Please describe to me, Mom

This is often my request each time Mom and I go on our adventures, and how well she does it. She describes as much to me as she is able to. Everything that is within her visual field is described to me.

If we go to a mall, then you can be sure that she would describe to me whatever she sees in a supermarket if we go in there. If we visit a clothing store or a boutique, then all that sits on a rack is described to me and she even describes the sales persons to me. Whenever we dine out, she describes the food to me, the physical layout of the restaurant, and diners around us.

This is my world and this is my mom, describing everything to me. Most times, without having to ask, she does it like clockwork. It is an automatic part of our lives.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to tell others about me and my mom. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.

Daddy, I still remember the roses

My dearest Dad:

How much I still remember those early days of my childhood when you used to pick a rose and put it in the palm of my tiny hand. I will cherish these memories forever.

These days were always sunny ones to me. We would walk in front of those sweet smelling rose beds and my little hand would be firmly but gently enfolded in your larger one. You would be describing everything to me as we walked along those fresh and sun-filled mornings, and as we walked you would be looking for the perfect rose for me. How well you knew how much I loved my roses, but more importantly, how well you knew my love for those sweet smelling roses.

You knew so well that I could barely see their color but you also knew how much I enjoyed smelling them and touching their delicate petals. I shall forever remember those fragrant roses placed gently in the palm of my tiny hand on many a sunny morning.

Thank you, Dad, for these precious memories!

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

Helping mom to find

Mom and I almost always have lots of fun whenever we go shopping at the supermarket. My way of helping her is to use my sense of touch to help find such things as tins, cans, bottles, boxes, and the various meats and similar things. I use such methods as shapes, sizes, widths, and lengths. I also shake tins, cans, and boxes to help the cause.

In the case of meats, my sense of touch is called upon to help identify shapes of such things as drumsticks, thighs, breasts, sausages, bacon, and so on. It helps that I have an idea as to what to look for on which shelves.

How do I know which shelves have which things? Ah, my memory from when I used to see things. Lots of things for Mom and me to have fun over. I am sure that other blind persons either have similar methods or some new ones for me to learn about.

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 Mom and me. Visit www.afb.org to learn more.

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.