On this episode of Change Makers, we are going to learn about blind and low vision stereotypes. We'll hear how they originated, and how damaging they are. Then, listen to a panel of individuals talk about stereotypes they've faced. After that, learn about potential gift ideas for the upcoming holidays.
On This Podcast (In Order of Appearance)
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On this episode of Change Makers, we are going to learn about blind and low vision stereotypes. We'll hear how they originated, and how damaging they are. Then, listen to a panel of individuals talk about stereotypes they've faced. After that, learn about potential gift ideas for the upcoming holidays.
On This Podcast (In Order of Appearance)
Additional Links
Welcome to Change Makers, a podcast from APH. We're talking to people from around the world who are creating positive change in the lives of people who are blind or have low vision. Here's your host.
Sara Brown:Hello and welcome to Change Makers. I'm APH's Public Relations Manager, Sara Brown. And today we are smashing stereotypes. We're gonna learn where blind and low vision stereotypes originated, and how damaging they are. We'll hear from a panel of individuals who are blind or low vision as they talk about stereotypes, public interaction, and anything else they wanna say about how damaging stereotypes can be. After that, we'll hear some potential gift ideas for the upcoming holidays up. First, we have APH's Museum Director Micheal Hudson here to talk about the history of blind and low vision stereotypes. Hello Michael, and welcome to Change Makers.
Micheal Hudson:Thanks, Sara.
Sara Brown:So can you talk about some of the stereotypes you've heard and how they originated?
Micheal Hudson:Sure. I think, I think one of the most shocking ones, um, is this idea that people who have disabilities have them because they've been cursed by God or, or, you know, something their family has done, has brought down the wrath of the Almighty upon them, and that, that somehow they deserve, uh, to be punished. Um, and so it, this, this is something that really dates back to the, you know, 15th, 16th, 17th centuries, um, um, where, you know, if you, you had a disability, it was almost like you were considered to be, you know, you deserve to have the disability either because something you did or something your family did, which is, you know, so, you know, it's so opposite of the way we think about things now.
Sara Brown:Talk about the stereotype that individuals who are blind are low vision, have special gifts, um, like a sixth sense?
Micheal Hudson:Right? So there is actually a, there in, in medieval Japan, there was literally an order of Japanese nuns, and they were thought of like, as oracles like, that somehow rather, the loss of one sense vision had given you special insight into the supernatural, right? And of course, there's no basis, uh, in fact for any, you know, uh, losing one one sense, you know, making you, you know, have a another sense that would be augmented. But that also applies to hearing, you know, because a, uh, you're, you're not using, using your visual cortex, a lot of your, your, your attention span gets dedicated instead of to sight, it gets dedicated to hearing. So it's not that you can hear better, it's that you are, you are more practiced at concentrating on only the sounds that you are, you're able to hear and then interpreting them. And so you're actually able to make, you're actually able to understand what you hear better because you practice more at it. Like anything else that we do in life, when we practice something or we concentrate very much on it without being distracted by vision, we start to be able to use our hearing better. But that doesn't mean your actual hearing is better. It's your ability to use what you hear is better. And a lot of times when someone who is cited sees that kind of skill being used, they attribute it to, you know, some kind of super supernatural hearing, right? But it's not, it's just, it's just using what you have more effectively.
Sara Brown:What about individuals who are blind in low vision that see only darkness and nothing else? Talk about that stereotype.
Micheal Hudson:I think that's something that most of our visitors to the American Printing House are surprised about. Um, you know, uh, the, the, the, the truth is that the fastest growing population of people that are blind or low vision in the United States are over the age of 40, You know, and they're suffering from, uh, conditions that come about usually as a result of aging, like glaucoma or macular degeneration. And those are not usually, you know, uh, cataracts, they don't take your vision overnight, right? They slowly, but gradually your vision degrades. And so over your lifetime, you have a long range of vision loss, and it, it might actually end in total, total, total vision loss. But actually the percentage of people who are blind in the United States, who are, who have no usable vision, you know, they can't tell light from day. They, they, they, even if the print is really large, they can't read it. That's really small, very small percentage. It's very rare. Much more common is someone somewhere on the spectrum as you describe it, of between, you know, having, you know, being in total darkness and, and actually with, you know, with glasses and with large print, they're actually still able to read.
