So my name is Sharon, and I have been involved in what they are now starting to call the site loss world for the last 50 years, my babysitter was totally blind.
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And I received my first degree in orientation and mobility, teaching people with vision problems to travel safely back in 1984. And when the field of low vision became a professional field I went for my masters and my certification and graduated in.
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2004 from him College of optometry. So this has been
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outside of my family probably my biggest motivating factor for the better part of my life, and I really enjoy it. One of the things that does frustrate me the most is that people don’t know what they don’t know until they come to us.
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And so one of the things that I’ve done over the time with COVID is joined a couple of the support groups and been able to provide information to people both specific questions that people have about their own vision, and then more generally where to find
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resources in their own area.
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When I talked to community groups in general I usually start with a riddle.
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And the riddle Is this how does somebody who’s totally blind or legally blind.
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Take a bottle of oil and measure out two tablespoons for the cake mix that they want to make.
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And that’s a very very difficult thing as I see from the expressions on people’s faces, it’s really really difficult, the beer the bottle of oil is clear, the oil itself is clear, and you’re putting it into this little tiny tablespoon and trying to get
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two tablespoons and it doesn’t work real well.
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But there’s an easy, very easy answer if you know how to think about the program.
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And in order to get to that we’re going to go to a very, very old riddle that most of you have probably heard at some point in your life.
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A little boys walking to school he walks over a bridge he looks down.
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And he sees that there’s an 18 Wheeler stuck under this old bridge, it just it won’t go forward, they won’t go back there won’t go anywhere. It is stuck.
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Here comes the owner of the truck. What did you do to my truck, he says to the driver.
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And here comes the historical society member and he says, What did you do to find bridge.
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And the driver is standing there holding his head, and the car, the truck won’t go forward, and it won’t go back and the little boy looks down and he says to them.
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Waiting to think, what can we say to them while they get to this little boy know what to do.
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Some of you are get that answers coming I see the expressions changing right. That’s a mirror out of the tires.
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So the problem is at the top of the problem is where we get stuck.
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The answer is someplace else altogether.
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So what we have to do is we have to look at where can we let the air out of the tires Where can we make that space where can we make that change that will get us where we want to go because if we can’t keep doing the same thing over and over and over
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again and expect to get any different answers.
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And so what we want to do is we want to look at the problem differently. So now, if I tell you that one of the six or seven ways that I heard for people to get their toothpaste on the toothbrush, is to cut open the toothpaste, to put it in a small container
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and just dip their toothbrush into the open tuba toothpaste.
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Now, how do I get the same result. Without bottle of oil, have a tablespoon.
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I pour some table I pour some oil into a cottage cheese container or butter container or wherever I help with a lid. And when I need it, I scoop out two tablespoons of oil one to.
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How easy was that. Right. But the problem with the oil and the tablespoon The answer was in the plastic container.
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It wasn’t where we were stuck. It was down at the tires, it was someplace else.
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Right. And so if we always think okay what I want to do is possible I can move this truck, I can thread this needle, I can get this toothpaste into my mouth without making a mess.
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If you think from there, I can do this. The question is, now how do I do it. Where is the answer that I’m looking for. So the whole idea of blind rehabilitation, whether you have low vision or dental, vision or some vision.
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It doesn’t matter whether it’s tunnel vision are blurry vision.
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What do we do, what do we do, right, we look for the creative solutions, and we go with the assumption that there’s probably was driving a car because self driving cars haven’t come out yet, right unless it’s driving a car probably some one person somewhere
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is figured this out there doing it.
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figured this out there doing it. And you’re just as smart as they are.
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A lot of the ideas that I have, I steal from my clients, which is one of the reasons that my good friend Tiffany is here presenting because Tiffany has very limited vision, and she lives by herself.
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She bought her own house she’s got her own activities, she’s doing her own thing. And I love stealing your ideas because she comes up with a lot of good stuff.
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So I’ve asked her to join us as well today.
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The name of the program as you might have seen is bigger, brighter and bolder.
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So if we’re working with just low vision, right, just a little bit. It was a problem enough to lose your, your car and your job but sometimes your house and your spouse and everything else.
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Right. But if it’s just low vision them by making things bigger using magnification bolder, maybe using a marker instead of a pen and brighter using the right lighting, not too much lighting, but also making a bright enough to give us that contrast, we
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are going to do a lot, lot better and outdoors, we want to use sunglasses, right, that are going to give those. So one of the things that you’ll hear me say over and over and over again on the list or anyplace else you hear me speak.
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Is that the first step in finding those answers, is to see a low vision therapist, so people say why do I need one more doctor, right, why do I need one more doctor, your doctors are looking at maintaining your eye health.
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So if you have a retinal specialist if you have a dilemma, or macular degeneration if you have diabetes whatever your doctors looking in and you say, what can I fix inside of the eye.
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But when you get up at night and can’t find your way to the bathroom.
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Where’s your doctor.
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Right. He can’t fix that. But your orientation and mobility instructor can find half a different habitats and different ways for you to get safely from your bed into your bathroom.
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It might be adding a nightlight, it might be if you’re one of those people it’s really a sound sleeper when you get up, you might have one of those like clear plastic runners, right, that will go on your carpet, right across, and if you stay on the runner,
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and a lot of people who use walkers like to do that because the wheels don’t make a mess.
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And it keeps it in the right place the minute their wheels get stuck in the carpet they know that they’re off track.
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Traveling outdoors, how do you travel outdoors Do you use a support team, which is the came kind of we all think about the one that we lean on for balance for support.
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Is it a long white cane, which instead of going up and sticking our faces to the selves and trying to find things and bending over and kind of getting into awkward positions and bumping into people, we get the white came out and somebody might turn around
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you might bump into them with the cane, but not your whole body, you’re not going to knock them over you bump into them with the cane and they might turn around that they got bumped into.
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Oh my goodness, what did you, and then they usually end up apologize and say oh I’m sorry let me get out of your way.
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Right, because people recognize it, you’re not doing it out of malice. When you bump into people, when you trip on things when you do can’t find things and you’re asking, Hey, where’s the, you know, butter and it’s right in front of you because that’s
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the problem with macular degeneration. Right, is that you can’t see what’s right in front of you.
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You know, people think you know what the drugs, you know, getting forgetful what’s going on, it’s a matter of you literally can’t see it but when you walk in with a white cane, then you’re able to see what is that people are able to see exactly what your
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problem is, they may make determinations about your cane whether or not you think it’s a good idea or not to travel with it.
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And, and that’s my job as a teacher, is to help people to see the advantages of keeping safe.
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So, a lot of people keep bending further and further and further over to see their feet and 20 pounds ahead is now leading you, so you are much more likely to fall.
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We don’t want that to happen. We don’t want that to happen at all.
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So what do we do, we try to make things as visible as possible. Bigger Bolder, and brighter.
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When we’re outside in the sun.
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We can’t change the sun can’t take this other way right, but you can wear a hat. You can choose a pair of sunglasses, that’s going to work for you.
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When people ask about the colors of sunglasses.
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All right, there are dozens of different colors and I’m holding up just a couple of them so you guys can see the yellows the blues the greens the Reds right oranges.
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Right. There’s all different kinds of color because everybody’s eyes are different, whether or not you’ve had cataracts whether you have just macular degeneration, whether you have glaucoma, or diabetes on top of that.
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So, how you see, going back to the original question, how you see is what low vision therapists are worried about how do you see and how do you function, how do you make the transition from being able to do everything visually easily to either adapting
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the low vision with low vision devices or doing a tactically changing the technology type changing the technique or doing it auditory so a lot of people I know probably in this group already have talking works.
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Hopefully all of you are signed up with the Talking Book library which is part of the Library of Congress you’ve been paying taxes, all these years, you might as well take advantage of it.
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You have most libraries now have recorded books that you can take out, quote unquote, on your iPad or on your computer you can download them to your iPhone, and take them with you.
