Some day at Christmas

Greetings! I'm Christian Robicheau, assistant editor at www.sterlingcreations.ca and today I am absolutely delighted to be sharing a special Christmas editorial with you; written by our president Donna J. Jodhan.
We at www.sterlingcreations.ca wish you the very best for the holiday season! Merry Christmas to you all! Joyeux Noèl! Feliz Navidad!

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Some day at Christmas
By Donna J. Jodhan

One of my favourite Christmas Carols is "Some day at Christmas"; made popular by the late Michael Jackson. Yes, some day at Christmas; when I could wake up on a peaceful morning and welcome yet another special day with my loved ones around me and the Christ Child in my heart.

When I would be able to say "Finally! All is well and now blind kids will have an equal opportunity to be like their mainstream counterparts." When they can play with mainstream toys and be able to use cell phones and IPods just like sighted kids. When they would be able to play with games just like their sighted friends and not have to worry about inaccessibility. When their classrooms and playgrounds would be free of accessibility barriers and they would have an equal opportunity to be just kids!

Some day at Christmas when I could go to bed just before Santa makes his rounds knowing that all of my wishes have been granted. That all websites have been made accessible. That all supermarkets and stores have been made fully accessible to blind persons. That online courses and distance learning have all been made accessible and usable to blind persons. That blind persons have equal access to all reading materials in the same way that sighted persons do.

Some day at Christmas after Santa has come and gone leaving a huge package for me under my Christmas tree, I could wake up and say "Finally! The banks have finally gotten it! Their ATMs are now fully accessible. Blind persons can now access all point of sale devices and touch screens without having to ask for sighted assistance. Blind passengers can now access kiosks at airports, they can enjoy movies on board aircrafts, and no more problems at airports, train stations, and bus terminals for them."

Some day at Christmas as I sit quietly in a church along with others waiting for the Christmas Mass to begin; I could say "Thank you God for ensuring that from now on society will treat blind persons as normal persons who can function on their own and the only thing wrong with them is that they are unable to see."

Some day at Christmas! Ah yes but it is only my dreams but who says that dreams don't come true? The smell of cookies baking in my kitchen are real! Christmas Carols being played around me are real! Children laughing and families decorating are real! Is it too much for me to ask Santa to help make my dreams come true?

The late Steve Jobs made some of my dreams and those of other blind persons come true! Dare I dream that there could be another Steve Jobs out there just waiting to bring hope to the blind world?

I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a very merry Christmas!
Joyeux noèl! Feliz Navidad!

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

Doing the laundry carefully

When I do my laundry, it's really not that much different from what most sighted persons would do. I use my color detector to help sort my colored clothes from my white clothes. Next I wash the white ones separately from the colored ones. All hand clothing is washed by hand and the rest go into the washer.

The trick for me is to be able to tell if a piece of clothing has run as they say; creating a disaster for other pieces of clothing. So, I have to make sure that certain pieces of clothing can be washed together and those that can't I have to wash also by hand. Not much different from what sighted persons would do.

I am fairly comfortable doing my laundry. Towels and sheets go together, jeans, sweat shirts, socks, and track clothes go together, miscellaneous go together, and all of my blouses and skirts and other delicate garments are washed separately and apart from each other. The challenges for me are: Making sure that stains have been removed, and realizing when something is a bit too worn to keep on using. So, I use the tried and proven method of discarding anything that has become thin and thread bare.

Not much different from the sighted world but I have to depend on touch as well as sighted assistance to help me deal with stains and o yes! When those darn socks drop from me when I remove them from the dryer. When they drop without a sound and I have to go looking for them.

Dealing with buttons on washers and dryers is another story which I will cover in another blog. For now, you can learn more about color detectors by visiting www.independentlivingaids.com.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and help educate the sighted world about how blind persons do their laundry.

No need to be sorry

Greetings! I'm Scott Savoy, managing editor at www.sterlingcreations.ca.
So are you busy decorating, baking, shopping, and gift wrapping?
Still need more time?
Well, you need to hurry up and do all of this before the big man comes in a little over two weeks!
Today, I have our president's editorial of the week to share with you and today, Donna J. Jodhan has a very insightful and moving editorial to share.
Enjoy!