Sara Brown:Now, most people assume people who are blind or vision are proficient in braille and own a a guide dog. Is that true?
Micheal Hudson:Neither of those is true. Um, remember that the again, the population of blind people in the United States is, uh, the largest, the fastest growing percentage of them loses their vision after the age of 40. And so, uh, the older you are, the harder it is to, to get good braille skills. It's not that you can't learn braille and use it, you know, in simple ways, like to mark your, your microwave oven or, or use it to, in your pantry to mark your pants suit, but you're probably not gonna be reading"Gone with the Wind." Now, there are plenty of people who lose their vision later in life, and do, are able to master braille. But the, it's like anything if, if, if you're over the age of 40 and I wanted you to learn German it, for most of us, it would be hard. And then on the dog guide front, only 3% of people that are blind in the United States use a dog guide. So why is it, why is it so few people use a guide dog? It's because a guide dog places some pretty, uh, it's first off, a guide dog is amazing in what it can do. Um, it's, it's gonna allow you to go into a lot of environments, unfamiliar environments that a cane user is gonna have a little more, um, challenge encountering. But a dog guide moves pretty fast. Um, and even though they're gonna try and match the dog's gate to your gate, if you are not a fast walker, a guide dog is probably gonna be too much for you. So that's why a lot of little kids and a lot of older people can't use guide dogs. They walk too fast too. A guide dog is not like a long can, you can't just fault him up and put him in your pocket and he's fine, right? He, he or she requires grooming and feeding and care and, uh, you know, there are some limitations on how you can use some dog guides. You know, they're foldable. Yeah, you can put'em in small places, but you can't always fold'em away and just put'em away like you can a cane. So a dog guide, while, you know, a really great way of, of, of getting around, uh, puts a lot of constraints upon the user. And, and so it's a pretty small proportion of people that are blind that actually find that, that that works for them, that that's the ideal way for them to, to get around.
Sara Brown:Sadly, there's the myth that blind and low individuals can't work or hold a job. Can you talk about that stereotype?
Micheal Hudson:Yeah. I find that, you know, amusing, uh, as you do as well, because we work every day with dozens and dozens of people that are blind, uh, many of whom are doing their job better than I am. Uh, and so, you know, I think, I think one of the things that we have to face in the field that we're in is that far too many people who are blind or low vision are unemployed or underemployed. Um, and, uh, you know, the old as the old sagas, you know, overeducated and underemployed. And, and that is something that, you know, we all need to be working on as a society. But, but still we are surrounded by all kinds of people who come to work every day and do their job and, you know, get their pay and, uh, and, you know, have, you know, have prepared themselves, have gone to school and gotten the degree they needed to do their job, and they're out there doing their job. Yeah. So, um, if, anybody's at fault in the employment issue on people that are blind and low vision, it's society for believing, you know, being too prone to believe that people can't do things rather than giving them a chance to prove that they can.
Sara Brown:How about individuals who are blind or low vision cannot access print and handwritten materials?
Micheal Hudson:So there was a guy named Raymond Kewell, who back in the 1980s, uh, maybe, maybe actually maybe started working on it in the seventies, but he came up with this machine. Uh, so, you know, everybody I guess now is familiar with optical character recognition. Uh, but if you're not, basically Raymond Kewell invented OCR for reader blind readers to, to give them independence from needing somebody to translate the, a book into braille or to record it. So basically you shoot a camera at the print, it goes into your computer, and the computer then reads it out loud to you. Um, but it, you know, now it's even more sophisticated and it, you know, you scan, you can scan a document and it turns it into, uh, it, it could turn it into print that could then be turned into braille, or it could be read to you in audio, you could save it in your computer and, and, and you don't need anybody else. And your cell phone is smart enough to do it. Um, um, they, you know, you, you, you need nothing more than your cell phone and, and takes a picture and reads it, reads print out to you and makes you, can make you totally independent of, uh, um, um, to, to turn print into a readable format for yourself. Yeah. And that's available in everybody's pocket, right? It's not anything special. It's not anything that costs extra.
Sara Brown:We've talked about a lot of the stereotypes. Just talk about overall how damaging they are to someone who is blind or low vision?