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So when you’re sitting in the doctor’s office waiting everybody else would pick up a magazine, you can pick up your phone, pick up your iPad, and be reading whatever it is of interest to you, whether it’s history’s mysteries of doesn’t matter.
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You’re going to have access to all that information as well as magazines and audio described movies and things like that so the libraries, whether it’s the National Library and MLS service From the Library of Congress, which each state has its own subsidiary
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so to speak and they share amongst each other, or whether it is your local library system or even better both, you know, then you can get into if you want, you know like, audible or book share anything like that you can get into these other subscriptions.
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But let’s start with the libraries.
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You know you’ve been paying the taxes to get those services, all these years, you can take advantage of the mouth.
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So we’re talking about bigger, brighter and bolder.
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A lot of people lose the immediate ability to do things like their hobbies. So, when I go back to teaching something like knitting holding up to knitting needles.
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All right, bigger than my hands.
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So what we’re going to do is we’re going to basically re learn those skills, and we’re going to put something.
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If I’m using an old white colored away colored pair of needles, I’m going to take a very dark color thread and make it stand out. I’m going to make sure that whatever is on my lap that I’m working over, there’s a contrasting color.
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So, if you start with that and start with some easy stuff over again, it’s not really that hard to pick up your knitting, or crochet again. Now, how do you count rose people say how to share it, you know, it’s easy enough just to make a scarf.
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But what if I want to count rose What if I want to shake things. So again if we think outside the box. Well, counting can be a little challenging. How about if I took a small safety pin and every five rows, I put a small safety pin on the 10th row and
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put a big safety pin. So if I had to go 50 rows, then I would have five than a big one. Then move that one to 15. Little Big one now I’m up to 20 right so I’m going to add.
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Every time I’m going to add one I’m going to add a large safety pin. Does that mean, everybody has to go back to knitting no i what i want to do is again think of this, like the truck, these are different ways of thinking now some people will wear a headboard
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unit, they will take a magnifier that they can wear on their head, whether it’s optical meaning some sort of glasses or telescopes, or whether it’s electronic, and they can wear that in front of their face, in order to make things bigger and they may
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go back to their, their old whatever hobby knitting or whatever it might be, by, by using electronic or telescopic devices.
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So you’ll hear me say a lot.
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Let’s start with the basic stuff we have techniques, and you have technology in the for profit world.
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Their idea is that they want to sell stuff. And I’m sitting in a for profit center right now.
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That’s the low vision shop, I mentioned that because I do work with a lot of new things.
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But before anybody comes here.
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And these are friends of mine that own the shop before anybody comes here. Have you gone to Wilmer, which is here in Baltimore be Vonda Hoover Have you gone to one of the prevention of blindness clock you know clinics if you’re down near Washington DC.
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The question is have you seen a doctor who might be able to prescribe for you, something that you will not need all these high faluting devices for. Okay.
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On the other hand if you have a forex handheld magnifier and it breaks or you want another one to take on vacation. You go to the shop, you pick it up and try it out make sure it still works, and you know you’re on your way.
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So there’s advantages to both, but I try to encourage people to try to work with somebody in the nonprofit sector that knows the techniques and the teaching.
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Before you start going to spend a lot of money on different kinds of devices which are, what the individual shop owner chooses to carry.
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But nonprofits and the hospital affiliated low vision centers, usually will have everybody stuff.
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Anything with quality, they usually try to carry that so that they can show you side by side. Look, this is what this one does. And this is what this one does.
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But if you’re going for a for profit you’re going for the companies that they’re selling for usually. And so, you can go to a low vision Center, where the doctor is concerned with how you function, first, then you’re going to get what you what you need
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from from them and be contributing to the next person who comes as well, that’s it’s a nonprofit.
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Just one of the examples again going back to really, really easy stuff.
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This is called a push, pull. It’s nothing more than a ruler with to cut out so any of you guys or ladies that are good with with woodworking you can make your own.
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I mean the only question I think $1 25 or something.
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The idea is the biggest set of burns, that people with vision loss, have to or get tend to be from the upper inside of the oven and they tend to burn the inside of your arm I don’t know how many of you have done that you’ve reached into the oven to pull
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out a pen or something, and burn your upper arms, and that’s a really dangerous thing most ovens today when you pull that top shelf out. It will only go halfway.
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And so by using a push pull you pull the tray with this your arm is back 12 inches away from the hot oven, you pull that shelf halfway out, check your meal take it out, put it on based it whatever put it back in.
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And then, with a little hook at the end, you push the shelf back in, and that keeps your arms away from the top part of the oven that you can’t see sign if people can’t see it it’s tucked under the age of the oven and it comes down and holds the heating
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units in. So, I mean, there you go, you saved a trip to the hospital, you know for $1 piece of wood.
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So it’s really, really important when it comes to magnification there’s magnification that you were.
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There’s magnification that whole.
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There’s handheld magnifier.
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There’s what we call standard magazine fires. There’s wearables of all different kinds. So, I’m sure those of you have already been to a luxury of seeing things like that right.
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The idea is magnification is how you make things bigger.
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So there’s two main things that we can do one is what we call distance magnification distance gamification means that if you sit, three feet from your TV, it will look twice as big as one at six feet away.
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And that’s really important, because you can move your chair up, you can move your TV up, and you don’t spend any money if you just made it twice as big.
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So people have asked about like TV glasses TV glasses magnified just over two times. Now if you’re already sitting close and you want to make it bigger or you want to sit back with the rest of your family, that’s a great thing.
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The other thing is, movie church closer doesn’t cost you anything.
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Right. So again it’s a combination of the techniques and the technology whatever works best for you in that situation.
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Now, magnifier is, if you’ve ever taken a magnifier you will notice it is nothing more than a lens, which is very much just like your eyeglasses.
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All right. If you put the glass appear as if you were reading and try to focus you will see that there is what’s called a focal distance. That is the distance between the lens and the whatever you’re reading this does not change, you can’t change how
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much distance there is between you and the paper. What you can change is how much distance there is between your eye, and the magnifier that you’re using so you can hold the way up here.
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You can actually mounted the there are actually five x, you know, reading glasses.
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They’re very strong, and you have to hold the paper right at the tip of your nose and a lot of people are not comfortable with that.
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But if you put the lens into a handheld or a standard magnifier, the distance stays the same magnification stays the same, but you can move it out to where it’s comfortable for you to be able to read.
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Okay. So I hope that that makes sense to people stand magnifier is working the same way.
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And then again you can’t change the distance between the lens and what you’re reading, so a standard magnifier will just sit on the material with the legs being the correct distance for your focal distance.
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Now, if you’re very nearsighted or farsighted you may find that you’re putting on your glasses you’re reading glasses, along with your magnification, in order for you to focus on what you’re getting into your eyes.
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I wanted to show you, for those who might have a little more experience with traveling.
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This is a support team, supporting support can and it’s wait for those people who have vision problems, and can get around still safely but need the support of a game, so that we don’t fall from balance issues, if you’re traveling with a long game you
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have a lot of choices. They come in aluminum that come in graphite they come in different heights different ways. Some of them fold.
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And some of them don’t so you can get a free came from nfb.
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That’s the National Federation of the Blind
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doesn’t fall that’s one piece.
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And you can use a very lightweight came like this if you’re in the store, and you don’t really need that much help.
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You can see that this one is a lot thinner than a regular cane that we’re using from aluminum or graphite.
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Alright, that’s less than half. So the week. There’s also considerably less so for some people, that’s a concern but the thing is, I wouldn’t tell anybody to use this outdoors.
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For the simple reason is that once you’ve banged up against a couple of of stone pillars, or fire hydrants or something, it’s not going to last that long.
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So you’re going to define a lot more.
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But the lightweight is nice if you do a lot of traveling at a park and you’re just looking for branches or whatever you want to be able to keep your head up your shoulders back, be aware of your surroundings and people around you.
