Life Through My Eyes: March 2014

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Adventures Lined Up

I have some adventures lined up to knock things off my bucket list!!

My cousin's family is going to pay for paint balling this summer as a birthday present.

Then, the last week of March I am going to Disneyworld with my Grandma and all my cousins!

Then, in August, I am going on a road trip to Yellowstone to do rafting and zip lining with my cousins, Alanna and Sydney (another birthday gift).

WOOT WOOT! I'm excited and can't wait!

Every third Friday during the term we have an activity day instead of classes. Two students are in charge of putting it together and making the arrangements. The commission pays for it so we make sure that we are in our budget. I was organized one of the activity days, it happened to land on Valentine's Day so I thought that we would spread some cheer and smiles around. We spent the morning making sugar cookies with frosting(blind folded) and cards. I had them make one card under shades to see what it was like and how difficult it was. I explained what art supplies were in front of them and what they can use. If they asked for something specific I would get it for them. You didn't know what you were grabbing and if you were putting it on the right spot of the paper. Overall, I thought everyone did well! Then, that afternoon we went to a Senior Home and handed out the cards and cookies. It made our day to make a stranger smile and get excited that we were there for them. It was a great feeling! Below are some pictures but not a lot since I don't have permission to put teachers and some students on here.

Making Cards!

Ryan Making His Card

Mandy Making Cards

Ryan Making Frosting

Heart Cookie Cut Outs

Frosting Cookies!

The Cards We Made

Our last activity we went ice skating, laser tag(everyone blind folded), 7D Video game and go karts. It was a fun day and lots of laughing. I was not able to skate since I fell down the stairs and hurt my back. Everyone enjoyed themselves. I have pictures from the events but I don't have permission to post pictures of all students and teachers. When we played laser tag everyone had a their blind shades off and the guns were set so we didn't have to recharge them. You really had to use your hearing to try and find people. It was tough for me since there was music playing so it covered up the gun noises. We recommend try playing laser tag blind folded, it is fun and a different experience.

Mandy and Ryan Skating

Mandy Chilling with Me on the Other Side of the Glass

Friends!

Go Karts

Mandy is Ready to Go!

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Woodshop, Cutting Board

I left off on my woodshop update that I was working on my cutting board. The last step was that I had scrapped off the dried glue and ran it through the planer. After running it through the planer it had caused a divot in my board from where it was being pressed and it cause the board to lift some. To get rid of this I ran it through the drum sander a few times. Then, I used the table saw with a handmade device to push the board through to cut of the edge to make it even. unfortunately, I can't remember what that device is called...ummm....I will have to get back to you on that one! My board was a little rough from going through the drum sander, so I used a medium grit sandpaper to smooth it out again. Next and final step was to put oil on the board, which I just poured in my hand and spread around. Then, BAM! Done! WOOT WOOT!

The next project is my independent project, which is something that I pick out that I want to try building. I finally made a decision on what to make, a side table to go by my bed with a drawer. We shall see how that goes! I start that next week and I will finish it next term.

Check out the post on my other classes!

Table Saw

Making Sure I Set It So A Straight Edge Is Cut

Pushing Through Blade

Checking Out the Edge I Cut Off

Tada! Finished!

Computer Update

In computer class I have been learning a variety of different things to figure out what will work best for me. I have tried different computer programs that magnify the screen, read the screen and tells you what you are doing, typing and more. I have learned about Apple and Microsoft products so I can determine which I like best for future use. The computer programs that I have learned are ZoomText, Magic and JAWs. I have found that ZoomText will be the best fit for me, since it was designed for people with low vision lost. It is a magnification software as well as the ability to take a picture of a document to either read to you or create a MP3 file. It had helpful tools that I will put to use when I go back to school and a job that has a lot of computer work. I learned how to use an Embosser, which is a program that takes a document and translates it into Braille then sends it to the Braille embosser printer. It sounds like a popcorn maker as it punches out the Braille dots, it is a neat machine!

Check out my other class updates!

http://www.freedomscientific.com for more information on assistive technology software.

