Please don't patronize me!

As a blind person, one of the most annoying and upsetting challenges for me is when someone patronizes me. When a person speaks to me in a tone that they would normally use for a kid, when they pat me on the hand and say something like "Okay dear, or "you poor thing." This absolutely drives me up the wall.

Another example of patronizing is when someone speaks to my mom or friend or accompanying friend instead of me. Something like: "What would she like to have" at a restaurant or "Would she like to try on those sweaters?" Getting angry does not really help as I have discovered over the years. Instead, I speak up for myself or my mom or friend would gently say "You can ask Donna herself."

In my experiences over the years of my life, the worst type of patronization takes place in: Stores, the doctor's office, the supermarket, restaurants, and at recreation parks. There is absolutely no need to patronize a blind person.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and asking you to go out there and spread the word that there is absolutely no need to patronize blind persons. Visit www.nfb.org and www.rnib.org to learn more.

When no one is around

Greetings! I'm Christian Robicheau, assistant editor at www.sterlingcreations.ca.
It is the last saturday in September and fall is now here for yet another year. Today, I have a very interesting editorial to share with you; written by our president Donna J. Jodhan. Today, Donna talks about the challenges she faces as a blind person when no one is around.
I wish you a great end of September weekend.

+++++++++++++++
When no one is around
By Donna J. Jodhan

O boy! When no one is around to tell me what is happening, what is going on, or what is amiss! That is the world for a blind person like me.

When no one is around and I receive mail; I can usually scan it and decipher it but the scanner is not always accurate and I have to spend more than a bit of time to read it.
When no one is around and my screen reading software suddenly stops speaking to me; I have to frantically search for a neighbor or a friend to tell me what is going on.
When no one is around and my Internet connections unexpectedly die; I need someone to tell me what's happening with my modem's lights. I have to hunt for sighted help.
When no one is around and I accidentally drop something on my carpet; if I can't find it then I need to either use logic to try and determine where it is, use my cane to try and locate it, and failing this I need to call in sighted help.
When no one is around and I need to set my chiming clock because the clocks either need to be put forward or backward; I need help to set the time because there is no way for me to feel the hands or the minute and hour indicators.
When no one is around and I need to sign a document; I have to find someone to help me locate the correct spot to write my signature.
When no one is around and I either spill things all over my counter or on the floor; all hell breaks loose and I have to call in the sighted brigade.

That's the picture for me as a blind person; but I cope with it and do the best that I can. Sometimes I can laugh at myself but at other times I am a bit less pleasant about it.


I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day and weekend.
To reach me, please send an email to info@sterlingcreations.ca and I would be delighted to send you an electronic copy of our latest newsletter.

Here is a complete list of where you can view Donna's blogs and editorials.
Donna Jodhan! Advocating accessibility for all
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com
Weekly features on how to increase your success with your business ventures
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm
Weekly articles and editorials on issues about accessibility
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog
A monthly editorial on issues on diversity
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca

Yes I can enjoy swimming

Well, here is another misunderstanding for me to clear up. Much of the sighted world has a very hard time understanding and believing that blind persons can enjoy swimming. Of course they can and I am living proof. In addition to ice skating and skiing, I swim as a hobby. I am a very good swimmer and growing up near the ocean enabled me to learn to swim in the sea.

As early as I can remember, my dad and my siblings took me swimming. Dad taught me how to swim and we started off with life belts but I quickly graduated to swimming on my own. Naturally, he and my family worried about my safety as with any other kid sight or not. Dad taught me how to do the back stroke, the butterfly, the crawl, plus so much more. I learned to do summersaults too; both forward and backward. Then I took my skills to the swimming pool.

One of the things that I enjoyed the most while swimming in the sea was to look up at the bright blue sky and the golden sun while I was lying on my back in the ocean. I cherished seeing that beautiful Caribbean sky and adored the sun and surf. Dad also taught me how to surf the waves and he and I used to have so much fun frolicking in them. The foam caps reminded me of lace. Now that I have precious little vision, I still enjoy it all but without enough vision to see the sky, waves, and color of the sea, I find other ways to enjoy things when I go swimming.

Dad was my best swimming buddy and I always feel very close to him whenever I go to the beach. He passed on many years ago but his spirit still accompanies me whenever I go sea swimming. Swimming is still one of my most enjoyable hobbies.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and help spread the message that yes! Blind persons can enjoy swimming. If you would like to know more, then please do not hesitate to send me an email at donnajodhan@sterlingcreations.ca.