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Then the other thing I was going to say is just common sense safety. These are not for specifically for blind people. All right, but they’re called ice traction slip ons.
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And basically you can put them on the bottom of your boots because it’s winter, but these on the bottom of your shoes are the bottom of your boots.
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right without having to have heavy boots on, kind of like the old fashioned rubbers but it’s really only the pieces, where the spikes are, and that allows you to stretch and grip onto with these little studs grip onto the snow, a little bit better just
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have a little bit better balance and be a little bit safer.
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So, Miss Tiffany. Are there things that you’d like to add at the beginning or should we answer questions.
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No, I don’t think there’s anything I need to add I think we can questions, and then, you know, we’ll go from there.
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So Tiffany is our resident homemaking in computer whiz expert so if we have questions regarding to that, I’m going to ask Tiffany to answer for us Do we have questions that are the things that people want to know about low vision or mission appointments
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low vision devices. Ask away.
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So Linda’s got control, Sharon Hold on a second.
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There we go. Can you hear me, yes or no. Yep.
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We seem to get a lot of questions in the group in regards to televisions, in particular, what is the best TV I should buy. What is the best laptop, I should buy those questions come quite a bit and we don’t necessarily give the answers because we don’t
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want to tell people what product they should be buying or not buying. But, Linda has put together a guide that has tries to address many of those questions.
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but since you’re here I’m sure that’s one of the questions that you get a lot. People want to know. All right, I need to go out and get a new TV or a new laptop, what should I focus on, because I have restrictions with my vision.
00:26:12.000 –> 00:26:17.000
So I don’t ever tell anybody you know like what TV to buy or anything like that.
00:26:17.000 –> 00:26:40.000
Um, again when you go to see a low vision therapist, you’re going to be telling them what your problem is, is your problem in seeing color is your problem seeing the picture is your problem, that it just everything seems blurry right so you’re low vision
00:26:40.000 –> 00:26:57.000
there was going to ask you. Can we ask themselves can we make your vision any better, can we use a magnifying device is a telescope something that’s going to be appropriate for you, or you better just practical stuff like moving closer, you know, putting
00:26:57.000 –> 00:27:07.000
your TV or your or your monitor on a, an arm, and I’m going to go dead seconds I’m going to plug it.
00:27:07.000 –> 00:27:17.000
So I’m not, I’m not really into like any one specific TV or kind of TV or computer or kind of computer because everybody’s vision is different.
00:27:17.000 –> 00:27:27.000
And so as a professional I wouldn’t say to everybody go out and buy this or that. As a matter of fact, what I usually tell people is start to learn the talking programs.
00:27:27.000 –> 00:27:43.000
Now, more and more your TV programs, and your movies and your museums and your national parks, they all have audio description, so that you can actually hear a description almost like a play right if somebody picks up a playbook.
00:27:43.000 –> 00:27:58.000
they’re going to be reading a script that says the woman in the blue dress, you know, walk down the long hallway with with pictures on the walls. So, okay, I’m a Downton Abbey family, can you tell.
00:27:58.000 –> 00:28:13.000
So, the other, you know, nice thing is if they’re scary music in a movie, and you have no idea what’s going on, you know, the audio description will tell you the thief crept up to the back door.
00:28:13.000 –> 00:28:21.000
Oh, now you know everybody’s laughing What happened, well, audio description will tell you mo hit Larry over the head with a frying pan.
00:28:21.000 –> 00:28:36.000
They were always doing stuff like that. So, you know, but why are people laughing You don’t necessarily know if you don’t know what’s on the screen. And so by using talking technology with the computer, which can read to you.
00:28:36.000 –> 00:28:44.000
And with the TV, you’re going to make your life a lot lot easier. In addition to whatever picture.
00:28:44.000 –> 00:29:01.000
You’re getting whatever telescopes or telescopic aids, you decide to work to use that will work for you. And again, your doctor will work with you on whether you need like a two x three x magnifier, which is a pretty good field of vision, you can use
00:29:01.000 –> 00:29:13.000
a bigger screen, or do you need to magnify it inside or do you need an electronic device that you’re actually wearing on your face and have a little screen right there in front of your eyes just a few inches away.
00:29:13.000 –> 00:29:19.000
Everywhere I would imagine that most computers or iPad or TV.
00:29:19.000 –> 00:29:33.000
Nowadays, probably have all the, the necessary, the necessary items that will help increase the font and such like that, it seems to me that’s pretty standard nowadays.
00:29:33.000 –> 00:29:40.000
So every, every computer nowadays is built with something built in.
00:29:40.000 –> 00:29:43.000
You might have Microsoft you might have.
00:29:43.000 –> 00:29:45.000
Narrator.
00:29:45.000 –> 00:29:51.000
Some of the other talking and large print
00:29:51.000 –> 00:30:06.000
edition, they’re not going to be as robust as something like NBA which again is not as robust as something like jaws. So it really it’s, again it’s a continuum just like our vision loss it’s a continuum, and you can get a program that makes things both
00:30:06.000 –> 00:30:21.000
bigger and talks. So it’s reading to you, letting you rest your eyes until they say a number, or until they say a new word or a new name, and you’re kind of like what did they say, and then you can go back and look at it and get what you need.
00:30:21.000 –> 00:30:30.000
But even QuickBooks i mean is now is now accessible but you have to, you know, you have to get the appropriate technology to work with it.
00:30:30.000 –> 00:30:42.000
But just about everything on the computers. If you take and push the apple and plus sign, you will see that all the print on your computer gets bigger, not in every single program.
00:30:42.000 –> 00:30:56.000
So, there are some that it still doesn’t work with but, you know, that’s just a down and dirty cheap, easy take the air out of the tires type, type of type of answer right we just push that button push that button, which keep pushing the plus button it
00:30:56.000 –> 00:31:13.000
getting bigger push the button. This button and it gets smaller. But not everything everywhere is included in that I’m making your mouse, your cursor bigger is fantastic, making your arrow bigger, I have mindset right now, so that no matter what the background
00:31:13.000 –> 00:31:27.000
that keeps changing, so the background is white, my cursor is black and if the background is dark. When my cursor becomes white people can do that with a red cursor green purse, you can have a tail, you can make your arrow really big and then have a tail
00:31:27.000 –> 00:31:42.000
so if you’re looking at just one part of the of just one part of your visual field that’s good, then you can look for it. On the other hand, like a lot of us know if you push the controller command button and s that will see whatever you’re working on,
00:31:42.000 –> 00:32:03.000
on garden, and those. What’s up, I was just going to try to wrap this up we have somebody else who has her hand up I was just gonna say, it sounds to me like what you’re saying to the other Sharon is rather than focus on the hardware the technology so
00:32:03.000 –> 00:32:06.000
much.
00:32:06.000 –> 00:32:25.000
A visit to a low vision specialists like yourself, might might help you see what kind of programs you need or or
00:32:25.000 –> 00:32:40.000
what you want to start, you want to start with a low vision optometrist if you can or low vision ophthalmologist who really specializes in low vision optometrists study optics and that’s what they’re really really good at making the best of your remaining
00:32:40.000 –> 00:32:56.000
vision, and then we say we make it bigger we make an older we make it brighter if that’s not enough, we go to voice and we go to tackle and make things so that we can feel them by putting dots on the microwave or dots on her phone, or, or anything else
00:32:56.000 –> 00:33:07.000
so yeah it’s not a different it’s not a specific kind of computer. Okay, about, excuse me, about lighting. That’s another question we get a lot, especially in the kitchen underneath the counter.
00:33:07.000 –> 00:33:10.000
Perhaps you have recommendations.
00:33:10.000 –> 00:33:25.000
And again, it depends on the person’s condition. I condition or their kitchen, things like that. There’s a program called ILB to national program independent living for older blind, where a teacher will come to your house and actually take a look at the
00:33:25.000 –> 00:33:39.000
lighting in your house and help you sometimes the low vision therapy places will have a therapist or an occupational therapist who will come to your house and help you to set things up, organized, but you know decide on the lighting that’s good for you.
