In this issue Lisa and the Swan players meet the VI students of Priestley Smith Specialist School, in Birmingham.
Dated: 16 June 2021
Meeting the Students
I was surprised at how few of the pupils at Priestley Smith Specialist School use a white cane or have a Guide Dog to help them find their way around the school building. I suppose it is very familiar to them so they are confident finding their way around without a mobility aid.
I had my long white stick with me when I went in to meet them and many of them were fascinated to see an adult with one, to the point that one child actually asked me in a Q & A session why I had a white stick!
“I hope it helped them to realise that there is a life beyond school where they can enjoy a fulfilling career.”
I explained that I’m blind like them, which surprised several of them as they aren’t used to meeting grown ups with sight impairments. I hope it helped them to realise that there is a life beyond school where they can enjoy a fulfilling career.
Adaptive Software
There is a lot of adaptive software and clever apps out there to help us see what is on a computer screen or to “read” printed matter, such as instructions. We really are dependent on these ingenious adaptions to help us fit smoothly into the sighted world.
I have a large letter keyboard in the office and a computer with software on it, so that I see a small part of the whole screen stretched across the entire monitor screen at any one time. I have to use my mouse to navigate round the page. It takes longer but at least I can access computers with it loaded on and running.
“Music of course is sound though, so those of us with poor vision can enjoy it as much as a fully sighted person.”
The vast majority of people registered blind do have some useful residual vision remaining so most of us are not purely reliant on sound. Music of course is sound though so those of us with poor vision can enjoy it as much as a fully sighted person.
Next Week: The students become familiar with the instruments
Read Last Week’s here.
