Enjoying one's life is important and someone who is visually impaired can still enjoy some of the things they once did. They may also discover new forms of entertainment or a new and different way to do what they once enjoyed.
If you have a friend or loved one who is visually impaired, don't leave them out, assuming they won't enjoy the activity. Go ahead and ask them they may want to be included, if only for the company they will enjoy. The same goes for the visually impaired person, don't just sit there and think you won't enjoy something, give it a try. You might be surprised. You can be the creator of the plans. Have your friends over or plan an outing. The people who care about you know you won't be driving and it will be their responsibility.
Personally, I miss the needlecrafts that I used to do but I now enjoy other things. I read a lot of books on tape from the Wolfner Library for the Blind. Each state has one. There is no charge for the service. They have about every kind of book you can imagine and they are the unabridged versions of the books. They arrive in your mailbox with the postage paid in little boxes. They are a special format of cassette tape with four sides and they require a tape player that will play the Library of Congress Talking Books. The library will provide this tape player to you, also at no charge. When you have finished reading the book you put it back in the little box, turn the address card over and put it back into the mail. You can select books for yourself or with a reader advisor. You will be sent catalogues or you can select them from the Wolfner OPAC web site.
The library also has a video club. They provide movies that are described for the visually impaired. This technology is called DVS or described video service. It is a wonderful technology that inserts a voice narrating the action portions of a movie, letting you know what is going on when there is no dialogue. It is not disruptive to the sighted viewer and enhances the enjoyment of the movie incredibly. My daughter, who is sighted, loves the described movies and television programs. The library allows you to have the movie for a week. They have a catalogue of the movies on cassette tape and you can send them a list of the ones you are interested in seeing. They come in special postage paid boxes, just like the books. You do not need to have any special equipment to enjoy these movies. The narration is a part of the videos narrative. I can't tell you what a difference it makes in the enjoyment of the films. There are movies for people of all ages, including children.
The library also has many magazines that you may request. No charge for these either. They most often come in little envelopes that you just toss away when done. There are magazines for a variety of interests. You can ask your librarian for a list.
Kansas Audio Reader offers their services to those who are print disabled in Kansas and Western Missouri. They read the Kansas City Star and other regional newspapers. They also read magazines, books, and more. This is done through a free radio that is set to receive their broadcast. They also have a telephone service where you can call at your leisure and listen to several newspapers and even grocery ads.
The National Federation of the Blind sponsors a wonderful service. It is called News line and it is a phone system which will allow you to access newspapers from all over the country. You fill out a form and register and get back to enjoying your newspaper. My husband must read the sports page of every team in the country. Ok, I'm exaggerating but he keeps abreast of all the news with his papers.
Computer games are a good way to entertain you. There are more and more games for the visually impaired being created all the time. You can check out some of these by going to www.blindhelp.com Enter on the link for games and see what you find.
The adaptive equipment companies also having tactile, large print and talking games. Bingo, Dominos and many others.
All around the country are activities that I've heard about, but haven't yet tried. I know that in some areas of the country there are blind skiers and excursions. In the St. Louis area they have two bowling leagues for the visually impaired. In other areas, there are BeeP Baseball leagues. My husband, who is visually impaired, has recently heard about a talking dart board and he is looking into that. He used to throw darts when he could see and thinks he will enjoy it this way too.
Speaking of the hubby, he hasn't given up his building projects or home repairs. Obviously there are something's that he doesn't do. One of those would be electrical. With the use of adaptive tools he has built three rooms in our basement. A room for a guess, a great storage room with custom shelving and an exercise room. He does these things by using a specially marked tape measure, a level that beeps when something is not level, a T-square that is also specially marked. He is now the owner of an adaptive kit to paint rooms and get that clean smooth straight edge. He cuts the lumber with a power miter saw. I used to sit at the top of the basement stairs while he used the saw with the cordless phone in hand. I am used to it now and I only cringe a little. Don't think he has any residual sight, he is totally blind. He enjoys making things and building things. He is currently working on a special custom built cabinet for the First Steps for the Blind office. Male or female, if you like to work with your hands then you still can. Is this equipment more expensive than the regular equipment, sure it is but he is still glad to have it and uses it all the time.
One of my favorite evening past times has always been television. At first I didn't enjoy it because I couldn't see the picture and didn't seem able to follow lot of shows. Now however technology has improved that for us. With the DVS technology some television networks are providing regular television programs with the DVS narrative, so that you can more easily follow the action. There are several ways in which you can get the DVS programs. The easiest one is if your television is equipped with the SAP (secondary audio program). If you have that on your television and then just turn it on. Another way is with one of those nifty satellite dishes. You can find out more about that at www.blindhelp.com He has a much better explanation than I can give you. If you have a stereo VCR you can play the programs through your VCR. The way we do it is to have digital cable. We can turn the SAP feature on at the digital cable box and it works very well. At the current time, there are not a great many shows that are described but the technology is in place and many networks are going ahead with limited programs. I have discovered that thee is more DVS programming on the cable channels than on the major networks. Fox though is coming right along and leading the way.
First Steps for the Blind is currently working with a company to create a software package to download that will give you a listing of the described television programs for that day. When you have no way to access a list of programs you channel surf until you give up. This will be a wonderful thing for people who are either totally blind or visually impaired and live alone. Tune it to us for the information and the download when we are finished. It really makes a difference in the enjoyment level of television.
For you low vision individuals, we do have a tip sheet on low vision television viewing. It suggests several ways to set the lighting and television settings for maximum viewing pleasure.
REMEMBER THIS ONE THING, YOU MAY BE VISUALLY IMPAIRED OR POSSIBLLY EVEN TOTALLY BLIND, BUT YOU CAN STILL ENJOY YOUR LIFE. MAKE THE EFFORT, YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID!!!!
Please contact us for more information on any of the above items.