Leaving your house and crossing the street to go to the grocery store might be such a familiar task that you donB次元官网网址檛 even think about it.
ThatB次元官网网址檚 not the case for those who are visually impaired.
Knowing where the sidewalk ends, when itB次元官网网址檚 safe to cross the street, how many blocks to go before turning, or even if there are steps to get into a plaza are all obstacles over 6,000 people across Vancouver Island with visual impairment must navigate B次元官网网址� and thereB次元官网网址檚 only one person trained to help them figure out how to do it.
Barbara Schuster is an orientation and mobility specialist who works for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB).
B次元官网网址淚t feels really good, because when my clients succeed in their goals, I feel like I was a part of that,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淚t makes me feel like I helped make a difference.B次元官网网址�
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Schuster helps clients learn to use a white cane to assess their surroundings, to use their hearing to navigate, and trains them to count blocks and keep track of which direction theyB次元官网网址檙e facing. She also helps plan out daily chores, like mapping out how to get to a doctorB次元官网网址檚 office (how many doors down the hall is it?), figuring out which bus to take to the mall (how many stops until you get off?) or even planning a route to find university classes (same classroom as last semester, door on left-hand side, up three steps).
Her clients live all across the Island so sheB次元官网网址檚 always on the move. Those clients have varying degrees of vision loss and 90 per cent of them retain some vision. Most are elderly, losing vision from age-related macular degeneration.
B次元官网网址淭he average age of my clients are 82,B次元官网网址� Schuster says, B次元官网网址淏ut I do help some younger ones.B次元官网网址�
She recalls assisting a young man who wanted to do a paper route, so she recorded instructions on where to put each paper and which direction to turn, which he listened to until he had it memorized.
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Other clients have suffered sudden vision loss and require more help to get used to their new challenges.
Gail Lane is a Victoria woman who suffered a seizure in 2014. While hospitalized, she was given an anti-convulsant drug that triggered a rare but devastating reaction called Stevens-Johnson syndrome, an immune response that made her body attack itself. LaneB次元官网网址檚 skin and eyes were so badly affected that she went blind, retaining only some light perception in her left eye, which she believes she is losing.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 very overwhelming to lose your sight. ItB次元官网网址檚 scary. ItB次元官网网址檚 intimidating. ItB次元官网网址檚 exhausting,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know what I would have done without people like Barb and other CNIB staff B次元官网网址� it was a lifeline for me.B次元官网网址�
Lane also received help to learn how to cook for herself and get dressed.
B次元官网网址淢atching socks is the worst,B次元官网网址� she laughs.
Lane admits sheB次元官网网址檚 not where she wants to be yet with being independent and mobile, but thanks to Barb, she is comfortable in her home and walking around the block. At this point, she doesnB次元官网网址檛 like going anywhere else without some support, but she wants to eventually be able to go to a local rec centre on her own.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a bit hard with BarbB次元官网网址檚 schedule; the territory is so huge, the whole Island! How do you cover that and be able to be with any of your clients as frequently as you might like, or as they might like?B次元官网网址�
As CNIB is a charitable organization, lack of funding is a barrier to hiring additional mobility and orientation specialists.
Still, Schuster and Lane try to meet up every three weeks or so.
B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 wonderful, sheB次元官网网址檚 been very helpful to me,B次元官网网址� Lane says. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 sure sheB次元官网网址檚 been very frustrated with me, too, but I havenB次元官网网址檛 hit her with my stick yet, and she hasnB次元官网网址檛 tried to take it away from me.B次元官网网址�
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