Life-Changing Programs and Services

The Kennedy Center’s Office of Accessibility & Very Special Arts sponsored webinar met via Zoom free of charge at a time when I had another obligation. What a disappointment! The subject matter, “Creating Accessible Handouts” is something I am very interested in as a user (I am blind) and as a teacher who uses handouts in class sometimes.

People who know I am blind assume I know all the guidelines and HTML codes and tabs and things to use to make PDF documents and worksheets and other handouts accessible, but the truth is, I don’t!

I can tell you if my screen reader can read a document out loud to me, but I’m no expert at formatting a document or what codes to use to make them accessible, and the promotional information about the webinar made it sound like it was meant for me: intended for people who weren’t sure how to create a PDF that is screen reader accessible, people who wonder if they can include images in their handouts, and, if so, how and where to describe them. I checked in again a few days after the webinar and got some good news: they recorded it! The entire presentation is available for free on YouTube!

I listened to the webinar as soon as a could and right away in her introduction, Amber Pearcy, the presenter, tells her audience she was born blind. I was relieved to hear that – she’d know firsthand how frustrating it can be when handouts and forms are not accessible to screen readers.

She was smart to start the presentation by defining certain terms that she and I know well but may not be familiar to people outside of the disability world: things like “screen magnifier” and “speech recognition software” and “text to speech.” Along with explaining what a screen reader is, she turned up the audio on her own screen reader to demonstrate what it sounds like. Good idea!

From there, she let her audience know which programs she wasn’t fond of when it came to access. I found this part reassuring: it’s not just me! Amber has trouble with Google Docs, too, describing them as “too clumsy to even get in” using a speech synthesizer. She explained how it can be a little easier to access a link if that link is a stand-alone line rather than imbedded in a sentence. She used her mouse to click on an image to demonstrate how to add Alt text to an image. The hour was almost over by the time she got to discussing PDFs, acknowledging she could do an entire hour-long presentation on that task.

But with time running out, she pointed audience members to Adobe, who she says has quite a bit on their web site about making a PDF accessible. Amber described PDFs as the “most complicated and complex problem for blind people” when it comes to access. I totally agree.

It wasn’t until we got to this part that I finally realized: this webinar wasn’t intended for people who are blind, it was intended to show people who aren’t blind why and how certain things they do when creating handouts would make them more accessible for people who are blind or have visual impairments. Still, I am glad I checked the webinar out. Listening to the YouTube recording taught me what things are too complex and complicated to bother with, and to continue steering away from Google Docs and PDFs. Worth the price of admission for sure!

For some people with disabilities, travel at this time is simply not feasible. From inaccessible public and private transportation to COVID spikes that put folks with pre-existing conditions at a higher risk of severe complications, many are choosing to stay home as we head into the summer months.

Staying safe at home doesn’t mean you can’t experience that vacation life you want! Below are some tips on how to create that relaxing vibe in your own home or town.

If you have a backyard, put up a baby pool and make fruity drinks: You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy an inflatable kid’s pool. Whether it’s just dipping your feet as you lounge in your wheelchair or putting on a bathing suit to go all in, you can bask in the sun as you sip your fruity beverage of choice. I’d recommend margaritas if you’re over 21, and frozen lemonade if you’re underage. Or try some of these fun drink recipes! Either way, kick back, relax, and pretend you’re poolside at a fancy beach resort.

Try cooking a new cuisine: A benefit of traveling is experiencing different cuisines from around the world – but you can still do that locally! Find a recipe online and have groceries delivered, or order from a local restaurant that delivers – or try something new in the frozen-foods section of a supermarket. It doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as you’re being adventurous! To get more into the moment, research the cuisine and the region it comes from. There are also numerous travel food shows available online like Taste the Nation on Hulu or Chef’s Table on Netflix.

Go on a Zoom date: By now, we’re all aware of the power of Zoom! Thanks to this technology, it’s pretty easy to connect with people from the comfort of your home. Some fun Zoom-date ideas are to play games together (check out Board Game Arena for online board games), watch your favorite summer movie, or share a meal.

Spa day: If you really want to relax, treat yourself to a spa day. Soak your feet in a basin of water, lie down with a warm towel over your eyes, and put on some calming music; there are free radio stations on iTunes that are perfect for meditating and creating a tranquil environment. When you’re done chilling out, lather yourself in lotion and give yourself (or ask someone to give you) a new manicure or pedicure. End your day with a warm bath or shower, and you’ll be feeling luxurious!

Read, read, read: One thing folks love to do on vacation is read, preferably on a balcony overlooking the ocean. But when you can’t get out and do that, reading at home with ambient sounds playing in the background is another option. There are a lot of free sounds you can search for on YouTube or iTunes radio – just look for “ambient sounds” on Google! If you read with audio books, that’s even better. If you can’t get outdoors at all, try reading near a window or by a light box to get some much-needed Vitamin D.

Travel virtually: The one thing that many of us miss out on in staycations is the ability to explore someplace new. But you can still see the sights at different travel destinations with Google Maps! Go to street view, and you’ll be transported to a first-person view of the city. You can then explore different areas, walk down the street, and – in some cases – go inside buildings. Some favorite places to Google travel to are Venice, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the White House, and the Great Barrier Reef! There are also live content creators on YouTube, like the Urbanist, who take you along with them as they walk the streets of cities around the world.

What are some tips you have for the perfect staycation? Let us know in the comments!

Luna and I had a great day at school.

Last Thursday, two neighborhood friends drove my Seeing Eye dog Luna and me to a Chicago suburb 30 miles away to visit third graders there. We went as part of the Educating Outside the Lines Disability Awareness program. Every day that week someone with a disability came to the school to talk with students about their disability and the “helper tools” that let us do the things we like — or need — to do.

Black Lab Luna guided me to two presentations for third graders Thursday morning. At each one, I talked with the kids about being blind, what service dogs do, and how I use a talking computer to do my job moderating this blog for Easterseals.

As I readied myself for the question-and-answer part at one of the presentations , the teacher there gushed over Luna. “She’s sooooo pretty!” I took my cue, turned to the third-graders and told them I hear that a lot. “I just pretend they’re talking about me!” I laughed. After that, the questions started pouring in:

• Do you cook your own food?
• How do you, like make your breakfast and your cereal and stuff?
• How can you eat, then?
• How do you know where someone is if you can’t see them?
• Did you ever get robbed because you are blind?
• How do you know what earrings or necklace to wear when you’re getting dressed?
• Have you ever lost your dog when you were walking?
• Can you see in your dreams?
• Can you swim?
• What was the last thing you ever saw?
• How does your dog know where you are when you go on a walk?
• This is not a question, it’s a comment. You’re very pretty. And I mean you, not the dog.
• How old is your dog in people years?
• How can you ride a bike?
• Did your dog ever run away and you didn’t know where it went?
• Is it hard to know which way to go when your dog goes around a tree?
• How do you swim?
• How do you drive?
• When you call someone, are the numbers in Braille?
• Have you ever lost your dog when you were walking?
• How do you get on your bed?
• How does your dog know where you are when you go on a walk?

And with that, I picked up Luna’s harness, commanded, “Luna, Outside!” and the children cheered as my Seeing Eye dog guided me out of the classroom for our last visit for this school year. “Good dog, Luna!”