The Blindfold is available in Braille and in large print upon request. To go green, and receive yours by email please send an email to
vision@blindandlowvision.org and put Blindfold in the subject line.
Our Membership Drive is one of our most important fund raisers. Essentially, anyone who believes in the mission of the BVIC is eligible to become a member. Being a BVIC member shows your support of our services to local residents of Monterey County. People who benefit from our services could be your relative, neighbor, or friend. It could be someone like your mother who was recently diagnosed with glaucoma and has difficulty reading the paper or your father whose macular degeneration prevents him from driving. It could be your son who has diabetic retinopathy and needs help learning to use assistive software on his computer or your niece who just had a stroke and needs to learn to use a long cane. It could even be you. So, please show us your support and become a member or renew your BVIC membership. Just complete the membership envelope we have enclosed. Make your tax-deductible donation by entering your credit card info or enclose a check. For every membership received in the next month we will send you a microfiber cloth wonderful for keeping glasses, magnifiers and computer screens clean.
The Blind and Visually Impaired Center will participate in "A Table Affair", sponsored by the Pebble Beach Riding and Trails Association and the Pebble Beach Company. This display of elegant table settings and decorations will be held on Thursday, April 15th at the Conference Center at the Lodge at Pebble Beach from 2:00 - 6:00 p.m. The BVIC was invited to host a table this year, and Victoria Carns and Carolyn Craig have graciously offered to arrange it. Admission is free, but donations are welcomed. Proceeds go to the Animal Friends Rescue Project of Pacific Grove and the Redwings Horse Sanctuary. Please come and enjoy the displays and visit our entry.
For info or if you have a vehicle in good running order that you would like to donate, call Russ at 595-1871 or the BVIC at 649-3505.
Thank you to our kind donors who supported us through the Monterey County Weekly match. Your generosity made us 5th in earning Top Dollars for the Weekly’s Community Fund. The BVIC was awarded $21,000.30 because of your support!
Arlen Grossman, Nancy Allison, Mabeline Ballard, Max & Jean Bell, Anne & Bruce Bloxom, Celia Bosworth, Barbara Bucquet, Geraldine & Jerry Cole, Beverly David, Teresa Del Piero, Shirley Doolittle, Diane Farmer, Edith Forestelle, Tom Gardner, Sylvia Gardner, Andrew Goodman, Russ & Jo-Ann Hatch, JoAnn Holbrook, Mel Loop, Marina Motorsports, R L Nicholson, Margaret Parenit, Eva & Edward Parrott, Marion Robotti, Lucretia Schlueter, Florence Shirakawa, Cath Tendler-Valencia, Veena & Tod Waldman, Thomas & Judith Wills, Maggy Wilson Boast, Andrew & Beth Wodecki.Joshua Karanis
I was first introduced to the Blind and Visually Impaired Center of Monterey County through my late mother, Cynthia Hazard, who served as a mobility instructor with the BVIC. Early experiences with the visually impaired taught me an understanding of the many challenges faced daily by the blind and visually impaired.
A California native, I attended local Monterey schools and college. Drawn to the non-profit field, I spent several years as Advancement Coordinator for a local non-profit. A recent opportunity has led me to my current career in the electrical field.
My goal as a Board member of the BVIC is to ensure the continued quality of services offered to residents of Monterey County. I look forward to being an active steward to your Blind and Visually Impaired Center.
Board Member, Joshua Karanis
Last month we shared some tips on coping in social situations from visionaware.org. Here are some more practical answers to commonly asked questions.
I used to enjoy meeting people, but since I lost my vision I’m uncomfortable and lack confidence. How long should I expect this phase to last?
As a first step, it is helpful to ask yourself why you are uncomfortable meeting new people. Is it because you can't see the person's face clearly or can't tell where his or her hand is to shake it? Are you concerned about the way you might appear to other people?
Meeting new people can be a challenge, regardless of your vision situation. The next time you're in a social setting with new people, remember that they may also share your discomfort.
People who don’t know you can’t understand what you're able to see, or even whether you can see anything at all. This sense of the "unknown" can tend to make many people feel uncomfortable when speaking to an individual who is blind or has low vision.
The person you are meeting for the first time may be thinking, "Can she see me?" "I wanted to shake her hand, but she didn't reach out for mine. Should I say something to her?" "Should I ask if she needs assistance? If so, will that offend her?"
Understand that some people might be curious about your vision impairment and feel the need to ask questions. Also, people sometimes behave inappropriately when they lack knowledge about blindness or low vision.
You can help reduce your mutual discomfort and take control of the situation by introducing yourself first. When you learn to "take charge" in these types of social situations, you'll find that your confidence will soon return.
I feel embarrassed when menus are read to me in restaurants, but what alternatives do I have?
