This hot summer is not over yet, and there may still be travel, family visits, parties, or shopping for a bigger hat!

It’s 4 years since the worst stage of the Pandemic yet the effects (and the virus) linger on. We who live with low vision or blindness were severely affected even though many of us were kept safe by the lock downs.

Staying home for so long made us lose exercise and outdoor activity, and confidence in social interaction.

During these four years so many meetings have gone online or on the phone and stayed there; meetings that were in-person pre-pandemic. Of course this has benefits – no transportation! And access to virtual and telephone support groups for vision loss are now more available. This is great, but a voice and perhaps a blurry image can’t replace being together.

All human beings need physical closeness, and anyone living with low vision or blindness needs it more. We miss the hugs, the side-by-side talk on the couch, or at the bar because we use touch and sound more deeply.

And while we stayed home our brains forgot some of the smart problem-solving we had taught ourselves as we interacted with the sighted public and our families. What we lost was hundreds of hours of practice!

We weren’t using assertive speech; being positive and specific with the medical assistant, store clerk, server, or sister-in-law. And of course we did less independent shopping, travel in buses and cabs, ordering in cafes, and Months stretching into years when we did not say “Can I take your elbow across the street?” Because social distancing made the public wary.

During this time we may have forgotten the importance of thinking through a party (or family visit) in advance, and calling the host for details and “accommodations” such as a seat in the shade, or assistance at the buffet, and knowing who else is invited.  We can end up sidelined, missing some of the catch-up, the closeness, and the fun.

This Fall I will be working with groups and workshops to find out what people want to practice in speaking up, and what has changed post pandemic, so I can create a short practice book speak up skills, companion to When You Can’t Believe Your Eyes: Vision Loss and Personal Recovery, 2019.Publisher Charles C. Thomas. on NLS 11619, Bookshare, and Google Play Books.