00:33:39.000 –> 00:33:50.000
Some people will put in one lamp that sits on the camera and kind of can be the turn towards the stove returned towards what they’re cutting again with contrast and it’s going to be easier.
00:33:50.000 –> 00:34:05.000
And, um, and so it’s, again, it’s not a specific kind of lighting some people like more light, as some people especially with cataracts, are going to want a little bit less light, because that additional light it opens up your pupil and allows you to
00:34:05.000 –> 00:34:23.000
you to see more cataract and more glare, then helping and we want to reduce glare as much as possible so some people even wear sunglasses in doors, they get yellows, oranges cleared rays, and they cut the glare indoors and they actually see better with
00:34:23.000 –> 00:34:45.000
less lighting and less glare. I think I think what is happening, Sharon, and I deal with a lot of people with a lot of different needs and sharing the low vision therapist, you take individuals and you ask them, what do you need to do.
00:34:45.000 –> 00:35:07.000
And, you know, help them, I guess, your tailoring whatever they wanted your tech your tailoring the techniques and the technology to individual people, whereas we try to help a wide variety of people with a wide variety of needs.
00:35:07.000 –> 00:35:14.000
So, I think part of our advice is, see your therapist.
00:35:14.000 –> 00:35:31.000
I can get that message out on a friend of mine a co worker of mine said today that her ophthalmologist from a very well known hospital said, I’m sorry there’s nothing more that we can do for you, and let the person walk out the door with no referral to
00:35:31.000 –> 00:35:41.000
the senior vision program, no referral to a low vision specialist referral even to the shop come to the store and see what’s available to buy. Nothing, I can’t help you anymore.
00:35:41.000 –> 00:35:43.000
goodbye. That’s it.
00:35:43.000 –> 00:35:54.000
You know, and that’s one of the reasons that motivated me to get involved with these groups were groups of people who know they have a vision of men are looking for answers.
00:35:54.000 –> 00:36:02.000
The answers are out there we’ve been doing this for the last 17 years in an organized manner.
00:36:02.000 –> 00:36:06.000
So, I want, I want to get to those questions, Joe.
00:36:06.000 –> 00:36:15.000
I’ve got it. I will first of all I was really interested in Sharon’s about using technology because I’m sure my computer can do lots of things I don’t know about.
00:36:15.000 –> 00:36:32.000
But anyway, my middle question. It’s one of those where I should see where to take the air out of the tire, but I really liked my morning cup of tea. Now, I can see okay at the moment so I know you know when to stop pouring, but if I lose more eyesight,
00:36:32.000 –> 00:36:40.000
without sticking my finger in and then burning it when the tickets to it. How do I know when there’s enough tea in the cup.
00:36:40.000 –> 00:36:46.000
Well, there’s a couple different wage. There’s always a couple different ways when we do it.
00:36:46.000 –> 00:36:59.000
There’s something called a one second because I think I have one here, a liquid level indicator and it indicates the level of liquid, I do. There we go.
00:36:59.000 –> 00:37:03.000
I brought my little bag of tricks that I take for people’s assessments in their homes.
00:37:03.000 –> 00:37:13.000
But liquid level indicator I don’t know if you can see this or not. Let’s get some better contrast which would be.
00:37:13.000 –> 00:37:23.000
So, the liquid level indicator has two little legs, and the legs are not connected to each other, but to a battery.
00:37:23.000 –> 00:37:30.000
And so when did you hear that budget.
00:37:30.000 –> 00:37:34.000
So, if I put this over my cup.
00:37:34.000 –> 00:37:40.000
Then, as the liquid comes up, it makes an electronic connection between these two legs.
00:37:40.000 –> 00:37:43.000
And it starts to buzz.
00:37:43.000 –> 00:37:56.000
So, I want you to be real careful with the pouring because actually the pouring is the dangerous part. All right, you have to make sure that your cup handle is exactly opposite the handle of whatever you’re pouring when a lot of people what they do is
00:37:56.000 –> 00:38:07.000
they get what’s called a hot shot of a hard shot is, I think it’s still made by Sunbeam, it’s about 15 or $20 depending on where you get it. Every staples and office place has them.
00:38:07.000 –> 00:38:09.000
You pour one cup of water in the top.
00:38:09.000 –> 00:38:16.000
It boils in a minute. You put your cup underneath push the button and it comes out the bottom.
00:38:16.000 –> 00:38:30.000
So there’s no pouring at all and you can’t over four, because it’s only the amount of water that you put in the top. As long as you make sure that if you make sure to empty, empty it when you put the water in the top, but your cup under.
00:38:30.000 –> 00:38:44.000
If you make sure to hold that down until all the hot water is in your cup the next time there’s nothing in there, and it’s only one cup and one cup and one cup at a time, which is nice for tea ice for coffee it’s nice for oatmeal it’s nice for you know
00:38:44.000 –> 00:38:58.000
instant mashed potatoes or instant rice or anything like that but you need a cup of hot water for, because it comes right into your, your cup or your bowl or whatever you’ve, you’ve measured it into, and when it comes to measuring a cup of hot water for
00:38:58.000 –> 00:39:13.000
something, or a cup of cold water, whatever it is, individual measuring cups are going to be much easier to use than the Pyrex where you’re trying to see that line that’s on the side of a glass bowl and again if you put water into a clear glass container.
00:39:13.000 –> 00:39:19.000
Most of us aren’t going to be able to to see that. But if you feel one cup measure to the top.
00:39:19.000 –> 00:39:23.000
Then you’re going to know exactly how much you have.
00:39:23.000 –> 00:39:26.000
Yeah. Yeah, thanks.
00:39:26.000 –> 00:39:28.000
You can see this.
00:39:28.000 –> 00:39:36.000
Tiffany did you want to add something.
00:39:36.000 –> 00:39:48.000
I have another question. If, are we waiting for Tiffany or do you want me to go with this application requests, Chris, would you like to ask your question.
00:39:48.000 –> 00:40:00.000
Yes, I wondered if there’s an easy way to learn. Voiceover, which is a text to.
00:40:00.000 –> 00:40:09.000
It reads the text on the screen. Yes it does, and it will work on your iPhone your iPad and your Mac. Tiffany.
00:40:09.000 –> 00:40:26.000
One what’s happening is, I’m having trouble getting started is there is there a tutorial or a website that helps to.
00:40:26.000 –> 00:40:36.000
There’s, there’s a couple of good easy to understand what yeah there’s there’s a couple of them Tiffany I’m gonna let you go first on this and then we’ll talk about happily as well.
00:40:36.000 –> 00:40:38.000
Okay.
00:40:38.000 –> 00:40:41.000
You want me to answer this question or No.
00:40:41.000 –> 00:40:46.000
Yes, there are a plethora of resources out there.
00:40:46.000 –> 00:40:50.000
There is a website on Apple, this.
00:40:50.000 –> 00:40:56.000
Can you move a little closer to your microphone please because some people are having difficulty.
00:40:56.000 –> 00:40:59.000
Sure, okay but better.
00:40:59.000 –> 00:41:10.000
Um, there’s a website called Apple this, and it’s Apple vis.com.
00:41:10.000 –> 00:41:28.000
That’s a website where they have a lot of tutorials, podcasts guides, things like that to learn voiceover. They also have a lot of support groups and things like that out there that you can join online.
00:41:28.000 –> 00:41:30.000
I’m Tiffany.
00:41:30.000 –> 00:41:40.000
Tiffany, I’m sorry to interrupt. Was that Apple v as in Victor I essences and sam.com. Yes, yes, yes.
00:41:40.000 –> 00:41:43.000
Thank you.