Here are some practical tips about ordering in restaurants if you are blind or have low vision:
Jacquie Johnson, Case Manager/Support Services
Using Visual Cues in Low Vision Mobility
Understanding what the components of visual functioning are is key to knowing in which ways remaining vision can and cannot assist the low vision pedestrian. A person’s ability to detect light, to detect contrast, to detect shapes, to perceive depth, to perceive color, and to perceive movement, will affect his or her ability to walk safely using only vision as a guide. An Orientation and Mobility Specialist seeks to understand which visual cues a low vision pedestrian can consistently use, and which visual cues the person seldom or inconsistently notices. Sometimes what a person with low vision does see may not reflect what the object really is, or if the object really is there. By observing the low vision pedestrian walking in different environments, asking questions, and giving the person specific visual landmarks to look for, the O&M Specialist learns which visual cues are reliable for the new low vision student.
Some people see much better on cloudy days or at dusk. Very often these are people who have photosensitivity to light and need the right tint of sunshields to cut glare and bring up some contrast. Some very photosensitive people need to wear visors indoors, for example, and/or very light yellow, pink, or grey shields. Outside they may need the same tint that is comfortable indoors, but in a much darker shade to provide more glare protection. Others do see better on sunny days, or at certain times of the day depending on which direction they are moving.
Some of us think of magnification or size as the primary component in being able to see. Contrast, however, seems to be more important for many people with low vision. If something is very large, but also very light on a light background, it may not be seen even two inches from the eye. If something is very small, like a piece of brown lint, but is five feet away on the light colored carpet, many people with low vision could see it. Many people cannot see the cracks in the sidewalk, but they can see the edges of the sidewalk that are bordered by the darker color of grass. Some people have no depth perception, but they can guesstimate when they are near the edge of the curb because the street below is darker than the sidewalk. Even if a person is color blind to red and green, or to finer shades of light colors or dark colors, he can often see extreme contrasts such as black on white or white on black. Magnification, which happens as one gets closer to an object, has another limitation for a person with low vision who has a visual field loss. There are some people who do not have a visual acuity of legal blindness with an acuity of 20/200 or less, but do have a severe visual field loss which causes a tunnel vision effect. In this case, getting closer to something either makes it disappear, or become unidentifiable because one cannot see the entire object. For someone with relatively good acuity but severe field losses, standing at least twenty feet away from something often makes it identifiable. So, the pedestrian with this type of visual field loss may be able to see that there is a low hanging branch across the sidewalk up ahead. The problem is that if that pedestrian does not constantly move his head to compensate for where the field loss is, he will not know when he is close enough to bump his head on it. Even then, he might wrongly estimate where it is. In this case the pedestrian either has to move so slowly that contact with the branch will be a gentle nudge instead of a whack on the forehead, or use a protective arm technique until it is contacted, or move to the other side of the street, or into the street or lawn area to the side of the object. Again, there may be other unseen objects there! So, this is why a visual field loss of 20 degrees or less qualifies a person to meet the legal standard of legal blindness, even if he or she has a 20/20 acuity and can read print a few letters at a time!
Sometimes magnification does help, such as getting closer to a sign to read it. Again, it depends on the nature of one’s vision loss, the contrast and clarity of the print on the sign, and the lighting that day. Some people with low vision can read the largest signs on the front or side of the bus indicating the bus number and destination. Often, however, they can only read it if the bus is not moving. If time is short, there may not be time to use vision to identify the bus, and asking someone else is the best option.
Sometimes a person has very severe low vision, with only the ability to detect light. If one’s only remaining visual ability is detecting the presence of light, it is still useful in addition to one’s non-visual skills. For example, in a store or restaurant one may be able to find the general direction of the door that is made of glass or has a window in it. If one cannot see anything at night but the line of street lamps that look like circular balloons hanging in the air, using the line of balloons to follow the direction of the sidewalk is helpful. If one cannot see cars but has to cross a residential street at night without a traffic light, one can watch for the absence of headlights in addition to listening for quiet to know when to cross.
Some people can see vague shapes, even if there is a lot of blur and very little detail. This makes it possible to see many obstacles and determine an open path without necessarily having to use a cane. Some people might not notice a shape of a certain color that is still, but can tell the presence of moving shapes. This is helpful in determining when traffic is moving, and in what direction, at different parts of an intersection. Even if you cannot see the traffic light or walk signal, if you can decipher the traffic patterns and see when different cycles start, you have good information for crossing more safely.
I’ve been told by many people with low vision that they cannot see their friends’ faces, and may not recognize voices, but they can recognize some people from size, shape and the way those people move. Yes, there are many ways that vision can be useful even if one does not see the amount of detail that others can see!
