Category: the Rant Board
Hi guys,
After reading through some of the rants that I previously composed, regarding how my roommate would not assist me in traveling to various destinations around campus, I do apologize. Since then, I have made notable progress in figuring out the campus, and for a time, did have a dog guide. For anyone who is interested, I obtained him from Guiding Eyes, which, I think is a pretty good school.
As far as the psychology grade is concerned, I managed to work that out with the professor.
I will admit that my parents, in particular my mom, babied me a lot. It's kind of coincidental because she is an OT. A lot of suggestions that she had, though, I did not take into account, such as the ones you all mentioned earlier.
Actually, I'm back to my cane, something that I haven't used in about 3 months. Any help/tips of how to use it would be great. In particular, how to reduce wrist pain. Thank you guys. You really provided me with invaluable feedback.
Nathan.
Assuming you're using the cane properly, your wrist will get used to the work it hasn't had to do for a long time. But if you do notice the pain getting worse or not getting any better at all, make sure your technique is correct; you don't want to strain your wrist or do any damage.
Thanks. Any suggestions for Braille? I haven't read this in about 3 months either, because in college, I primarily rely on audio content. I don't want to lose my skills, though.
Congratz on a maturing approach to problems.
No ideas on the Braille as I don't know what you have and don't have. If you're in the u.s. you can contact your nls librarian and they can send you Braille materials.
Bob
Sounds like you've already lost a lot of your skills, if you're confused about reading Braille and using a cane after not having done so for three months. It's going to be hard for any of us to advise you, not knowing what resources you have available, and also not being able to assess how you're doing things now to tell you if you're doing them correctly or not. Best advice I can give is to find a friend or a professional who either uses these skills themselves or knows about them, figure out how to do them correctly, and then just tons of practice. Using the skills is the only thing that will keep them fresh.
Hey man, I remember some of your old rants, lol.
We all have ranty time periods in life. Good luck in your future endeavors with braille, cane travel, etc.
You are in college right? Why not look into an ONM instructor?
this is a reposte. I wasn't logged in the first time. If I'm not clear enough, feel free to send me a PM.
cane:
I'd first check with a vocational rehab office. Even if you aren't a client, they might assist you.
Any of your local universities, as well as high schools, should have O&M instructors. Failing that, they should be able to direct you to instructors, or fellow blindys. You might have to go outside of your county, to find someone to assist. If you aren't sure of your cane usage, please check into one of these options. You could do yourself some true damage (holes from construction, light poles, wacky low walls, etc.) (Sarcasm warning. No, of course, I've never fallen into a deep hole myself.)
braille:
As was mentioned, the National Library Service does serve nation wide, even for smaller towns.
The resources for O&M might also be useful here. VI instructors might be able to get access to braille books for you.
If you have a braille display, you might consider hooking that to your computer. You can find some intro sites online for learning to read, see spot jump, see spot run, etc.
If your display has the option, you could enable cursor tracking, which will place dots under the word you're screen reader is focused on.
parental (your mother):
Recognizing the clingyness is a major first step in fixing the problem
I'm not sure what your exact situation is, but in my case, constant pushing of independence was required.
Involving myself with local blindness groups, and offering to do tech support across town, got me out of the house, doing things and going places. ("I can drive you...", "No, para transit is scheduled, and I can't cancel them...")
general:
Awesome job recognizing your past problems, and having the Cojones to face up to them here.
I'm in the same situation, regarding braille, as you. EText and pure audio is becoming more available each day, and the amount of content is staggering.
Last winter, my wife and I would take turns reading chapters out loud to each other, from Little House on the Prairie. It was a longer series; we haven't even come close to finishing, yet.
If you can find a book series you can get into, it might make things much more enjoyable. I actually found myself reading ahead, because I found a lot of the "old tech" quite nifty.
If you attended CCB a couple years back, send me a PM. Your name is ringing bells.
If you need any help with these options, let me know. I can do some checking.
Brandon McGinty-Carroll
You've really never fallen to a deep hole? You are missing out. Smile.