No way to verify

Greetings! I'm Scott Savoy, managing editor of www.sterlingcreations.ca.
I hope that everyone is enjoying their beautiful September and today, I have a thought provoking editorial to share with you written by our president Donna J. Jodhan.
Today, Donna talks about the challenges being faced by blind persons when it comes to not being able to verify.
I wish you a great weekend.


+++++++++++++++
No way to verify
By Donna J. Jodhan

We are living in an information society and a knowledge based economy where one heavily depends on the other. Without information we are nowhere and without knowledge gathered from information we are unable to make decisions of any kind. So, just imagine not being able to make vital decisions because we are unable to verify the relevant information.

Does this circumstance really exist? Indeed, it surely does and it is the case for millions of blind, sight impaired, and deaf/blind persons worldwide. Why does this circumstance exist? Well, it all has to do with the inability of blind, sight impaired, and deaf/blind persons not being able to verify online information. Why is this? Because a lot of the information is inaccessible to these persons in alternate formats and more often than not, they need to depend on a sighted person to read it to them. This means that there is no mechanism for these persons to verify the information because they are unable to read it for themselves.

What does all of this mean? It means that without any dependable way of verification, blind, sight impaired, and deaf/blind persons are practically held to ransom so to speak. They are unable to verify information and accordingly they are unable to make safe and sound decisions for themselves. It's something like this: If you are unable to read something for yourself it only goes to say that you really cannot verify it. So then what's next? A call for information to be produced in alternate formats in a timely manner.

What is meant by the term alternate formats? In Braille, large print, and in e text format; that is, HTML, TXT, Word, RTF, and PDF that is appropriately tagged so that screen readers can decipher them.


I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day and weekend.
To reach me, please send an email to info@sterlingcreations.ca and I would be delighted to send you an electronic copy of our latest newsletter.

Here is a complete list of where you can view Donna's blogs and editorials.
Donna Jodhan! Advocating accessibility for all
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com
Weekly features on how to increase your success with your business ventures
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm
Weekly articles and editorials on issues about accessibility
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog
A monthly editorial on issues on diversity
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca

Guide dogs are not for everyone

Here is the truth about guide dogs; they are not for everyone and not every blind person is suited to have a guide dog. I myself love dogs but a guide dog is not for me. Why you may ask? Because in order to have a guide dog, you need to put your trust completely in the dog and for me this is extremely difficult. Some dogs make wonderful guides but there are others that do not. Not every guide dog turns out to be a good guide; and not every blind person who seeks to have a guide dog is a suitable candidate.

In a mainstream world, the relationship between a dog and their owner is extremely crucial and in a world of a blind person it is even more so for a blind person. Both dog and owner need to trust and like each other. It's all about team work. There are several guide dog schools scattered across North America and there are many in
England and across Europe as well. I am going to give you two websites to visit; www.nfb.org, and www.rnib.org. These two websites can provide you with very helpful information on guide dogs.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and asking you to go out there and tell the rest of the world that guide dogs are not for everyone.

The right to know

Greetings! I'm Christian Robicheau, assistant editor at http://www.sterlingcreations.ca.
Well, September is well on its way and we have been lucky to have had a great summer.
Today, I am pleased to introduce an editorial by our president Donna J. Jodhan and today Donna zooms in on our right to know.
Have a great weekend.

+++++++++++++++
The right to know

We are living in an information society and a knowledge based economy and we are depending more and more on information to be made accessible to us in a timely and efficient manner. We all need this in order to keep abreast of important events but most of all, we need it in order to make important decisions in our lives.

For blind and sight impaired persons, it is even more crucial that we are able to access information on a timely and efficient basis; the right to know. The right to know should not be taken too lightly. It should not be treated as a privilege nor should it be treated as a nice to have. It is a right, a must, and one that we need to protect and safeguard at all costs.

Technology has made it easier for information to be made available to everyone; the Internet being the primary way. We need information in order to not just make important decisions that affect our daily lives, we need it in order to survive. We need to be kept in the know so that we as blind and sight impaired persons can keep up with the mainstream world. The right to know could be easily compared to the cane or guide dog that we depend on in order to navigate our way through life.