Color is very helpful to people who discover which colors they can consistently see. Color can be used deliberately to highlight edges of steps. Some people might put certain colors on mailboxes or doorways to stand out for recognition as one’s own house or apartment. You may have seen bright yellow truncated domes now at the bottoms of ramps at corners giving both the bumpy texture as well as the color cues some people can use to know where the ramp ends and the street begins. The outline of the crosswalk with broad white lines helps some individuals to know if they are walking straight and staying in the crosswalk. I know some people can find a product in a familiar grocery store by knowing the aisle and general location, and the combination of colors on the box or bag of the brand name they prefer. I know others who note colorful landmarks that stand out to them to use as future reference for the location of a bus stop, a particular store, or a particular street that they want to come back to. So again, even if you don’t see well, if you know certain colors do stand out to you, there are many ways you can use those colors as useful orientation and warning cues.
Depth perception is sometimes the major problem for people with low vision, usually because the vision in one eye is much better than in the other. Absence of color contrast contributes to the accidents that happen with people tripping over curbs or falling down steps. In many areas the color of the steps is no different than the color of the floor above the first descending step or below the last descending step. Sometimes people use railings to recognize the presence of steps because the railing is in contrast to the ground or nearby wall. To someone with depth perception difficulty, everything that is the same color looks flat. It is hard to see edges of steps and curbs, to recognize the presence of slopes and dips, and to see cracks and raised slabs in the sidewalk. It is hard to tell if a dark area is a shadow, a puddle, or a hole. If a crack has a dark line across it sometimes a person can see it, and sometimes the crack has been painted white or yellow to warn of it. Depth perception also makes it difficult to determine the distance of an obstacle in front of you. You may be closer to a wall than you think, or you may reach for the elevator button and miss it because the wall is a few inches further away than you thought. You may reach for a glass of water and knock it over because it is closer than you realized.
Sometimes color contrast helps with perceiving edges of steps, but often depth perception cannot be compensated for visually. Often it is appropriate to use a cane to find edges you don’t expect even if you can see obstacles in front of you. It is important for people with depth perception difficulties to realize it is a problem so that if they need more than good lighting to find steps and holes, they can learn to use a cane to walk more safely. It is so obvious that a cane is useful if one can’t see anything, but if one can see everything but changes in terrain; it is harder to realize that one may need a cane to walk safely.
Finally, some people have very blurred distorted vision but have learned to interpret it correctly. They may have had this type of vision for a long time but don’t need an obstacle detector or a step detector because they have learned what each blur and blob consistently means. The vision they have is stable, so they are not living with the uncertainty of change. By life experience, asking questions, moving about in the world, probably a few trips and falls, head bumps or hip bumps, these individuals know what their own vision is telling them. They know if they are in a situation where they need more information or need to take someone’s arm for a little while. If those of us who are not visually impaired woke up one day with the exact type of vision loss that such a person experiences every day, we might not be able to functionsafely. We have learned slightly different and sometimes very different visual symbols to interpret the physical world around us.
What I would like the reader to take away from this is that visual functioning is a learned skill. Visual symbols are something we learn to interpret from our earliest years. There are so many different types of visual cues. Even with low vision these visual cues can be useful. We can learn which visual cues might be unreliable for our own safety, and which visual cues we can consistently use.
Janet Louise Wilson leads the group at the Carmel Foundation. New members are always welcome.
March 5, 2010, 1:00 p.m.
May 7, 2010, 1:00 p.m.
Jeane Hickman, Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor with the Department of Rehab will be the guest speaker. She will introduce people to the services of Voc Rehab.
This December we learned that circumstances would allow Moonset to return to our area. We began exploring the possibility of her working in a new capacity at the Center as a part-time Rehab Instructor. Circumstances changed at the end of January when Ken submitted his resignation to pursue professional interests. This left the Low Vision Services Coordinator position vacant. Fortunately for us history repeated itself in a positive manner. We are pleased to announce that Moonset will return as our Low Vision Services Coordinator this May. We wish Ken well and success with his professional endeavors.
Jacquie Johnson and Rena Weaver have been a stable and saving grace to the BVIC’s ever-changing personnel needs. Jacquie’s extensive background working with seniors and her knowledge of community resources has been a tremendous boost to BVIC services. Her dual professions of teaching (with a credential in health occupations) and occupational therapy continue to serve her well in dealing with the diverse and challenging needs of our client population.Rena’s 20 plus years with the BVIC adds a well rounded and capable dimension to the service she provides. Her experience in Orientation & Mobility as well as hands on expertise with Daily Living Skills is outstanding. Cheri & I support them in providing the best possible services to our clients. I know our staff is often inspired by our clients and their desire to learn new skills to cope with the loss of sight.
We look ahead to finding the right person for the Rehab position and are appreciative of the versatility and skills of our staff.
Moonset is happy to return
to the BVIC. She looks forward
to serving clients.