Embosser

Braille Update

Using Braille Writer Cover So I Can't See

In Braille there are two grades that you have to complete, grade one is the alphabet, numbers and common punctuation, then grade two is contractions which are common words in short form, so you don't have to spell out the word each time you use it.

I have completed grade one and I am on lesson six of grade two, which is not even half way through! Grade two is tough because of how much you have to memorize, but the use of contraction makes reading sentences easier. I have learned the slate and stylus, which is consist of you punching the dots of each Braille cell to create a letter or word. It seems fun and easy until you are told that you have to do it right to left and punch the cell formation backwards! That was a brain twister trying to get that figured out. The reason for that is because you have to flip the paper over and in order to have it going the right direction. It took a few tries to get down the alphabet without having to stop and think how to do a letter backwards. For an example, the letter A is dot 1 but on the slate it is dot 4. Crazy huh? I enjoy using the slate and it does take time getting use to! The reason for the slate and stylus is for note taking or list making since it is portable and quick to use. Once a week we either use the Braille Writer or the slate and stylus to practice writing and the rest of the week is reading. I am slowly getting better at not "scrubbing" the Braille as I read, but I still find myself doing it at times when I get stuck.

Example of Braille Contractions

Slate and Stylus

Braille Writer

Friday, March 7, 2014

Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Update

In ADL I have cook a variety of things such as, meat loaf, white bread, fried egg, grilled cheese, hamburger helper, Rice a Roni, corn bread, veggie hash browns and chocolate chip cookies. I learned with each food how to tell when it is done or when it needs to be cooked longer. You learned to use your sense of smell and touch. If you can tell the difference of what it smelled like at first to when it is done, such as hamburger it has that certain smell when it raw but once it is cooked it smells browned, you know that it is done. It hard to explain this in words, it is easier to smell it, haha. When I use my sense of touch I use the spatula or spoon to touch the food to see if it is soft, tough, crispy, or doughy to determine if it is cooked or not. If I can't tell through the utensil, I use it as my guide and follow my finger down it until I reach the food. Yes, it is a high chance of burning yourself...I have done it, but sometimes I have to touch it. Over time you get a sense for time, you learn how long certain foods take to cook and you set a timer to keep track. My last meal that I am cooking this term will be homemade pizza.

I have learned some techniques of how to organize laundry and how some put their socks in a bag to keep them all together. I learned how to sow on a button and the different tools to use to get the tread into the eye of the needle. I have learned cutting techniques and peeling.

I thought using the stove would be nerve racking, but since I had experience it wasn't at all. I just have to keep checking to make sure my pot/pan is on the burner. The way I check this is by taking the top of a utensil and dragging across the stove until it hits the burner. I make sure that the pot/pan is lined up with my utensil. I have also learned to use a bigger pan than needed so I have more room for "error". It also helps to orient myself and have more area to pour stuff into without worrying that I have missed. You have to orient yourself each time you put something new into the pan. I take my utensil and find the edge of the pan and slide it to the center and if I am unsure I can use another utensil to go around the circle to make sure.

That sums up ADL!

Orientation And Mobility Update

I have found that mobility is always going to be hard for me not because of my vision loss or lack of trust of my cane, but because of my hearing impairment. I am a good cane traveler and I have a good sense of orientation (instructors said so! :) ). It becomes worse to locate traffic and sounds when there are tall buildings for the sounds to echo off of, lawn mowers/leaf blower, rain, snow and other noises going on around me. I have found that this is where my frustration comes from and why I spend a few minutes or longer at intersections. I have to wait for a couple rounds of traffic to go by in order for me to get an idea of where the traffic is going (remember I am under shades). With this issue, it causes me to hesitate and not have confidence that it okay to cross or the fear that I might have heard it wrong. My instructor told me that I am hard on myself and that I do well. Sometimes I want to just sit down and quit, but I push through it and jump.