Micheal Hudson:Yeah. Imagine, no matter who you are, imagine, you know, somebody looks at you and they immediately make a negative judgment on you before they know anything about you. And you know, historically, that has happened to all sorts of people, right? Depending on maybe your gender, maybe your ethnicity, um, maybe your disability. And, and they don't give you a chance. They don't try to find out anything more about you. They decide, you know, what you're able to do, not based on your merit, but based on some story that they heard sometimes somewhere, uh, you know, back when, you know, 10 years ago or 20 years ago or something their dad told'em or whatever. I mean, that is no way, I mean, that there's no way our society can move forward if, if, if you are judged that way without being, you know, even giving it a chance to prove your merit. Um, and so that, that's a, that's a real heavy blow to somebody seeking a job. Um, you know, you submit your resume and your resume looks great, and they bring you in for the interview, and they take one look at you and they decide you can't do the job before they ask their first question. Um, and so, you know, stereotypes can be incredibly damaging, uh, to all of us, to all of us. Um, because I guarantee you, no matter who you are, uh, there are stereotypes about you and what you're capable or not capable of doing. And I, they're very, they could just be very damaging.
Sara Brown:And what are some ways the blind and low vision community can break down those myths?
Micheal Hudson:Oh my gosh, that's a hard question because when someone is willing to make a judgment, negative judgment about you, just based on some physical characteristic, how can you, how can we, we, as the community overcome those? You know, obviously in the Museum, our goal is to demystify blindness and, and make people, uh, deal with our neighbors with disabilities as just another characteristic, you know, just like, uh, you know, the color of their hair or the timber, uh, uh, pitch of their voice. Um, but it's going to take society really. You know, we talk about Models of Disability, and the Medical Model is one where, you know, people who have disabilities are the broken ones and need to be quote unquote"fixed." And then there's a Social Model of Disability where it's society who places these barriers in front of people, not, not the disability, it's society. And that's, that's really what we big we need to address. We need to start. And, and, and I always have needed to deal with people as individuals and judge them on their merits. And but to, to, to ask the question, what can the blind community to do, do that? We just need to continue to find partners in job environments who are willing to work with us so that we can, we can show, you know, one situation at a time, how a person can be successful.
Sara Brown:Okay. Micheal, thank you so much for joining me today on Change Makers.
Micheal Hudson:Thanks, Sara.
Sara Brown:Now we have a panel of individuals who are blind or low vision here to talk about stereotypes they faced. We have Paul Ferrara, Communications Accessibility Editor; Marissa Slaughter, senior grant writer; and Richard Rueda, Digital Content Manager for the Connect Center; And Katie Frederick, Digital Content Manager for Vision Aware. Hello, Paul, Marissa, Richard, and Katie, and welcome to Change Makers. Thank you. Thank
Panel of Individuals:You, thank you. Thank you.
Sara Brown:Can you tell us about yourselves and the work that you do for APH?
Paul Ferrara:So I, Sure, I'll go first. My name's Paul Ferrara. I am the Communications Accessibility Editor, which basically just means that things that are sent out, I check them for accessibility. I do stuff for the web team and website testing. And you may have heard me on this podcast doing partners with Paul Segments and just some other random hosting of webinars and stuff, especially for high tech products.
Marissa Slaughter:Um, my name is Marissa Slaughter. I am the Senior Grant Writer at APH. Um, that essentially means that I seek funding for all of our different programs, and I write lots of fancy letters and, uh, hopefully get money for our programs and then have to report on those and how we spent the money and just, uh, telling people about all of our excellence stuff we have going on here at APH.
Richard Rueda:Hello. Uh, I'm Richard Rueda, Digital Content Manager here with the APH Connect Center, and I run a Career Connect, uh, and for the past two years, uh, managing all the tools and resources for job seekers, uh, transition age teens and young adults entering the workforce for the first time. Uh, and really excited to be here and, and share, uh, out on this podcast.
Katie Frederick:Hello, I am Katie Frederick, and I am the Digital Content Manager for Vision Aware, which is part of the APH Connect Center. And we focus on providing resources for adults and professionals who work with people who are blind or low vision. And I've been with APH for about a year now, and happy to be here on the podcast.
Sara Brown:Can you talk about some of the stereotypes you, you have faced over the course of your life?