00:41:43.000 –> 00:42:01.000
And there are a lot of, you know, your network with people on on Facebook, or a lot of the support groups have people who have used iPhones I’ve learned a lot from other people who have iPhones.
00:42:01.000 –> 00:42:19.000
They also have voiceover has a built in gesture where you can turn on the help. And then when you perform a gesture for example, using one finger to double tap on the screen, it will tell you what that gesture does.
00:42:19.000 –> 00:42:28.000
So you do a four finger, you use four fingers and you double tap to turn the help on and then toggle it off again.
00:42:28.000 –> 00:42:37.000
So there’s really a plethora of resources out there for assistance and learning the iPhone, or.
00:42:37.000 –> 00:42:47.000
There’s also the Head of School for the Blind videos have you found those
00:42:47.000 –> 00:42:51.000
days, see a couple of.
00:42:51.000 –> 00:42:55.000
Yes. Okay.
00:42:55.000 –> 00:42:59.000
It’s not an easy task to learn.
00:42:59.000 –> 00:43:08.000
It’s a lot of moving pieces because you’re using it as you are the easiest thing to start with one.
00:43:08.000 –> 00:43:20.000
So, yeah, so, um, so one of the easiest ways is just to open up the phone.
00:43:20.000 –> 00:43:24.000
You can turn on voiceover by saying Siri turn on voiceover.
00:43:24.000 –> 00:43:43.000
And once you’ve got the phone keypad opened up. That’s a good place to start practicing because, like a mouse that has a double click the phone assumes that you’re blind, and voiceover is on your phone is assuming, but you can’t see anything.
00:43:43.000 –> 00:43:48.000
So it will tell you what you’re typing or what you’re touching.
00:43:48.000 –> 00:43:54.000
It doesn’t open it, a sighted person looks at something and taps it and it opens on the iPhone.
00:43:54.000 –> 00:44:08.000
When you have VoiceOver on that always takes precedence. And what it’ll do is it’ll say the number of again if you’re on the keypad whatever your finger is on.
00:44:08.000 –> 00:44:22.000
If you’re on five if you’re on six if you’re on two, it’ll say 562, but I wanted one. So if I’ve done that don’t have to go back in a race all those mistakes with VoiceOver on I don’t have to do that.
00:44:22.000 –> 00:44:28.000
If I keep pushing until I find the one it says one.
00:44:28.000 –> 00:44:40.000
If I double tap the way I double click on a, on a computer mouse. If I double tap on the phone with one finger, that will then input one, no matter where on the screen I type.
00:44:40.000 –> 00:44:52.000
So, I’ll hear 54631 okay I want that one. So it’s the last thing voiceover said that I double tap, tap, tap.
00:44:52.000 –> 00:44:56.000
And you’ll hear one in a slightly different voice, one.
00:44:56.000 –> 00:45:01.000
Now you know that it’s actually typed one like if you’re doing one 800.
00:45:01.000 –> 00:45:12.000
Okay, then you would have to find the eight. So you go down from the one and it says for then it says seven and then it says eight. It’s not putting in those wrong numbers.
00:45:12.000 –> 00:45:16.000
I double tap to do. And now I’ve got the eight.
00:45:16.000 –> 00:45:20.000
Then I go below the age, and I know that that’s the zero down there.
00:45:20.000 –> 00:45:32.000
Siri will say our voiceover will say zero. And then I double tap, and then I have to double tap and find it again and open it up again. so that’ll give me 001 800.
00:45:32.000 –> 00:45:47.000
And that’s just a good place to practice because you’re not really calling anything you’re not really doing anything but you’re practicing the double tap and on the phone you use a single finger double thing or or triple finger single tap double tap and
00:45:47.000 –> 00:46:03.000
triple tap and it’s really kind of the usage and the memorization of those different patterns, as well as the swipes from right to left and up to down and down to up that make voiceover challenging because there’s just so much that you can do without
00:46:03.000 –> 00:46:13.000
looking at the screen at all. Tiffany and Sharon, are there. Is there anywhere you can go to get help with it because to me.
00:46:13.000 –> 00:46:21.000
Having somebody sitting beside you and instructing you would be very beneficial.
00:46:21.000 –> 00:46:32.000
So, if you’re 55 or older. You’re are probably and living in the United States, you’re probably eligible for your independent living for the older blind program.
00:46:32.000 –> 00:46:36.000
So national program sponsored by every state.
00:46:36.000 –> 00:46:39.000
Paid for by your taxes again.
00:46:39.000 –> 00:46:48.000
They will ask you about your income, and the reason that they asked us about your co pay for the equipment, you don’t pay for your teachers.
00:46:48.000 –> 00:46:53.000
So sometimes the contracts go to nonprofits in your area.
00:46:53.000 –> 00:47:06.000
Oftentimes the state themselves will will send the State Teachers out, and you don’t have to pay for that time here in Maryland. We have some wonderful volunteers like Tiffany.
00:47:06.000 –> 00:47:24.000
That won’t come to your house and sit with you but we’ll do over your house phone or over your computer can do volunteer teaching our Library for the Blind here in Maryland has a program where if you call the Library for the Blind, you can get one hour
00:47:24.000 –> 00:47:35.000
a week of tutoring from one of their instructors or one of their volunteers, and that’s individual living for the older blind.
00:47:35.000 –> 00:47:54.000
Yes, ILFOBILOB or ILB. Every state has kind of a change on it but basically, you say, I’m over 55. Yeah, I don’t see good, and you’re talking to your State Department of Rehabilitation Services.
00:47:54.000 –> 00:48:09.000
Okay. And you’ve got a really good resource there Linda Lissa lot of the state rehabs calm has a list a directory of state by state services that brings your state services your nonprofit’s.
00:48:09.000 –> 00:48:28.000
Okay. I just wanted to give you a little bit of a heads up it’s about quarter to four now we start to lose people at the one hour mark. Okay, whatever questions people have and they can always let us know between you and me or even writing them on the,
00:48:28.000 –> 00:48:45.000
you know, post them tonight, and we get back to people with additional questions so whenever people have to leave that’s fine, but who else has a question, waiting to hear some mobility questions How do I get around.
00:48:45.000 –> 00:49:06.000
Well I know one of the big problems that people have is having lost depth perception.
00:49:06.000 –> 00:49:18.000
I think you’re thinking like the advantage of the white chain is is like putting your hand down on the floor in front of you, but you don’t have to walk around like a monkey to do it right the cane lets you stand up, shoulders back, head up, and still
00:49:18.000 –> 00:49:29.000
be able to feel what’s on the ground in front of you feel the where the stairs are feel the depth of the stairs the width of the stairs, the length of the stairs and know where they are.
00:49:29.000 –> 00:49:42.000
And also if there’s a ramp off to the side, we can do that to a cane with the hook on the top what you call it the one that’s both a support cane and a white cane, which we call it.
00:49:42.000 –> 00:49:52.000
So, if you’re talking about a support came up. That’s it. Okay, see myself anymore. Myself.
00:49:52.000 –> 00:50:00.000
Okay, there we go. So, this is where I can make sure you can see what I’m saying. Yeah, she’s working as a rubber ship at the bottom.
00:50:00.000 –> 00:50:17.000
It’s often read reflective tape. Rest of the cane is white reflective tape that means when you’re traveling and darker areas like theaters, we still do those things, restaurants, or if you’re going out in the evenings headlights or overhead lights will
00:50:17.000 –> 00:50:20.000
reflect off of this and making more noticeable.
00:50:20.000 –> 00:50:25.000
And then the top, it can be either a flat crook.
00:50:25.000 –> 00:50:29.000
Let me see if I can get something white.
00:50:29.000 –> 00:50:49.000
What I don’t understand is how does it both support you if you need the physical support, and how does it work as a cane as well i.
00:50:49.000 –> 00:50:59.000
a long chain. Okay, some people when they’re just start off in the journey can just lose their balance kind of going off a curb or something like that support they might be enough.
