For a person with little or no sight there are practical and emotional difficulties about using a public restroom. So much of vision loss is about finding things with your hands, and also not being able to find things you need like the flush. You are also afraid of what your hand might touch! You […]
Read more "Restrooms: Stories from the Stall and the Urinal"
This is the first of the three interviews announced in January. . This week, how a compassionate and caring rehab teacher works with clients who are often stunned by their loss of good sight. He is asking his clients to use a white and red cane and go out into traffic! How can he help […]
Read more "Interview: A Mobility Professional Discusses the Art of Getting Clients Past Their Fear"
What to be aware of when there is a lot of snow Joe Kolb has been teaching mobility to people with vision loss for 31 years. I interviewed him on January 30, three days after a big blizzard swept across parts of New England. I started with questions about snow safety. Here are his recommendations, […]
Read more "Snow and Ice Awareness: Advice from One of New England’s Premier Mobility Instructors"
Every shape, size, Color and furriness of canine walking with their families to raise money for the Carroll Center yesterday
Read more "The Most Fun Fund-Raiser: Canines For Carroll, April 27"
Today winter is reaching down into southern states that don’t usually have to bother with snow and ice. Stepping onto invisible ice which you aren’t prepared for can be an ankle-breaker or worse. It doesn’t have to be a big patch. Sometimes the most treacherous ice is small and right outside your front door – […]
Read more "Stepping Out Even When It’s Icy"
DeAnn Elliott was a member of early Interpersonal Skill groups at the Carroll Center, and also of the focus group I held at my home. She is a perceptive thinker and writer and has taught me a lot. Here is a re-post of her blog about one of our mobility instructors and her own fears […]
Read more "Are You Afraid of Getting Some Mobility Training? Join the Club"
Holiday visits and winter getaways are coming soon, but will you enjoy yourself? At present my husband Neil and I are in Queenstown, New Zealand. We are on a long-wished-for visit to my sister and her family as well as old friends in Australia. So far we have used every means of transport except bicycles, […]
Read more "What Makes a Trip Fun? Rich Sensory Environments Versus Deprived Sensory Environments"
There is a lot to hate about losing your sight, and having to ask for help from strangers is right up there. After a long time it can get to be quite fun sometimes (no really!). But at first it’s beyond awful. There are you, a paid-up member of the human race, having to ask […]
Read more "Four Rules for Getting Assistance"
What would people with vision loss have done without Steve Jobs? He gave his staff such a hard time with his perfectionism, but he gave people with vision loss great riches because he insisted that iPod Touches, iPhones and iPads have the screen reader – voiceover – built in. It works seamlessly from the moment […]
Read more "Steve Jobs’ Great Legacy"
It’s expensive, revolutionary, and the first shipment has already sold out. It’s called the Orcam. Notices, store and street names, and the faces of friends may all become identifiable again with the Orcam. As you may know too well, depending on your spouse or friend or a passer-by to assist you is a struggle. But […]
Read more "Reclaim Your Street Smarts: A New Electronic Device for People with Some Remaining Vision"