Richard Rueda:This is Richard, I'll, I'll jump right in. Um, when I think of stereotypes and, and just the, the, my own interactions and, and the reason why I do what I do is, uh, I always bring it back to the high unemployment rate of blind of individuals, young and old, that, uh, so many people are unemployed or underemployed who are blind because there have been stereotypes that in general, blind people can't do things that are perceived to be visual, or that because it's visual from the sighted perspective, we can't do things. And I think that's why career connect and, and all these resources and APAs exist to help, uh, mitigate that, to help remove those barriers and to demonstrate and illustrate to the world that, hey, look, not only do we have products and services, but we have blind people who are working in all levels from leadership, uh, and up and on down, and who are doing things that often side of people don't think we can do. And I think, uh, that's why these programs and services exist. A nd, and as a job seeker myself, uh, growing into, um, getting my first job in high school, going to fast food restaurants and getting my feet wet and asking for an application and having these people giving me blank looks thinking a nd hesitant about giving me an application because I was l ow vision, Um, I've encountered that many a times as a younger kid. So I think, again, that's why I do what I do and we do what we do to bring out the best of what we've got to offer.
Paul Ferrara:Yes, this is Paul. And this, this topic made me think of something that I guess maybe I chose to forget, I don't know. But, um, I'll, I'll go to an even deeper level. Uh, in college I had a couple really, really good friends. And these guys, you know, they, I don't wanna say they didn't think about the blindness part, but it was just a, it was a characteristic. And then there was one day that one of those friends was talking to somebody else who was an acquaintance of ours, and the guy made a comment like, It's really nice all the things you do for Paul. And I remember my friend just went to the guy and said, You really don't get it, do you? He's, he's my best friend that I've got here at this college. And the guy just looked at him like he was from another planet. He, he didn't know what to say, he didn't know how to react to that. And I don't know that there's a single word to describe that stereotype. It's almost as if you are not at the same level as, as a regularly sighted person, a non-disabled person. Doing something for someone with a disability is kind of a, a nice thing to do. Your, you're good deed for the day when you do it long term for somebody, you know, that makes you somehow some kind of a special person, and that's a stereotype on them and on you. And it was, I just couldn't believe how shocked I was. Cause it was somebody that I had a lot of respect for, even though I wasn't super close with them, I was just amazed at the level of disregard to me as a human being and to him and to our having a friendship. It was just very striking in a very bad way.
Marissa Slaughter:Yeah. To play off of what Paul was saying, um, for me, I think personally, it is always astounding to people to find out that I go for a hike or go out to a new restaurant with my friends or go on a date or go to a museum. Like anything that quote unquote normal people do on a, you know, daily basis. It just is always surprising the people I run into that a blind person does these things and doesn't just sit, you know, in their rocking chair at home in the dark. Like, it's just, they just think that we don't do anything and just don't, don't can't, or don't want to do any, um, you know, the average stuff that everybody else does.
Sara Brown:Have you all ever experienced somebody coming up to you and just saying the most craziest stereotypes you've ever heard? Or literally just putting their foot in their mouth? What are some of the things that you've heard that people have come up, up and said to you?
Richard Rueda:Well, it depends on the con context. This is Richard. I'll just say really quick. Sorry, Katie. That, uh, I get that a lot when I go get customer service at the store and, and unnamed businesses, I will, they will say, Well, where's your mom? How'd you get here? And I'm like, Well, uh, I got here, didn't I? Or, or when I had to go to DMV to fill out paperwork, uh, well, where's your person who's gonna help you fill out the paperwork? And so I, I just have to be polite, tactful and graceful, but firm saying, Well, I've made it here. Um, I'm looking for assistance. No one came with me. Um, I might be angry, I might be upset, but in the public, you're, you're trying to be polite, you're trying to be tactful, graceful and trying to educate them all in one. And it's, for me, you know, that's my experience. It's not easy, but that's what you do.