00:50:59.000 –> 00:51:11.000
But I have a lot of people that have diabetes and other diseases that are affecting their balance and they need a support came, and it’s affecting their vision, and so they’re also using a long came.
00:51:11.000 –> 00:51:28.000
And it sounds more complicated than it is because I have a lot of people that need to do it and when you do need it your body kind of gravitates towards towards using them correctly, and if necessary, like people have had a stroke, for example, I might
00:51:28.000 –> 00:51:42.000
work together in a team with an occupational and physical therapist to make sure the person who’s gripping in the best grip they have the best came the best height for them and then I’ll teach them how to use the loan came along with that once they’re
00:51:42.000 –> 00:51:54.000
there walking around safely on something, you know, in the, in the therapy room safely flat, then we can start with the stairs and that are in the therapy room and then we can start with stairs that are outside steps and curves and wherever people want
00:51:54.000 –> 00:51:55.000
to go.
00:51:55.000 –> 00:52:11.000
You know, I love it when people, you know, tell me. Oh, Sharon, I’m leaving town. Good. Have a good time. That’s what it’s all about go live your life, you know, I’ll meet with you next week.
00:52:11.000 –> 00:52:19.000
Yes. Yeah, I had some things I was going to show, if that’s okay, or do we have more questions. Yeah.
00:52:19.000 –> 00:52:20.000
Okay.
00:52:20.000 –> 00:52:23.000
I’m sorry, excuse me, we can’t hear her.
00:52:23.000 –> 00:52:26.000
Can’t hear you. My mute it.
00:52:26.000 –> 00:52:37.000
No, it’s not muted Tiffany are just far away from wherever your mic is.
00:52:37.000 –> 00:52:40.000
Okay. Is that better.
00:52:40.000 –> 00:52:43.000
Is that better. Can you hear me better now.
00:52:43.000 –> 00:52:50.000
I can but Marilyn you’re still shaking your head.
00:52:50.000 –> 00:52:53.000
Now I don’t hear you Marilyn. Yeah.
00:52:53.000 –> 00:53:05.000
Oh, you say something else Tiffany. Okay. Can you hear me now. Is that better know it was a minute ago did you sit back by any chance.
00:53:05.000 –> 00:53:08.000
No, is that any better.
00:53:08.000 –> 00:53:11.000
No, I’m having an issue with my microphone.
00:53:11.000 –> 00:53:14.000
Well let’s go with that.
00:53:14.000 –> 00:53:18.000
Let’s go and I’ll repeat anything that sounds really soft. Okay.
00:53:18.000 –> 00:53:20.000
Why don’t you show us the stuff Tiffany.
00:53:20.000 –> 00:53:29.000
Okay, um, as far as I’m in the kitchen and labeling things, you can use bumped up.
00:53:29.000 –> 00:53:33.000
Um, can you see those.
00:53:33.000 –> 00:53:42.000
They’re up above your head can you bring them down because we’re looking at your face up up a little bit. I had there you go. Perfect. I’m new at demonstrating things.
00:53:42.000 –> 00:53:43.000
These are the.
00:53:43.000 –> 00:53:57.000
Yes, I have different colors. I always use clear because that way anyone else can see through them on a microwave, microwave, on a washing machine or dryer.
00:53:57.000 –> 00:54:03.000
Anything that where you need something identified on an air fryer.
00:54:03.000 –> 00:54:06.000
So they’re very useful.
00:54:06.000 –> 00:54:23.000
This year, and we’ll start out making a cake. So they have Braille and print measuring cups, where the number is in Braille and imprint.
00:54:23.000 –> 00:54:26.000
Okay, so that’s one measuring cup.
00:54:26.000 –> 00:54:37.000
And, you know you can kind of, it has a little bottom to it to where you can sit down and I won’t spill.
00:54:37.000 –> 00:54:47.000
And the this set of measuring cups actually have measuring cups that you wouldn’t ordinarily find such in a regular set such as two thirds.
00:54:47.000 –> 00:54:53.000
That’s nice. Yes, it has. It also has a two cup measuring cup.
00:54:53.000 –> 00:55:11.000
So when are you hearing her. So this, the set that has the Braille on it has like two thirds cup measuring and a two cup measure of as well. It has a whole range of cups actually I just named those as examples and the screens are the same way.
00:55:11.000 –> 00:55:15.000
They have a three fourth spoon measuring spoon.
00:55:15.000 –> 00:55:23.000
And then you have your two tablespoons you were talking about pouring oil and making cake.
00:55:23.000 –> 00:55:40.000
And so you can just use this one to enable measuring spoon to pour oil into. And sometimes people will put the oil in the refrigerator. Still that the oil is cold when you’re pouring out of the oil bottle, then you can feel it better.
00:55:40.000 –> 00:55:43.000
So that was just a tip that I had for that.
00:55:43.000 –> 00:55:55.000
Just one second. For those of you who came in late. The reason we’re not always seeing things that Tiffany is holding up is because she has very little vision.
00:55:55.000 –> 00:56:01.000
Okay, so you may not have realized that, go ahead Tiffany.
00:56:01.000 –> 00:56:07.000
Um, I also, you know, we talked about TV and entertainment.
00:56:07.000 –> 00:56:16.000
I am from the old school as you call it, I still use DVDs.
00:56:16.000 –> 00:56:22.000
Um, but there’s a nifty little device here caught a pen friend.
00:56:22.000 –> 00:56:23.000
Okay.
00:56:23.000 –> 00:56:41.000
And the pen friend. You can touch the tip of the pen to specialized stickers. And they, and then you record, whatever you want that sticker to say, and then when you touch the pin to that sticker, it will read it to you.
00:56:41.000 –> 00:56:43.000
So I’m going to turn it on.
00:56:43.000 –> 00:56:54.000
And just to demonstrate what this is. It’s a DVD, and I have already recorded, what the DVD is.
00:56:54.000 –> 00:57:00.000
And I’m going to touch the tip of the pen to the sticker.
00:57:00.000 –> 00:57:15.000
And I said, Do you believe you might not be able to hear that well, but I’m good told me the name of the movie, and you can use pen from stickers for food for pretty much anything
00:57:15.000 –> 00:57:30.000
lotion or shampoo or conditioner. And by the way, just for those who wants to know, I learned that you can tell shampoo from conditioner because when you shake the bottle, the shampoo is looser.
00:57:30.000 –> 00:57:35.000
And so you can hear it more. That’s just the tip that I’ve learned.
00:57:35.000 –> 00:57:38.000
And I also have a.
00:57:38.000 –> 00:57:42.000
I have a lot of different options for labeling things.
00:57:42.000 –> 00:57:46.000
I have a can hear of pumpkin.
00:57:46.000 –> 00:57:56.000
But there is a magnet can on top. Tiffany. Yeah, maybe it would help Could you hold it up to your forehead.
00:57:56.000 –> 00:58:00.000
That might help us better.
00:58:00.000 –> 00:58:07.000
Let me see I lost. Is that better everybody. Yeah, go ahead. Okay great tip. Thank you.
00:58:07.000 –> 00:58:11.000
If you need me to show anything else I can show it again.
00:58:11.000 –> 00:58:13.000
Thank you. Sure.
00:58:13.000 –> 00:58:21.000
And there’s a magnet on the top of this can. So I’m going to use my iPhone.
00:58:21.000 –> 00:58:26.000
And there’s an app on it called way around
00:58:26.000 –> 00:58:28.000
me.
00:58:28.000 –> 00:58:39.000
Okay. So, this is what the app looks like, and there’s, it’s pretty simple. There are, there’s a read button on it.
00:58:39.000 –> 00:58:48.000
And I’m double tap it, and then I’m going to take the edge of my phone and touch it to the top of this can.
00:58:48.000 –> 00:58:55.000
And it vibrates, and then whatever I write on this label will pop up.
