- Navigation/orientation – What are the senses, skills and attitudes that we bring into play when stepping out to the grocery store or to a movie (Yes, blind people do go to the movies.)
- Planning/organization – Do your trips tend to be spur of the moment, once quick, hop in the car affairs that could be taken care of in half an hour? You may be finding now that travel is a much more involved affair, entailing bus passes, trip planning, knowledge of the environment that you intend to be in and preparation for long trips with water and an audio book. Include calculating how much grocery load that you can carry over “x” distance through “y” transfers with one hand on a cane and the other holding your Starbuck’s and you may find that you’re avoiding shopping altogether.
- “That little kid is staring at me” – You could hear him ask his mother on the bus line that you feel a hostage to, “Why is that man carrying a cane?” He looks and looks and looks and you start to imagine (or detect) the furtive glances of others who assume that all blind people who use a cane are inevitably immersed in total darkness. The glances are furtive because they don’t want their travel companions to see them looking. You feel your face go hot as the kind but rough man grasps you less than gently by the arm to pull you into the seat next to him. Perhaps this is the daunting part for you that keeps you on as few buses as you can get away with without being a shut-in.
- Driving as an integral part of independence – There is something distinctly practical in looking at aspects of our lives as sighted people that gave us meaning. Whether it was touring around the countryside all day visiting wineries or a simple hike at dusk, we are all more or less aware of our limitations but often unable to incorporate this awareness practically into our lives in a way that helps us maintain as much independence as possible without endangering ourselves or others.
Cooking and other “Activities of Daily Living” – How much is enough and how can I tell when my coffee cup is full? (aka: “Do you smell blood?” or “I bet you can’t guess how many times I’ve poured boiling water on my hand.”)
- Measurement
- Timing
- Cutting and peeling
- Cleaning
- Hygiene
Reading and listening – This is probably the most potentially wrenching bit for me. There is something about reading printed material out of a book, magazine or newspaper that is inexplicably and intrinsically gratifying. The last printed book that I took in was Cold Mountain in 1999 – Every morning on the bus to work in the crappy fluorescent glow of the bus’ back seats and later on the train across town. All print now is for reference and nearly everything else is audio or a combination of computer generated text and speech. Though we’ll talk about the emotional implications of making such adjustments, this bit is about the practical, so let’s take a short look at it before diving in.
- Why read? – Yes I said a “practical,” not “philosophical” look (at least for now). We’re not going to escape the need to read. Whether it’s a medication bottle or a movie description at the local Blockbuster, reading is a real and necessary part of everyday life. Besides, for many of us it’s simply gratifying.
- Size, lighting, contrast and color – What can we do to place ourselves in the best possible position to read when we need or want to? Some of us need magnification, though in my case I need to use discretion in order not to unduly magnify the dozens of little blind spots scattered throughout the remaining fiver or so degrees of my visual field.
- Reading position – Is it best to read on your back or upright in a chair? Lying on your stomach or on your side? Do you use a portable lap desk or pillows piled on your belly? Is it better to look ahead at your material or down at it? Basically, everything that can make you more comfortable while you read has the potential to extend your reading time, which brings us to the next…
- What’s your stamina for printed or “displayed” material like? – Can you go longer reading from a monitor where the lighting and contrast on many web pages, for instance, are fairly consistent, or is strongly lit printed material more your preference for sheer endurance? Some of us have to read a lot and it pays to look at some of the minutia of physical environment as well as attention and reading technique in order to optimize our reading.
- The technology of reading – Perhaps you’d be happy with one of the many CCTV’s on the market these days. You may be more oriented toward being able to look at and listen to your printed text at the same time, in which case any number of screen readers or “text-to-speech” engines might suit you.
- Listening to your reading – I first discovered audio books for long commutes when I was still driving and since have hardly been able to stand being without one running in my ear from day-to-day. Depending on how you get your audio, and depending on what you prefer, selections may be limited or you may be stuck with abridgements. We’ll look at availability and the variety of ways that you can bring reading in audio into your life.
More subtle yet still important modalities of adaptation include communication and social adjustment. We’ll look at these on their own, along with the emotional component of vision loss.
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