Katie Frederick:I think this is Katie, to go off of what Richard said, I think the, you know, trying to, to say things with a smile, um, but also adding, you know, adding in that piece of, of that education piece about, um, you know, just talking through it, helping people understand, you know, I think a lot of people don't understand things like, yes, you know, people who are blind of a vision can use services like Lyft and Uber and things to get around thanks to, you know, ac you know, technology on our iPhones and smartphones and things that enable us to have many of much access that we do. I know, you know, even for me, I've explained to different family members, you know, how I navigate new environments, um, things like, you know, airports using services like IRA and things like that, that just really open up the world to me personally. And I think a lot of people just, you know, they don't understand, but once, once we explain and kind of demonstrate and show how that works, um, people just, they don't know what they don't know. And so, you know, yes, educating is sometimes challenging, but it's, it's also really an opportunity for us to, to interact and, and share our experiences and help help others understand our lives. Because yes, we, you know, those of us on this podcast are, are blind or low vision and we, we might do some things a little bit differently, but we still live, you know, we, we live our lives and do things that most people do every day. You know, get up, go to work and, and have our lives outside of work as well.
Paul Ferrara:And this is Paul. And there really is a difference between curiosity, somebody who will tell you, I don't know, can you explain this to me? And someone who makes a negative assumption, and I'm much happier to, to educate someone who just says, Look, can you tell me how this works? Uh, how, how are you able to do that? You know, they don't know what voiceover is, they don't know what a screen reader is, They don't know what any of those things are. So you're doing something, it could be anything on your phone, for instance, since that's usually out and people see it and they have ones that look just like yours and you're able to do things with it, and they just look at it, you're somehow, some way you're accomplishing this stuff on this phone. How are you doing that? You know, things like that, uh, really make a big difference. If, if, if someone comes in with an attitude of, I don't know, but I'd like to know. It's, it's so much, so much better and so much easier than the other.
Sara Brown:And sadly, there's that myth that individuals who are blind or low vision can't work or hold a job. Can you talk about that stereotype and what resources are out there to help individuals find gainful employment?
Richard Rueda:I think every day in, in the Career Connect space, we're, we're always looking at how do we not only influence and motivate job seekers and those who are newly blinded and wanting to go into get a job. And, uh, we also want to educate, uh, employers and, and make awareness, uh, not just through October when it's National Disability Employment Awareness Month, but year round that, um, blind people can work. And we demonstrate that in every way possible through our media, through our webinars, through our in-person conferences, and in every way we can. Uh, we, we just wanna maximize and, and motivate the public that wine people can work in here are myths and here are how we bust them and here's how we do our jobs. And, uh, those accommodations are met through a variety of means. The rehabilitation services through applying people just picking up and going out there and applying for jobs. Is it easy? No, it's not, but I think those are just some of the things we look at the career space and, and try to break down those, the ableism, if you will, stereotypes,
Katie Frederick:And this is Katie on, on Vision Aware. We do have a little bit about employment, but our, the main focus of, of Vision Aware is to really help adults who maybe they've lost vision later in life or maybe they've lost vision while they're working. And so, you know, our goal with, with Vision Aware is really to explain that, okay, yes, you, you may have lost your vision, Your vision may be changing, um, but there's still so much you can do. So, you know, so many role models out there, you can connect with, uh, support groups and things to help get you on, you know, on a path to success. Um, just because you lose your vision or your vision changes does not mean that your life is over and you really, um, you know, again, just try to break down the, the stereotypes of, of, you know, taking the, the fear out of losing, losing vision or, or changing vision and saying, you know, yes, it can be scary and you do need to grieve and go through that process, but you know, we are here for you. We have our, our information referral line where people can call in and get support that way as well. And then we have our great resources, um, on all of our sites in the Connect Center for Families with Family Connect and job seekers with Career Connect and the adults population with Vision Aware.
Sara Brown:How can the blind and low vision community break these myths?
Katie Frederick:This is Katie. I would say just, you know, for, for those of us who are blind or low vision to keep, keep on, you know, getting out there and educating and keep, keep, you know, setting those, those missed straight and, and you know, smashing, smashing those stereotypes, educating, um, you know, putting out, you know, one of the things that the, again, that we try to do with our Connect Center information, our, our blogs and our, our webinars and our various resources is to really show, you know, yes, living with, with blindness or low vision every day is not always awesome. But, you know, a lot of days, um, you know, we, we do, we do everything else that, that people who without, you know, with Sight do. And so, you know, continuing to, to share that and, um, you know, promote, get out in about, be active in the community, um, I think that's, that's a really key thing to do as well to, to, you know, work with, with Cited, um, whether it's in, you know, a church activity or some other community involvement, just again, because the more that people see us out and about and, you know, participating in activities, the more that they come to understand us as people. And then, you know, to Paul's example earlier, the, the blindness or the low vision is just kind of a, well,"this is, this is Katie, this is Paul, they're my friend, and oh yeah, they're, you know, they might be blind or low vision."