00:58:55.000 –> 00:59:01.000
And it actually
00:59:01.000 –> 00:59:09.000
scan it hold on, let’s try this again.
00:59:09.000 –> 00:59:12.000
Okay. It says pumpkin.
00:59:12.000 –> 00:59:20.000
So, that that you can actually customize and I wrote in the word pumpkin.
00:59:20.000 –> 00:59:41.000
And so then when I scan that magnet on the top of the can, it will tell me what it is. You can erase what you’ve put and rerecord that up also has these kinds of labels that you use with a rubber band.
00:59:41.000 –> 01:00:01.000
And you can put them on frozen items so for example if you have some chicken or you have some vegetables, and you want to identify them. you can put that this, it’s called a way tag on the frozen item and put it in the freezer and then you touch the top
01:00:01.000 –> 01:00:18.000
of your phone to that label, and it uses what’s called an NF, see scanner. And for Nancy F for Frank see for cat, and it will scan those labels, and whatever you right and those labels will pop up.
01:00:18.000 –> 01:00:24.000
Um, so I use a variety of different tools. And speaking of tools.
01:00:24.000 –> 01:00:30.000
I have a tool kit.
01:00:30.000 –> 01:00:34.000
Because I’m a homeowner, I never know what I’m going to have to do.
01:00:34.000 –> 01:00:46.000
I’m going to take one two out of here.
01:00:46.000 –> 01:00:49.000
I have an adjustable wrench.
01:00:49.000 –> 01:00:57.000
Okay. And actually put a Braille label on it now, all of my tools are not labeled. Can you guys see that. Okay.
01:00:57.000 –> 01:00:59.000
Yes, thank you.
01:00:59.000 –> 01:01:20.000
So, I had to change my shower head because I had a water saver showerhead, and I did not like it so I changed it back to the regular shower head, and so I could use this, and I could open it up and grip the shower head and turn it.
01:01:20.000 –> 01:01:26.000
Tiffany there are sighted people who could not do that and I’m one of them.
01:01:26.000 –> 01:01:45.000
So, bravo. Thank you, thank you, I, I just learned how to be innovative and creative and think of different ideas of how to do things. I use my iPhone a lot and I use be my eyes, which is an app where you can call a sighted volunteer and ask them questions
01:01:45.000 –> 01:01:54.000
about all different things you don’t want to show them anything personal but expiration dates on foods.
01:01:54.000 –> 01:02:15.000
To help to identify clothing of colors of clothing. And speaking of clothing. There’s another app. And I’m called digit eyes I know I’m throwing a lot of app names, but I have labels that I’ve sown in the back of my clothes, some of them, and I can scan
01:02:15.000 –> 01:02:30.000
that label, and it will tell me whatever I recorded on it so if I have a red shirt or white pants or whatever the cases will tell me, so I use a lot of
01:02:30.000 –> 01:02:34.000
labeling systems I use on my computer.
01:02:34.000 –> 01:02:55.000
We talk about technology because I use my phone for a lot of technology, but I also use my computer, I use the screen reader jobs for Windows and also for low vision they have fusion which is a combination of jobs and ZoomText which zoom Texas and a large
01:02:55.000 –> 01:03:02.000
MIT program so there’s a plethora of options out there there’s no wrong answer.
01:03:02.000 –> 01:03:17.000
Everything that wants something that one person does might not work for someone else so it’s it’s all about flexibility, trying new strategies and new methods and finding what works for you.
01:03:17.000 –> 01:03:23.000
There’s no one size fits all, I mean it’s just like if you go to a store and you buy a pair of shoes.
01:03:23.000 –> 01:03:34.000
You know this person might wear this size and that might fit their feet, but another person might want you know a little bit more space so they might buy a bigger size.
01:03:34.000 –> 01:03:52.000
So, there’s no one size fits all. And that’s true in dealing with vision and limited vision or anything. Everyone is different. We talked about TVs. There’s no right or wrong answer for TVs.
01:03:52.000 –> 01:04:01.000
So I hope that if anyone has any questions feel free to ask
01:04:01.000 –> 01:04:06.000
us great thank you Tiffany short question.
01:04:06.000 –> 01:04:08.000
JOHN.
01:04:08.000 –> 01:04:09.000
Go ahead.
01:04:09.000 –> 01:04:13.000
And well, here I’m going to ask you to unmute.
01:04:13.000 –> 01:04:23.000
Okay. There we are. And no, I’m just wondering, those magnetic labels sound very interesting they very expensive to buy.
01:04:23.000 –> 01:04:33.000
Well the way around to go to way around, calm, his way, way, and around, around.
01:04:33.000 –> 01:04:46.000
They have a store and you can choose which pack and which kinda labels work best for you but you can get a pack of 25 for $25 so they are pricing.
01:04:46.000 –> 01:05:02.000
I do mention though that digit eyes which is another barcode scanning look the, the way around, doesn’t use barcodes, they use NFC communication which stands for Near Field Communication.
01:05:02.000 –> 01:05:22.000
And so it’s it’s more expensive but digit eyes uses barcodes. And the problem with barcodes, sometimes they’re too small to see digitize has a learning curve but you can buy a pack of Avery labels for $5 and print your own barcodes on them, and then place
01:05:22.000 –> 01:05:29.000
them on whatever you want to identify. So like I said there’s no one size fits all.
01:05:29.000 –> 01:05:40.000
And the good thing I like about way around, though, is you can reuse the labels, and it gives you a tactile marker, so you don’t have to find a barcode.
01:05:40.000 –> 01:05:41.000
Hmm.
01:05:41.000 –> 01:05:58.000
sounds really good. Thanks. So, this is again where the technique meets the technology. If you work with a teacher, they can show you how to attach different labels to like in Tiffany’s case of rubber bands that we go around the plastic bag.
01:05:58.000 –> 01:06:14.000
Then if you keep the labels as you use them and put them, you know hooked on a hook on your fridge or in a plastic bag near wherever your, your purse is then when you go back to the store, you’ll know that you’re out of frozen peas, because you have the
01:06:14.000 –> 01:06:30.000
tag with you, you’ll know that you need to buy you know a loaf of bread that you took that off of or whatever so the teachers can work with you for the techniques that will expand your ability to use any one kind of technology, over and over again in
01:06:30.000 –> 01:06:43.000
different kinds of situations. So one of the other things I’d like to show everybody before we go off, is that there is another kind of phone we were talking a lot about smartphones.
01:06:43.000 –> 01:06:57.000
Some people use smartphones, some people that stay at home, tend to use their you know their Alexa, Alexa call this person call that person. But there’s another kind of phone that my friend Diane has here in the store.
01:06:57.000 –> 01:07:01.000
And she’s going to tell you a little bit about it,
01:07:01.000 –> 01:07:03.000
just turning.
01:07:03.000 –> 01:07:10.000
Joining us I could see us square is us kind of funny because I’m looking at somebody else.
01:07:10.000 –> 01:07:16.000
Here we have was like into fighters to make sure that you can see Diane.
01:07:16.000 –> 01:07:39.000
Hi. Hi everyone. Hello. Hi. Hi. Hi. So I worked at the low vision shop and one of our products is called the blind shell classic to cell phone. This is 100% accessible cell phone because it has real buttons on it that you can feel it does have a screen
01:07:39.000 –> 01:07:47.000
but you do not need to see the screen, somebody who’s 100% blind can use this phone.
01:07:47.000 –> 01:07:49.000
So it’s all menu driven.
01:07:49.000 –> 01:07:53.000
So that means you use.
01:07:53.000 –> 01:07:57.000
Let me turn it up.
01:07:57.000 –> 01:08:08.000
This is as loud as it goes. So it’s menu driven with tactile bars that you can feel so you can make calls with it.
01:08:08.000 –> 01:08:25.000
You can do texting, contacts, this is put in a contacts list applications. Applications has all kinds of things, such as an alarm a minute countdown. Um, let’s see.
