seen the physical layout of such things as a reception area, classroom, or office, it sure helps.

I use the so-called touch technique with my cane to help me locate carpeting and I trail the edge of carpets to help me orientate myself. I depend more heavily now on sounds and my sense of smell. Believe it or not, smell helps me to locate different places such as: Cafeterias, restaurants, and even certain offices and other areas.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and tell others how blind persons find their way. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.