Marissa Slaughter:So this is Marissa. Um, one thing that I really try to stress with my friends, family, people that I meet, um, is exactly what Katie is saying about, you know, just being Marissa out in the community and doing my thing. But I want people to understand that there are still barriers that exist in society without pitying me. So there's a way that you can understand that, yeah, I have to take Uber to do anything that I wanna do and it costs a lot of money. And if I wanna go to the next town over, I probably can't because it's gonna be too expensive. And there were issues during covid of getting tests and accessible tests and drive-through testing sites and all that stuff. Like, it's a lot, but I need people to understand. I don't, I don't want your emotional pity for it. I just want you to understand that there's still work to do, and it's not just up to aph and me and Katie and Richard and Paul and other blind people. Yes, it's us, up to us to be, um, good advocates, self-advocates and advocating for what we need and, and what our rights are. But it's also up to our sighted community members to help us with that and be good, um, allies, I guess is the, the best word. So, um, you know, you can understand that there are difficulties, but also understand that we can do something about that if we all work together.
Paul Ferrara:Yeah. Is Paul. And then I'd say it's really important to make those as clear as we can make them. Like Mrs said, right, We're not looking for you, sorry for us. We're looking for you to understand the problem so we can, we can fix it. I've found that cuz I'm doing accessibility work, I've been able to develop relationships with people that are involved in accessibility in other groups, other organizations, just by pointing out things, asking questions. And, uh, that's been very helpful. And then the other thing I would say too is that the one thing that you do have some control over is you need to prepare as best you can for a new job or a promotion or learning new skills. And you, you can, you can make those, uh, you can make the preparation worthwhile so that, that you have control over some of those things yourself and as much of that as you can do, it's just better when it's depending on you as opposed to depending on somebody else. And this is Richard. I really can't say anything different from what colleagues have just said. I think it goes back to, uh, what was said earlier by Paul and others. You, uh, you're being seen every day as a blind person interacting in the world, in whatever it is you're doing, whether it's through the lens of curiosity and people genuinely wanting to know how you do things or through emotional pity or other judgments. And it's, and again, it's on us to educate that person, meet them where they're at, and, and, and, and try your best to diplomatically, uh, you know, get across that hey, blind people are productive members of society. We all are interdependent, sighted or blind. We all try to help each other out in, in the greater scheme of things. On a, on a more global level. Uh, people can get involved, they can be activists, they can be advocates or allies. As Marissa said, you can get involved in the blindness movement if, should you desire, uh, acb, NFB or or other policy oriented groups, afb, they're out there aph and, and know that these are allies who are advancing, um, progress for blindness in all aspects of life, from daily living to rehabilitation, to employment. Um, knowing that these programs exist will help break down those barriers and illustrate, and once again, blind people are productive members of society.
Sara Brown:And did you wanna go over some proper etiquette a person can display when interacting with an individual who was blind or low vision?
Katie Frederick:I think for me, this is Katie. The first and foremost thing for me is just, um, if you're not sure how to help someone or you don't know, you know what to say, please, please ask. And don't assume, um, I've, you know, a lot of people will try to grab my cane or, you know, interact with my, with my guide dog when I've had a guide dog in the past. And that's, that can be both disorienting and could cause injury. Um, if, if we're trying to get somewhere, um, if I'm trying to use those, you know, the, the dog or the cane to, you know, they, those, um, tools, although one is, you know, very cute and, and furry, um, is, you know, I need, I need that my dog or Kane to, to focus and help me get where I'm going. So, um, I think, you know, again, for me, the biggest one is just asking first. Um, and sometimes, you know, people who are blind or low vision, if, if they, you know, turn down the help, um, you know, if we turn down help sometimes we just need to do some exploring on our own and, and figure things out. And sometimes we will have questions or want the help. So, um, you know, asking, asking first is always a good rule of thumb, um, for me that I really appreciate when people offer that. First,
Marissa Slaughter:This is Marissa. Um, a good thing to also keep in mind is if there, if you meet a blind person who is with a sighted person, still talk to the blind person. Like they're an actual independent being. Yes.