01:08:25.000 –> 01:08:47.000
So it’s got an internet browser so you can go online tools has all of your stop watches and clocks and calendars and stuff like that. Communication communications so you can email you can use WhatsApp for media that will have your FM radio your internet
01:08:47.000 –> 01:08:54.000
radio it has YouTube as a book reader games.
01:08:54.000 –> 01:08:56.000
So visioning.
01:08:56.000 –> 01:08:57.000
Okay.
01:08:57.000 –> 01:09:15.000
It has to be my eyes, built into it that Tiffany was talking about papers and has the ability to connect to a deeper so if you lose something a lot, whether it’s your cane or your keys you can put a beeper on there and you can use your blind shell.
01:09:15.000 –> 01:09:34.000
To help you find it color indicators got a caller ID, so it can tell you what color is something is Google like out is so impressive. It is an app that I had not experienced till I started playing with blind shell because I’m an iPhone user so I didn’t
01:09:34.000 –> 01:09:48.000
even know the Google lookout existed but that Google lookout will turn text into speech, so if you wanted to use it to read your mail. It has a seam detection so it’ll can tell you what’s around the room.
01:09:48.000 –> 01:09:57.000
And it also has a currency reader so it will tell you, which bill you’re holding up you don’t want to give somebody a 50, when you wanted to give them a one.
01:09:57.000 –> 01:10:15.000
So that’s an important one, localization localization will tell you where you are, it’ll give you the address in case you need to call for a ride back the fight glad says have a magnifying glass NFC object tag, so it has the built in pen friend that in
01:10:15.000 –> 01:10:29.000
with when you buy the blind shell comes with a whole page of pen friend labels or object China and also can do QROQRO cold codes know I’m having a problem with that.
01:10:29.000 –> 01:10:38.000
But, so let’s back into that hobby hobby so it has a guitar tuner, and it has a.
01:10:38.000 –> 01:10:44.000
Oh, let’s see your veteran Oh,
01:10:44.000 –> 01:10:58.000
I can ever say that word I was the same Metrodome and it’s a metro. No, no, no, no, the thing people use play the piano. Okay, hobby shop, it has shopping as Amazon built right into it.
01:10:58.000 –> 01:11:11.000
catalog, and then this is your app catalog. So it’s application settings settings you can change the voice I haven’t on a male voice you can choose a female voice you can speed it up, you can slow it down.
01:11:11.000 –> 01:11:29.000
It has 100 or so melodies, you can choose from when your phone rings. It is you can talk to it I could say I listened to after
01:11:29.000 –> 01:11:39.000
There are more possible actions. Oh, Diane wanted to. So then I would hit okay filing is calling me on my other phone.
01:11:39.000 –> 01:11:46.000
So I’ll shut that off. But yeah, so I just wanted to show this real quick.
01:11:46.000 –> 01:11:57.000
On the back is an SOS button that you could press if you’re in an emergency, you will program a contact in there, whether it’s a family member or 911.
01:11:57.000 –> 01:12:14.000
The only thing about blind shell is that it works on the t mobile network or any provider that uses a t mobile carrier. So it’s a very sturdy phone I love it, I love that it’s totally accessible with the push buttons.
01:12:14.000 –> 01:12:20.000
And you can pretty much do anything with this that you can with your iPhone.
01:12:20.000 –> 01:12:33.000
Thank you, um, I did post, fam of the blind life. YouTube channel did a review but it’s been some time since that was posted so I’ll share that again.
01:12:33.000 –> 01:12:37.000
That might be for the original blind shell This is the updated one. Okay.
01:12:37.000 –> 01:12:41.000
Okay.
01:12:41.000 –> 01:12:52.000
Yes. So, so the very last thing I wanted just to review with everybody is something that I say all the time, online support.
01:12:52.000 –> 01:13:04.000
is get yourself, straight, work with a tray that has edges. So that if you are doing anything from putting your glasses away at night to working at a table. If you’re on baking something cracking open an egg.
01:13:04.000 –> 01:13:21.000
If you are baking something cracking open an egg. It’s a lot easier to pick this up and put it in the sink and wash it, than it is to clean the eggs up off of the counter, the front of the cabinets the floor the shoes everything, when they when they break
01:13:21.000 –> 01:13:36.000
so pills. People tell me the drug pills, all the time what do you do, drop it on the tray. Would it be good contrast and color trays, maybe like a couple, like one and a dark one, maybe.
01:13:36.000 –> 01:13:53.000
So really, the tray contains everything within a very small space, and it depends on the person’s vision and lighting right so at night when you put things on your nightstand if you find that in the morning you’re looking all over the floor for your stuff.
01:13:53.000 –> 01:14:02.000
It doesn’t have to be even a tray shape. It can be a plate. It can be a goal, it can be something as decorative it can be a shoe boxes and boxes are good.
01:14:02.000 –> 01:14:07.000
It can be anything that holds things in place.
01:14:07.000 –> 01:14:22.000
I worked recently with a gentleman who just lost all of his vision, and his wife, it was very funny watching her expressions, the first two visits because the first visit I went and we talked about trays and I gave him the tray, and we organized his TV
01:14:22.000 –> 01:14:24.000
remote.
01:14:24.000 –> 01:14:35.000
He’s in a wheelchair so getting around was a challenge so anything he wanted his water bottle is TV remote, some napkins and tissues and his Talking Book player.
01:14:35.000 –> 01:14:45.000
We’re now on a tray, combine contains, they couldn’t fall off of the various tables and foot stores and, you know, and tables where he had all of his stuff scattered.
01:14:45.000 –> 01:14:57.000
It was all one place. And when you put everything in one place you get used to always putting it back in the same place, our moms always said that right place for everything and everything in its place.
01:14:57.000 –> 01:15:10.000
And that’s true for everybody but even more so when you have vision loss. If you don’t have vision loss and you throw your hat over here, your shoes over there your umbrella over there and your jacket over there in the morning you look around you pick
01:15:10.000 –> 01:15:23.000
it all up and get out the door in five minutes. Do you have vision loss and you don’t remember where you put the other shoe or you kicked it in trouble if you always come in the door and put your keys in the same basket by the door.
01:15:23.000 –> 01:15:41.000
I’ll be there every day in a basket by the door, and you won’t have to go looking for them. So it’s a matter of developing again the techniques and the technology in this case, a bowl, a basket, a shoe box, whatever it might be a contained area to keep
01:15:41.000 –> 01:15:55.000
your things in is your technology, very low technology but the technology, and then your technique is to keep things, every single time. And the same place teach your family to put things in the same place.
01:15:55.000 –> 01:16:10.000
Keep your sharp knives separated in a holder, or in a wooden block in the same place, and you’ll avoid the cuts and things that way as well. I hope that answered a bunch of questions today if you have more post them and we’ll get to them, you know in
01:16:10.000 –> 01:16:20.000
tonight or over the next few days. And I will go through the, I’ll have the video posted.
01:16:20.000 –> 01:16:31.000
I’ll post it right, your link to it right after this session, but then I will go through it tomorrow and I’ll make sure you have, like, you know, apples, this and that.
01:16:31.000 –> 01:16:35.000
Tiffany mentioned and all the references that they’ve made.
01:16:35.000 –> 01:16:41.000
Okay, so you’ll have it there.
01:16:41.000 –> 01:16:56.000
So, you’re welcome john we were glad, glad to help out. Thank you, Chris, thank you, all of you for having. Thank you. So thank you, Linda for what you do this is absolutely marvelous, marvelous we’re getting the word out.
01:16:56.000 –> 01:17:06.000
And every time you go to the eye doctor share with the people in the waiting room around you. You know, you have low vision like me. Have you had a low vision assessment.
01:17:06.000 –> 01:17:36.000
Do you have the adaptive tools do you know about the Library for the Blind, whatever it is that you most enjoy share them with other people that don’t know yet.
My Macular Degeneration Journal 