I started blogging to have a way to express how I felt and experienced the world after the death of my sighted, hearing, but physically disabled partner of 20 years.
What I am Not sure about are safety issues. So I have put no profile info. up, except what I say in postings. As I'm not interested in dating at this time, why put up a picture? As it is frightening to be deaf-blind and live independently, I don't know how to communicate in a way which does not attract negative garbage.
I have had friends ask how to get to my blog. When I tell them that to the best of my knowledge it is
http://newby13.blogspot.com
they say they can't find it. As my earlier post about the uselessness of standard tech. support demonstrates, I cannot call on standard tech. support to give them more help in finding this blog.
So, I'm not quite sure what to do. It's a good thing I'm mostly writing for myself, because I don't have the technical skills to screen out E-mails, if I answered a bad one, and no tech. support is there to help either.
Is anyone else a disabled blogger who lives independently and has struck a balance between two-way communication and safety?
I'd be interested in learning, but NOT the hard way.
Showing posts with label deaf-blind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deaf-blind. Show all posts
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Blogger for users with disabilities
I will have to check my version of browser to see if it will be supported in future by Blogger.com.
In the meantime, I would like the "Blogger Team" to please put on a blindfold, then point the mouse and click on the icon to the right of the green bunny, or whatever it is.
Many people with disabilities are living well Under the Federal Poverty Level. Many of us have computers a decade old or More. We Might be able to come up with the bucks to replace the hardware. But specialized Software, adaptive devices which allow us to speak what we want the computer to do, or Screen Reading software, no Chance!
I Hope Blogger will take Boby recommendations (ADA recommendations) into account as it continues to update.
Those of us with disabilities are looking at probable cuts in Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income. We can't count on anything improving financially in the future, any more than unemployed people can.
Every time I contact Tech. Support for Anything, from Any Company, the conversation goes something like:
"Ok, now what I need you to do first is tell me what lights are on, on your modem."
"I'm blind, I can't see to do that. All I can tell you is that a bit of heat seems to be coming from the left most light and the one just to the right of that, but no heat is around the third light."
"Right, but which color is the light that isn't heating up?"
"I am Totally blind and can't give you that information."
"Have you tried unplugging your modem for a few minutes then plugging it back in?"
"Yes. And I still can't get onto the Net."
"Push the Reset button."
"Where is it?"
"It's that little Green button on the back."
Etc. I say there isn't a button, the tech. says I need a small pointed object to push it, only Then do I figure out it is Inset into the device, it is not a protruding Button at all.
Another conversation:
"Click on the green bunny at the top right of the screen and tell me what the hour glass does."
"I would like to, but I'm blind. I cannot See the screen."
"Oh, how amazing, you use a computer and your blind? That's great. Now the green bunny is located . . ."
"I can't See to point a Mouse (rodent)."
"Well it isn't hard, you can Drag and Drop . . ."
"I must use Keyboard Commands to make my computer do Anything. Do you know the Keyboard Command to move the green bunny?"
"Sure, just click on the . . ."
If the technician were from a different country where blind people rarely have the opportunity to achieve any independence, this conversation might make sense. The Technician would have No Frame of Reference for a Blind person Using a Computer. It would be like announcing to him or her that a Martian is munching the surge protector.
I am deaf enough not to be able to understand soft-voiced English speakers who will not raise their voices. Sometimes I find the kindness and Attempts to help Greater among overseas technicians.
But these are American, U.S. Tech. Support? people!
So, I always write ignored E-mails asking how much trouble it would be to have One technician for the U.S. who Knew about adaptive computer technology. Well Blogger.com, what's Your answer?
In the meantime, I would like the "Blogger Team" to please put on a blindfold, then point the mouse and click on the icon to the right of the green bunny, or whatever it is.
Many people with disabilities are living well Under the Federal Poverty Level. Many of us have computers a decade old or More. We Might be able to come up with the bucks to replace the hardware. But specialized Software, adaptive devices which allow us to speak what we want the computer to do, or Screen Reading software, no Chance!
I Hope Blogger will take Boby recommendations (ADA recommendations) into account as it continues to update.
Those of us with disabilities are looking at probable cuts in Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income. We can't count on anything improving financially in the future, any more than unemployed people can.
Every time I contact Tech. Support for Anything, from Any Company, the conversation goes something like:
"Ok, now what I need you to do first is tell me what lights are on, on your modem."
"I'm blind, I can't see to do that. All I can tell you is that a bit of heat seems to be coming from the left most light and the one just to the right of that, but no heat is around the third light."
"Right, but which color is the light that isn't heating up?"
"I am Totally blind and can't give you that information."
"Have you tried unplugging your modem for a few minutes then plugging it back in?"
"Yes. And I still can't get onto the Net."
"Push the Reset button."