Paul Ferrara:Oh, I've got stories about that.<laugh>.
Katie Frederick:Absolutely.
Paul Ferrara:We could go on past the podcast,
Katie Frederick:Right? Oh my gosh.
Marissa Slaughter:At dinner a couple nights ago I was with my friend and the guy sitting next to us looked at my friend and said,"Oh, what did she get? That looks really good." And because my friend knows me, she didn't say anything. And I turned around and looked at him and I was like,"Oh, I got a burger. It's great. Thanks. Like, thanks for asking." And the look on his face was like, you know, like,"Oh, I just, I just messed up." But it's, it's that kind of thing. Like, don't, don't treat us like we're invisible just because we can't see it doesn't work like that.
Richard Rueda:This is Richard. I I just wanna add to that, and I think we all get it. Words matter. Be aware of the words you say and how you interact with us. Be yourself, be relaxed, uh, and, and treat us like you would treat anybody else. Um, obviously I'm not gonna take your car keys just yet and drive away, but still gonna be your friends, still gonna be your colleague and do things, uh, words matter, be yourself. Um, you don't have to avoid, did you see that on TV last night? Mm-hmm.<affirmative>, you don't have to avoid those words. We get it. It's no big deal. So again, just be yourself and be a cognizant of the words you use in, in terms of not having to avoid the sees and looks and, and those types of things.
Sara Brown:Is there anything else you would like to say about this topic?
Paul Ferrara:This is Paul. I mean, this is a universal human problem. It's not just a problem that we deal with. I mean, right? Everybody is stereotyped, uh, where you're from, what you wear, who you support or don't support, what, what you're into, what you're not into. It's a, it's a universal human problem and we're far from the only ones that that deal with it. And sometimes we're, we're guilty of it as well. Uh, so it just brings about the need to listen and, you know, the fact of the matter is, um, you never wanna have to say something like this, but I've dealt with people in the past who said to me, you know, I didn't know whether to help you or not. The last person I tried to help was a jerk and did this or did that. You know, And I've been in situations where I know the people that they<laugh> that they were trying to help and yeah, yes, they were probably a jerk. So, um, it, it doesn't help the rest of us out. No, it doesn't. Yeah, it doesn't, But you know, it, it also just proves that we're human and some of us are jerks that can't see, and some of us are jerks that can see, and you just have to deal with people as individuals and, um, the, the blindness disability, the whatever is there, and it's not gonna change the character. You know, you have, you just have to deal with the human being and, um, that, that takes a lot of work. The thing I would add to that, and this is Richard, is that, and I wanted to say this earlier, not all blind people see the same, you know, some are low vision, some can see from the side, some can't see it all, but we all feel and hear and and experience life differently through what ever vision we have. And I think that's what's important to see because it's not a black and white thing. Uh, often when I was growing up, when I had vision, more vision wearing bifocals and hearing a cane confused the heck out of people, and I had to explain, well, I can't see bus signs. I can see the bus coming. So understanding that we all see different and, and be, be graceful about that to the people you're interacting with.
Katie Frederick:This is Katie. I think to my, in my colleagues' points about, you know, we're all, we're all human. Um, we are all, you know, we can all listen and learn to and from each other. And I think, you know, that's what I am, you know, want to see more of is just, you know, the questions. It's, you know, it's a chance to learn and to listen and, you know, there are things that, that, you know, we can, we can all learn from each other as a, as as humans. And, um, you know, I think just being open, um, not, you know, not being afraid to approach someone who may, um, look different or be traveling with a guide dog or Kane and, and just saying, Hi, you know, I'm, I'm so and so, Is there anything I can do to help you? Or, you know, are, are you doing okay? Is there any assistance you need? Um, just not being, um, being, being open to, to approaching people and, and, um, having conversations.
Sara Brown:Thank you so much for joining me today on Change Makers.
Panel of Individuals:Thank you. Thank you,
Paul Ferrara:Thank you.
