How I was able to identify

These are the methods that I still use to help me identify objects and persons. I'll do my best to make my list as concise as possible. In short, I use the senses of smell, touch, taste, and hearing. Four of my five senses.

In previous days, I used all five senses but with precious little sight now, I have to depend on the other four senses to help me out.

My sense of hearing - to help me identify the various sounds, voices, and footsteps of others.
My sense of taste - to help me identify various foods, fruits, veggies, and so on. I also use my sense of taste to help me determine when food is no longer good.
My sense of smell - to identify certain perfumes, powders, and cosmetics. To identify flowers, and also to help me determine when food is no longer good. To help me identify my surroundings: green grass, a nearby stream, lake, or ocean, and even persons.
My sense of touch - to help me confirm certain objects through shape, size, and texture.

There you have it and I encourage you to go out there and share my methods with others.
I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day.

Remembering seasons through color

There used to be a time when I could enjoy the colors of the various seasons and it is what I use now to help me remember each of our four seasons. So here goes.

I remember springtime by recalling the colors of yellow, red, green, purple, and blue. I remember summer through the colors of blue, green, red, purple, and white. I remember fall through the colors of red, orange, and brown. I remember winter through the colors of white.

So you may be asking what these colors represent to me. Blue is for sky. White is either for puffy white clouds or white snow. Red is for flowers or falling leaves. Orange is also for falling leaves. Green is for grass and yellow is for sun. Brown is for those dried leaves that cover the ground. Purple is for an early dawn.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more about how blind persons interact with the world of color.

Are blind persons easier victims?

This is a topic that often arises among my clients and friends and there are several ways to look at this question. On the one hand, some would argue that some suspects may think twice before making a blind person their victim, but on the other hand, there are some suspects who would not think twice about doing so.

One can only guess as to why anyone would want to make another person their victim of something such as fraud, dishonesty, or anything else that is dubious or underhanded. As to the question at hand, here are my thoughts on this subject.

Blind persons may be easier victims because suspects may feel that it is easier to take advantage of them because of their lack of sight. For after all, blind persons cannot read printed matter without the aid of adaptive technology such as scanners with voice output capabilities, and large print magnification. If there is a trusted sighted person on hand, then you can add this to the resources that a blind person would have at their disposal.

A blind person is unable to decipher facial expressions, gestures, and other visual cues, and accordingly, they are going to be at a disadvantage when dealing with a cunning sales person. So picture this example. A sales person comes to the door of a blind person to sell them a vacuum cleaner. They quickly realize that their potential client is blind and bingo! They decide to attempt a scam!

They show their blind victim the vacuum but then proceed to sell them something else. It has happened in cases that I personally know of. What I want to say is this! A blind person is a more vulnerable person when it comes to potential scams and schemes. Without eyesight, blind persons are more at the mercy of potential scammers and schemers.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and tell others about my blogs. Come by and visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca.

Is there technological discrimination?

This could be a very interesting discussion for an evening at home, but I often wonder this. While mainstream technology is meant for supposedly everyone, in many cases, until Apple came along, blind persons are almost always shut out. The Kindle is developed but we cannot use it! The Kobo tablet makes its way onto the market but we are unable to take advantage of this new breakthrough because there are no features to make it possible for us to know what is on the screen or for us to hear what keys we press.

If Apple has been able to do it, we can use their mobile devices because of voice over, then why can’t others follow in their footsteps? If a device or gadget is produced but a blind person is unable to use it because they cannot use the screen or keyboard, could this be construed as technological discrimination? For surely, developers should know that blind persons would want to be able to participate in technology as much as anyone else!

I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day. Please go out there and share my concerns with others and take a minute to visit www.afb.org.

Learning how to interact

I guess that so many of us take this part of our lives for granted, but when you are blind it is my belief that we do need to learn how to interact. Having had some vision before, I learned that gestures and expressions sure play an important part in how and when we interact. Then add the eye contact to this mix and you have a huge learning curve.

When I had vision I sure learned how to do it in an acceptable manner. I copied gestures from others and learned how and when to use them. I had a bit more difficulty with expressions because I was never able to see them clearly so I had to get others to help me.

I learned fast and I asked many questions. In addition, I had great family and friends to help me out. Now that I do not have enough vision to see gestures and expressions, I have to rely on my previous experience, visualizing as I go along and I use my powers of listening to seal the deal.

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. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.

Why do people walk into us?

My friends are constantly asking me this question and for the most part I really do not have an answer. As they would tell it, we would be walking along in a mall or through a store or supermarket and my cane would be clearly visible for everyone to see. Yet, someone is coming along in the opposite direction and would simply walk right into me.

Some would argue that on any given day, sighted persons walk into each other anyway so what's the fuss all about? Maybe so, but I am just a bit confused as to why someone would do it when it is clear that I am blind and am unable to see. My cane is a bold indicator of my being blind. What is even more confusing is that too many people simply go on their way after bumping into me and never apologize.

Are we living in a world where we are just simply too busy to realize each others' challenges? Is it that we are just too busy to pay sufficient attention to each other? Or are we too busy to say sorry?

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and share my thoughts with others. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.

Please ask before touching me

I know! Many people touch each other for various reasons. They do it for affection, they do it to make a point, and they also do it in so many cases to blind persons whenever they wish for them to move out of their way. I have no problem with all of this but whenever someone touches me because they wish me to move and they do not ask first, if they wish me to do so, then here is where my concerns lie.

Why am I concerned? Because if I am unexpectedly touched, it makes me nervous and I don’t believe that anyone should touch me without first asking. That is, if they are touching me in order for me to move out of their way. I would even venture to say that I find it rude and disrespectful if a person first touches me without asking because they would like me to move out of their way.

I know that many people do it without even thinking but I would like you to go out there and tell others about my concerns.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to visit www.acb.org to learn more.