"Where is it?"
"It's that little Green button on the back."
Etc. I say there isn't a button, the tech. says I need a small pointed object to push it, only Then do I figure out it is Inset into the device, it is not a protruding Button at all.
Another conversation:
"Click on the green bunny at the top right of the screen and tell me what the hour glass does."
"I would like to, but I'm blind. I cannot See the screen."
"Oh, how amazing, you use a computer and your blind? That's great. Now the green bunny is located . . ."
"I can't See to point a Mouse (rodent)."
"Well it isn't hard, you can Drag and Drop . . ."
"I must use Keyboard Commands to make my computer do Anything. Do you know the Keyboard Command to move the green bunny?"
"Sure, just click on the . . ."
If the technician were from a different country where blind people rarely have the opportunity to achieve any independence, this conversation might make sense. The Technician would have No Frame of Reference for a Blind person Using a Computer. It would be like announcing to him or her that a Martian is munching the surge protector.
I am deaf enough not to be able to understand soft-voiced English speakers who will not raise their voices. Sometimes I find the kindness and Attempts to help Greater among overseas technicians.
But these are American, U.S. Tech. Support? people!
So, I always write ignored E-mails asking how much trouble it would be to have One technician for the U.S. who Knew about adaptive computer technology. Well Blogger.com, what's Your answer?
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Someone Has Always Paid
For every benefit that a people enjoys, Someone has Always paid a price. In S. Africa it was Nelson Mandela and many other African and mixed race people, many of whom lost teir lives. In the U.S. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Fred Hampton, Medger Evers and Malcom X, depending on your point of view. Many men and women (nearly all African Americans) were beaten and jailed.
In Native America N. and S., it has Been Anna Mae Aquash, Leonard Peltier, and the parents of Rigoberta Menchu. In many places it is tribes like the Tunica and Houma peoples of Louisiana who have not received recognition, and thus No Federal Help.
Among blind people those who paid for my civil rights are the piano tuners, chair caners, and basket weavers and beggars of the 1940's. Among deaf-blind people it was Helen Keller, who mastered ten Differing systems of Braille and literally read in an unheated house until her fingers Bled. She convinced Congress to standardize American Braille, And helped push for the establishment of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, which has a branch in each state, delivering via mail Braille, large print, and recorded, " talking books" to print disabled people. When an organization for the blind refused to pay her and Annie Sullivan a decent salary they said Forget It, and joined a circus.
In recent times we have had pioneers like Mr. Richard Kenney, former president of the Hadley School for the Blind, educating people around the world via Braille, large print, and taped materials, in correspondence courses ranging from poetry to computer skills. And there is Robert J. Smithdas, of the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults.
If I have misspelled any of these names I offer my honest apology. I cannot know how to spell a name which I haven't read in Braille.
It seems to me that there is a fundamenal difference between those who pay the price for the advancement of themselves and their people and those who are asked by our Government to pay or risk paying the ultimate price, their lives, for a political goal.
The Dalai Lama is Very careful when talking of the Chinese Government's politics to Differentiate Between the Chinese People and their Government.
In the same way, I respect our service men and women. But I do Not always agree with what our Government asks them to do.
My uncle was among those who payed a heavy price to teach the American public to Differentiate between returning Vietnam veterans and the Government which sent them to war. He was from California. And when he returned from three tours of duty in Vietnam people spat on him, shrieked at him, calling him a "baby killer" and much more. He felt completely betrayed by his own people. And it was many veterans of the Vietnam War who gave All of us the Americans with Disabilities Act. I thank you and am Sorry you suffered so Much!
The reasons service men and women sign up to join the military are honorable. They may want a college education to better the lives of themselves and their families. This is a Commendable goal. They may want to protect our country from attacks like the one we sustained on Sept. 11, 2001. This is Also a Commendable goal. So I have no quarrel with our returning service men and women. I think they are Entitled to the best medical or mental health care we can provide. They are also Entitled to our respect!
But I did and still do disagree with the Government's decision to send troops into Iraq in the first place. I have always thought that our Government was heavily influenced by multi-national corporations to engage in that war. Iraq has the second largest amount of oil under its land, after Saudi Arabia. And companies which provide everything from "security" for American personnel to military hardware and armaments have done Extremely well in business during the war in Iraq.
Yes, Saddam Hussein was a despot who gassed his own people, there is No Way in which I can condone that. But We, as a nation, cannot Afford the loss of life of service men and women and the civilian casualties caused by going after every Despot who won't do what our Government and its corporate partners want! That is why I am Also against our intervention in Libya. They too have oil, by the way.
On a personal level, those paying the prices of disability and death in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Libya, are doing so for honorable reasons. But I distrust the reasons of corporations to whom the deaths of our service people and the civilians of other countries mean little, and our Government which I think listens to Those corporate interests Far Too Often.
It is again, honorable Americans who are paying a price, along with Non-combatant civilians, but who are they paying it For this time?
In Native America N. and S., it has Been Anna Mae Aquash, Leonard Peltier, and the parents of Rigoberta Menchu. In many places it is tribes like the Tunica and Houma peoples of Louisiana who have not received recognition, and thus No Federal Help.
Among blind people those who paid for my civil rights are the piano tuners, chair caners, and basket weavers and beggars of the 1940's. Among deaf-blind people it was Helen Keller, who mastered ten Differing systems of Braille and literally read in an unheated house until her fingers Bled. She convinced Congress to standardize American Braille, And helped push for the establishment of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, which has a branch in each state, delivering via mail Braille, large print, and recorded, " talking books" to print disabled people. When an organization for the blind refused to pay her and Annie Sullivan a decent salary they said Forget It, and joined a circus.
In recent times we have had pioneers like Mr. Richard Kenney, former president of the Hadley School for the Blind, educating people around the world via Braille, large print, and taped materials, in correspondence courses ranging from poetry to computer skills. And there is Robert J. Smithdas, of the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults.
If I have misspelled any of these names I offer my honest apology. I cannot know how to spell a name which I haven't read in Braille.
It seems to me that there is a fundamenal difference between those who pay the price for the advancement of themselves and their people and those who are asked by our Government to pay or risk paying the ultimate price, their lives, for a political goal.
The Dalai Lama is Very careful when talking of the Chinese Government's politics to Differentiate Between the Chinese People and their Government.
In the same way, I respect our service men and women. But I do Not always agree with what our Government asks them to do.
My uncle was among those who payed a heavy price to teach the American public to Differentiate between returning Vietnam veterans and the Government which sent them to war. He was from California. And when he returned from three tours of duty in Vietnam people spat on him, shrieked at him, calling him a "baby killer" and much more. He felt completely betrayed by his own people. And it was many veterans of the Vietnam War who gave All of us the Americans with Disabilities Act. I thank you and am Sorry you suffered so Much!
The reasons service men and women sign up to join the military are honorable. They may want a college education to better the lives of themselves and their families. This is a Commendable goal. They may want to protect our country from attacks like the one we sustained on Sept. 11, 2001. This is Also a Commendable goal. So I have no quarrel with our returning service men and women. I think they are Entitled to the best medical or mental health care we can provide. They are also Entitled to our respect!
But I did and still do disagree with the Government's decision to send troops into Iraq in the first place. I have always thought that our Government was heavily influenced by multi-national corporations to engage in that war. Iraq has the second largest amount of oil under its land, after Saudi Arabia. And companies which provide everything from "security" for American personnel to military hardware and armaments have done Extremely well in business during the war in Iraq.
Yes, Saddam Hussein was a despot who gassed his own people, there is No Way in which I can condone that. But We, as a nation, cannot Afford the loss of life of service men and women and the civilian casualties caused by going after every Despot who won't do what our Government and its corporate partners want! That is why I am Also against our intervention in Libya. They too have oil, by the way.
On a personal level, those paying the prices of disability and death in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Libya, are doing so for honorable reasons. But I distrust the reasons of corporations to whom the deaths of our service people and the civilians of other countries mean little, and our Government which I think listens to Those corporate interests Far Too Often.
It is again, honorable Americans who are paying a price, along with Non-combatant civilians, but who are they paying it For this time?
Saturday, July 2, 2011
June 24 Post
Deaf-Blind
What is deaf-blindness? It means that a person so described has a significant visual impairment, and either is legally blind or has a progressive eye condition which will lead to becoming legally blind. The same person also has a significant hearing loss, usually from moderate to profound. Many deaf-blind people wear hearing aids and some choose cochlear implants.
But most people I have become acquainted with who are deaf-blind first have a loss of hearing and must deal with a loss of vision later, from childhood years through middle age. By mid-life, the deaf-blind people I have had the honor of becoming acquainted with have severe vision loss, though many still have some usable vision, with the help of ttechnology.
Most deaf-blind people are a part of Deaf Culture to some extent, as they have become partially or completely deaf before encountering severe vision loss. This means that they speak American Sign Language, often reject cochlear implants, and have more in common with the Deaf Community than with those who are blind and hearing. But each person is different and uses a differing method of communicating. Some speak and understand ASL, by manually tracking the signs spoken by a hearing interpreter or another deaf person. Some deaf-blind people prefer to have an interpreter or a deaf friend sign into their hands, using the manual alphabet called Finger Spelling. Other deaf-blind people communicate by reading in large print or Braille, what someone else has e-mailed or personally typed into a machine. And some have enough hearing that, communication is possible, with help, by using many amplifying devices.
For most people who are deaf-blind, there is a constant readjustment to increasing losses of either hearing, sight, or both. It as difficult! As Helen Keller said, "Blindness isolates you from things, deafness isolates you from people." I think This is why the term Deaf-Blind is written in that order. Though surveys about disability show that more people fear blindness than fear deafness, I think isolation from people is perceived by those of us who Are deaf-blind as the more difficult circumstance with which to deal. Alternative methods must be found to deal with phone calls, conversations in any setting, (with a friend, in a group, in a restaurant, taking a taxi, in a store, at the doctor's office and in any emergency situation you can imagine., as well as with one's hearing, sighted family or religious group.)
Also, skills of blindness such as using a white cane or dog guide when traveling, learning to cook, care for children, garden, clean house, do laundry, and handle money without sight may need to be learned.
Most people picture Helen Keller when they think of someone who is deaf-blind. But she was unusual, in loosing her hearing and sight completely and suddenly, during childhood. Traumatic Brain Injury can cause someone to loose hearing and sight together, but other disabilities may also be present. Some very premature children are deaf-blind and may also have other disabilities.
Why have I picked this subject for a post? Because I am also Deaf-Blind and my hardest struggle is to communicate. My partner was my translator, (people always thought my dear friend was yelling at me when things were only being repeated at a level and cadence I could understand). A friend suggested, after the death of my partner, that I could blog as a means of self-expression, since I now have no one to talk with or to translate for me on a regular basis. It does help! But don't send me advertss for your brand of equipment or miracle cure, ok? I am still the person whose been writing posts for a while and who will Flood you with them when my internet service is restored.
I communicate online with some deaf-blind people whom I admire very much. But I have been afraid to write about being partially deaf. I will pay close attention to screen Out Hassles now.
Deaf-Blind
What is deaf-blindness? It means that a person so described has a significant visual impairment, and either is legally blind or has a progressive eye condition which will lead to becoming legally blind. The same person also has a significant hearing loss, usually from moderate to profound. Many deaf-blind people wear hearing aids and some choose cochlear implants.
But most people I have become acquainted with who are deaf-blind first have a loss of hearing and must deal with a loss of vision later, from childhood years through middle age. By mid-life, the deaf-blind people I have had the honor of becoming acquainted with have severe vision loss, though many still have some usable vision, with the help of ttechnology.
Most deaf-blind people are a part of Deaf Culture to some extent, as they have become partially or completely deaf before encountering severe vision loss. This means that they speak American Sign Language, often reject cochlear implants, and have more in common with the Deaf Community than with those who are blind and hearing. But each person is different and uses a differing method of communicating. Some speak and understand ASL, by manually tracking the signs spoken by a hearing interpreter or another deaf person. Some deaf-blind people prefer to have an interpreter or a deaf friend sign into their hands, using the manual alphabet called Finger Spelling. Other deaf-blind people communicate by reading in large print or Braille, what someone else has e-mailed or personally typed into a machine. And some have enough hearing that, communication is possible, with help, by using many amplifying devices.
For most people who are deaf-blind, there is a constant readjustment to increasing losses of either hearing, sight, or both. It as difficult! As Helen Keller said, "Blindness isolates you from things, deafness isolates you from people." I think This is why the term Deaf-Blind is written in that order. Though surveys about disability show that more people fear blindness than fear deafness, I think isolation from people is perceived by those of us who Are deaf-blind as the more difficult circumstance with which to deal. Alternative methods must be found to deal with phone calls, conversations in any setting, (with a friend, in a group, in a restaurant, taking a taxi, in a store, at the doctor's office and in any emergency situation you can imagine., as well as with one's hearing, sighted family or religious group.)
Also, skills of blindness such as using a white cane or dog guide when traveling, learning to cook, care for children, garden, clean house, do laundry, and handle money without sight may need to be learned.
Most people picture Helen Keller when they think of someone who is deaf-blind. But she was unusual, in loosing her hearing and sight completely and suddenly, during childhood. Traumatic Brain Injury can cause someone to loose hearing and sight together, but other disabilities may also be present. Some very premature children are deaf-blind and may also have other disabilities.
Why have I picked this subject for a post? Because I am also Deaf-Blind and my hardest struggle is to communicate. My partner was my translator, (people always thought my dear friend was yelling at me when things were only being repeated at a level and cadence I could understand). A friend suggested, after the death of my partner, that I could blog as a means of self-expression, since I now have no one to talk with or to translate for me on a regular basis. It does help! But don't send me advertss for your brand of equipment or miracle cure, ok? I am still the person whose been writing posts for a while and who will Flood you with them when my internet service is restored.
I communicate online with some deaf-blind people whom I admire very much. But I have been afraid to write about being partially deaf. I will pay close attention to screen Out Hassles now.
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