The right to know is only going to become more vital to us as time marches on and blind and sight impaired persons need to ensure that this right remains a right and does not become somehow forgotten in a busy and confused world. If we keep this in mind then we will survive. If we fail to keep it safe then we might as well give in to a world where we will one day become almost forgotten. Perseverance is the name of the game; mediocrity can only lead to failure.


I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day and weekend.
To reach me, please send an email to info@sterlingcreations.ca and I would be delighted to send you an electronic copy of our latest newsletter.

Here is a complete list of where you can view Donna's blogs and editorials.
Donna Jodhan! Advocating accessibility for all
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com
Weekly features on how to increase your success with your business ventures
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm
Weekly articles and editorials on issues about accessibility
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog
A monthly editorial on issues on diversity
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca

All about audio description

One question that I often get asked is this one: How does a blind person follow a movie? That is, how can they follow what is going on in a movie when there is no talking or other noise to tell them what's happening? Enter the world of audio description.

Up until about a decade ago, audio descriptive movies or audio descriptions were novelties to us or rather a luxury but today, it is becoming more and more popular. What is meant by audio descriptions or audio descriptive movies? Very easy. More and more movies, DVDs, and videos are now being produced to include audio descriptions and this means that audio descriptions are given for those scenes where there is no audible sound. This is most helpful to blind persons who are unable to see what's going on. So for example, in a movie, if someone is walking along and there is only the sound of their shoes, audio description would be provided to tell the blind person what's included in the scene as the person is walking.

I am going to leave you with an url to check out. One that belongs to one of the top audio descriptive producers in the world. Visit www.wgbh.org.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and tell the rest of the world about audio descriptions and audio descriptive videos etc.

Distance learning for the blind

Greetings! I'm Scott Savoy and ah yes! September is here and soon my favourite season will be upon us. How much I enjoy the fall but it does not mean that I do not enjoy a sunny summer as well.
This week, I am pleased to present you with an editorial written by our president Donna J. Jodhan and today, Donna centers her attention on distance learning for the blind.
I wish you a great holiday weekend.

+++++++++++++++
Distance learning for the blind
By Donna J. Jodhan

Call it a double edged sword; but distance learning for the blind can be viewed in two very different ways. On the one hand, it could open up tons of doors of opportunity for blind persons but on the other hand, it could pose new challenges for those who are afflicted with vision challenges.

In general, distance learning has helped to make education much more available and accessible to those living in remote areas, to those who have difficulty attending physical classes, and to those who are unable to afford the luxury of travelling from their homelands to developed countries. A great boon and a bridging of the gap for millions and distance learning is definitely growing in popularity.

For those who are blind and sight impaired, distance can be described as a double edged sword. On the one hand, yes, it makes education more available to these persons but when the websites that offer these courses are not accessible, or when the software being used by the distance learning providers are not compatible with the access technology being used by the blind and sight impaired student, here is where the barriers are. In addition, when the website designers and developers are unable to grasp the meaning of accessibility, blind and sight impaired students have to go the extra mile to explain their environment.

It is my experience that in several cases, there is a mixed bag when it comes to how the professors and tutors view the whole subject of accessibility. That is, making it possible for blind and sight impaired students to pursue distance learning. It should be easier for blind and sight impaired students to be able to access electronic texts but fairly often, this is sadly not the case. I'd like to suggest some tips for anyone who is reading this.

Electronic texts need to be made available in a format that could be read by blind and sight impaired students. These students use screen reading and magnification software to read. Blind students who use screen reading software need to be able to access textual formats; they are unable to read images, graphics, and icons. Texts in word and RTF or TXT formats are preferable.

Websites should be designed so that blind and sight impaired students can interact with them independently; without having to seek sighted assistance.
Forms should be designed so that blind and sight impaired students can complete them independently; without sighted help.

Of course there are other things that I can suggest but for now I think it is a good start.


I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day and weekend.
To reach me, please send an email to info@sterlingcreations.ca and I would be delighted to send you an electronic copy of our latest newsletter.

Here is a complete list of where you can view Donna's blogs and editorials.
Donna Jodhan! Advocating accessibility for all
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com
Weekly features on how to increase your success with your business ventures
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm
Weekly articles and editorials on issues about accessibility
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog
A monthly editorial on issues on diversity
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca