September 23 - Watching TV

A group of us were discussing favourite TV shows when someone in the group turned to me and said, “but you probably don’t watch TV anyway.”

The supposition was that because I can’t see the screen, I wouldn’t be able or interested in “watching” TV shows.  Well, the assumption is both true and false.  I don’t watch much TV and I am certainly selective in what I watch.

I was talking about this with my friend, Sue who is totally without sight.  We agreed that one of the easiest programs to follow was the daily news.  The commentary is clear, although the content is often disturbing and seems to be repeated many nights over.  Documentaries are usually good and so are some nature shows.  Sue commented that sometimes when music is played behind the narration it takes away the focus for her.

I like to watch sitcoms where the voices of the main characters are familiar.  I enjoy PBS music programs.  I also like sports programs, especially tennis, but only when the commentators are doing a good job of describing the action.

Some programs have described video.  Lyle finds this feature very distracting, and because we usually watch TV together we don’t tend to use this feature.  However, I can see this adaptation can be beneficial for some.

I think the main point of this post is that we shouldn’t make assumptions about the abilities, capabilities and interests of other people.  I have expressed my personal opinions about watching TV, but I would not presume to think that other partially sighted and blind people would think and feel the same way.

September 12 - White Canes

Did you know that there are different types of white canes? Basically there are three different types and are used for three different purposes. An identity cane is a small cane that the user holds out in front so that others can see that the person is someone with low vision. The mobility cane is longer and used to feel the ground surface in front of the user. The support cane is solid and also white in colour. As the name suggests, it is mostly used for support.

For the first while after my knee surgery I used a walking frame. This gave me the support and balance I needed. As I have regained strength in my knee, I am gradually transitioning to a support cane. The cane is brilliantly white with a red tip. In other words, the colouring is the same as the mobility cane I have been used to using.

Now the surprise.  By and large, the people I have met don’t seem to recognize this cane as indicating that I am someone with low vision. Occasionally I will catch sight of a sideways glance, but mostly the white cane seems to be regarded as just an ordinary cane. Prior to my own use of the support cane, I had never thought about this apparent lack of recognition.

I am looking forward to once again using my mobility cane. For one thing, it is way more useful in detecting the ground surface in front of me. For another, I am more readily identified as someone with low vision. For me, both of these are important functions.

 

 

September 3 - Gadgets and Buttons

Last week our toaster gave up the ghost. It was an old model and likely had reached its life expectancy anyway.

Now if it had been up to me, I would have gone to our local hardware store and bought the simplest possible toaster on the shelf to replace it. Not so with Lyle! Lyle’s first task was to search the Internet. Which new model would have the best features and be the best buy for our money? He compared three different stores and a number of different brands. Finally we went to the store in person where Lyle was delighted to find that the in store price was even better than the online one he had investigated.

Our new toaster has many features. Unfortunately the buttons to access these are all hidden under the smooth outside exterior. If you can see, this is great. We can now toast bread or bagels and regulate the toastiness of each – 1 to 5, depending if you want light or darker brown. There is a separate button hidden under the smooth surface to press if you want to cancel the original instruction.  Fortunately for me, most of these can be preset and all I will have to do is to press the lever to push the bread down.

I miss the tactile buttons of old style toasters and other devices. I don’t like smooth surfaces when I can’t see the instructions underneath. What happened to tactile buttons? Even on our microwave I have needed to glue my own buttons to the surface so that I can feel whether I am defrosting or cooking. I have also glued a raised button to some of the numbers. These new devices and gadgets aren’t made for people with no or little sight.

Still, I’m sure that eventually I will find my way around this new piece of kitchen equipment. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that our other old style gadgets have long lives.