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No need to be sorry
By Donna Jodhan

More often than not whenever someone realizes that a person is blind; either on the phone or in person, the very first few words out of their mouth is “I’m sorry.” For those of you who read this, I’d like to impart a few words of wisdom as seen through the eyes of a blind person so to speak.

First of all; I know that these words are almost always meant in the true sense of honesty and compassion and they probably come out of being uncomfortable in the situation in which one finds themselves at the time but speaking for myself, it also makes me feel very uncomfortable.

The words “I’m sorry” should never be taken lightly no matter what. Whenever someone says it to me upon discovering that I am blind I often try to decipher why it has been said. Is it because that the person saying it is uncomfortable? Is it because that they are really sorry? Or is it because they do not know what else to say? My response is almost always “no need to be sorry.”

Whatever the reason, I don’t think that there is any need to say “I’m sorry” to a blind person. We are blind and this is what it is. We have no choice but to carry on with our lives and there is absolutely no reason for a sighted person to be sorry about this. Compassionate and/or understanding, yes. Empathetic and/or sympathetic, yes. Just my few words of wisdom for today.


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

Missing out on bargains

Missing out on bargains is one of the most difficult things that I have to deal with on a daily basis. For the sighted
world, it is easy for them to read about bargains in flyers, the newspapers, and see it on TV or on the Internet. For
me, I am unable to read newspapers or flyers, and although I may hear it on TV, many ads do not repeat phone
numbers at the end of their infomercial instead choosing to display it on screen. In the case of the Internet, so many
websites are not user friendly to those with vision problems making it almost impossible for us to access.

When I go grocery shopping, I am unable to read the flyers that are stacked on the counters. These flyers gaily
display all of the bargains in the supermarket but I do not have a clue as to what they are. The same applies for
when I enter a store or pharmacy and as a result I am shut out of being able to reduce my shopping bills.

This is something that I'd like to see addressed by the sighted world; ways to make it possible for blind persons to
know about bargains. One possible solution that comes to mind is this: Maybe, the larger store and supermarket
chains could have a phone line whereby we could call in and hear the bargains on a weekly basis? Food for thought.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out and help make it easier for blind persons to learn more about bargains.

Do professors really understand?

Greetings! I'm Christian Robicheau, assistant editor at http://www.sterlingcreations.ca and welcome to December!
Ah yes! December is here and I hope that everyone is ready to start celebrating.
This week our president Donna J. Jodhan has an interesting editorial to share with us. It focuses on whether or not professors understand the challenges being faced by blind students at university.
Enjoy and have a great weekend.

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Do professors really understand?
By Donna J. Jodhan

When I was at university which was many years ago, I must say that as a whole, most professors understood that in order to complete my courses, I had to have access to texts and that I had to be given a bit of extra time to write exams. They also understood that we all had to go the extra mile to ensure that my texts were on time and that I could understand charts, diagrams, and graphs.

When I was at university, there were no online courses and my texts were either given to me on tape or in Braille. Lectures were all conducted in the classroom and I was able to get the full attention of most of my professors. I either typed my papers or spoke onto tape and sometimes I had oral exams for French and Spanish.

That was then and this is now. With the evolution of the Internet, more courses are being offered the online way. Students submit their exams via email or by logging into a specified website. They receive their texts through the Internet but there are still classroom sessions to attend.

For blind students, the online way could be looked upon in two ways; as a blessing and as a challenge. As a blessing because they do not have to travel to be at class physically. As a challenge because many web developers are still finding it difficult to develop websites that are accessible to blind students.

Do professors really understand that in order for blind students to participate fully in web based courses, they need to have the following?
Equal access to all texts. Equal access to all websites that are being used during the course. Equal access to all online resources. Equal access to professors.

Professors need to ensure that texts are made available to their blind students in a format that they can read. They need to understand that blind students need extra time to complete exams and they need to be aware that whenever changes are made to software by the learning institution involved, care must be taken to ensure that the student's software is compatible and if not then efforts need to be made to find suitable alternatives.

This is not going to change and as technology continues to evolve then so too will the challenges for blind students increase. What is the solution here? More dialogue between all concerned and the development of ways to deal with all of this.


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