Sara Brown:Now we're gonna preview the holidays with some great gift ideas from APH. It's that time of year again where you might start thinking about what to give people for the upcoming holidays. And we've got some suggestions for children and adults. I'm APH's Public Relations Manager, Sara Brown.
Paul Ferrara:I'm Paul Ferrara, the Communications Accessibility Editor for APH.
Sara Brown:And here are some of our suggestions. I'm going with children and the first one I chose is the Paint by Numbers Coloring Book. This series has raised Line Coloring books that you can choose from, and they include the Tropical Rainforest Under the Sea, Backyard Creatures and Desert Creatures. These coloring books have embossed lines that make it easy to trace the subjects with your fingers, and then you follow up with a crayon or a colored pencil or a paintbrush. This action makes it easier for beginning and intermediate artists to learn and improve their skills and the paint by numbers. Coloring books are currently$45. Another toy for children that I like is the Hop-a-Dot Mat. This mat helps students learn braille while being physically involved and active. Hop-a-Dot Mat encourages young Braille readers to acquire and demonstrate their knowledge of the Braille cell configuration. Braille alphabet letters, one cell contractions and numbers all through movement. The Hop-a-Dot Mat is currently$240. Another gift to keep kids active and adults too is the Rib-It-Ball. This ball is 18 inches and these Rib-It-Ball are really fun. They're easy to grab. They have high contrast ribbing and the crinkly fabric in the ribs add an auditory component as well. The Rib-It-Ball Ball is currently$41. And my last gift idea for children is the BrailleBuzz. This is a really cool product from APH. It's educational and it's fine. And when you can get a little bit of learning in a in in the Playtime for Children, everybody wins the BrailleBuzz promotes early literacy skills and encourages young learners to practice braille characters and phonics. This is a great tool for young braille learners, ages two through five and it helps the user practice with Braille characters phonics, similar to a variety of audio based toys that teach print writing. The BrailleBuzz resembles a cartoon Bumblebee and it really does encourage little ones with audio feedback. There's a friendly recorded human voice and fun sounds that are paired with a Perkins style keyboard designed with little ones in mind. And the BrailleBuzz is currently$99.
Paul Ferrara:Okay, Paul, that's what I have for kids. What do you have for adults? I've got several things. My first one is probably my favorite APH product, including the high-tech stuff. This is definitely in the top three. It's the InSights Art calendar. It's a beautiful full color calendar. It features the artwork of visually impaired artists. Uh, it's suitable for low vision or blind students or adults. And really anybody that likes unique artwork. It's got months, days, holidays, and moon phases. They all appear in braille and in large print on the calendar, you can use it, I on a desktop, you can hang it on a wall, it's ring bound, so you can fold the pages over more easily. The cost currently is$8 and I can tell you I've given this calendar out to family members for a number of years. They all love it, even though they're not brail readers. They have typical vision. They love the artwork, they love the braille and print together. It's a fantastic product and you literally can't find anything else like it anywhere else. So I, I definitely love it, that's why I'm leading off with it. Some other ideas, let's talk about the Talking Cooking Thermometer. It's a large display talking thermometer. You can use it for cooking, for gardening, for other hobbies, many other uses as well. It's got a built-in island at the top that you can use to hang the thermometer with an easy reach. Currently the cost for it is$32. Very good practical product. Then there's the walk run for fitness talking speedometer. It's great for those who are active or those that are thinking about becoming more active. It pairs well with the Walk Run for fitness kit and that kit has a personal Guidewire system that can be set up in your backyard, a school, a park pretty much anywhere. Uh, if you're running or walking with a human guide, you can use the Kit's Adjustable Tether. It's long enough to accommodate wheelchair users as well. The walk Run for fitness kit, currently the price is$193. My final gift idea today is the Pocket Braille Slate. And you know, if someone who's blind that loves a slate and stylist, they love them, they're devoted to them, and this is a fantastic one. It comes with a large handle stylist, it allows for four lines of brail writing, and that's quite a bit. And currently the cost for it is just$12.
Sara Brown:And those are just a few great gift ideas from American Printing House for the Blind that can be found on our website. And that's aph. org. And we've put links to the Connect Center, Vision Aware and all those great holiday gifts you just heard in the show notes. So thank you so much for listening to this episode of Change Makers and as always, be sure to look for ways you can be a change maker this week.