Other than the hearing issue, mobility has been going well. I am able to find buildings/stores when given an address, and slowly find my way out of parking lots when I have drifted into them. When I get lost in a parking lot, I usually figure that out after hitting a car with my cane and luckily no car alarms have gone off yet, I stop where I am and listen for the traffic. I try to locate where my traffic is, then once I have found it I try to figure out which side of me the traffic should be one. It helps when one street is a two-way and another is a one-way. It makes it easier to tell them apart. Once I have figured that out I walk towards the street I want to find the sidewalk again. Once I find the sidewalk, I stop and listen for traffic again to make sure I'm going the right direction. It is all about locating the sounds of traffic and keeping it on the right side of you depending which way you want to go.

You really have to learn to trust your hearing and tune into what you are surrounded by. Also, you have to tune in on what your cane is going over so you know when you need to watch for a hole, a step, or a crack in the side walk. You want to be in tune so when you do hit something you have a quick reaction time, just in case it is a tree and you don't walk into it. You also learn to feel the difference in the pavement, asphalt, and brick; which helps you know if you went into a different area that you might not want to be. You also feel for the bumps at the corner of an intersection, which is not every where so we can't rely on that to help us know that we need to stop. Those yellow bumps are called truncated domes.

My instructor wanted to get a better idea of what it is like to having a hearing problem as well as being vision impaired so he wore shop headphones and shades around the block. It was more deafening compared to me but it gave him an idea that it is hard to locate where sounds are coming from. When loud sounds go off around me, especially fire trucks, EMTs and police, it makes me cringe and get disoriented and I lose my balance some. The sound is such a high pitch and it is amplified in my ears from my hearing aids compared to people with normal hearing. He learned that it is a lot tougher than just having the blindness itself. Two students tried it as well so they could understand better. They said it was hard and gave me props for going out there and doing it. It is not easy, it can be done but it is tough and frustrating. I know that in some weather conditions, such as snow, I will have to figure out another route to get somewhere when my vision gets worse because everything is muffled from the snow. I can also use a card that says that I'm vision and hearing impaired and that I need help crossing the street to hold up. I don't know if I will ever bring myself to use that, just makes me feel vulnerable.

Right now, we are doing an experiment to see if wearing my shades where causing my migraines. We are thinking that I am straining to hear too much. I didn't realize how much I relied on my vision to hear until I put the shades on. I struggle to hear some of my instructors and when I'm on mobility I really concentrate and strain to hearing the sounds around me. I am doing the last two weeks of the term without my shades to see if it is the cause. I am working on low vision techniques such as scanning intersections and what to watch for in certain situations. I am going to do an independent route to a coffee place under shades since that was one of my goals to have done before the end of the term.

That is it for now! The term ends on the 14th, but will be completing another term starting the first week of April.

These are pictures of me under shades but not during mobility. We were teaching my cousins and friend how to use the cane under shades and I was showing them what I look like.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Woodshop Update

I am very behind on my blog, but I have been keeping a daily journal of what I been learning or doing in each class every day. As the term continued on, some classes got harder but there has never been a moment that I haven't learned something new. The downside to the last two months is that my migraines have worsen and I have been getting them weekly. I have missed a day each week. I am not sure what is causing them, my diet has not changed nor my sleep (I don't sleep well regardless of a new environment). A student and I were talking about maybe it is from having to strain to hear when I am wearing my shades all day since I can't rely on my vision to read lips. It never dawned on me that could be the cause, all I knew was at the end of the day I am mental exhausted and when weekend comes I am dragging. I am going to spend one of my last two weeks of the term not wearing my shades to see if that helps with my migraines. If not, then I am going to go see a neurologist to get some help. I am at a point that I'm so frustrated and tired of hurting. I feel that if it is not my head, it's my eyes or my back. Never feel that I catch a break, turning 28 this year feels like I'm a lot older physically.

Since I am so behind on updating you all on my classes I am going to do a new blog for each class, enjoy!

First up is woodshop!

The second project was making a name sign using a router that had a stylus attached to the router. I choose the saying "Love is Blind" for my sign.

I started the project by sanding the cherry wood by hand then using the router next. When I used the router I placed my left hand on the router handle and held down the on button, then with my right hand I held the stylus like a pencil and traced the edge of the letter clockwise. To spaced the letter there was a metal bar next to the letter template; I would move the wood and the stylus together until the stylus touched that bar. I would do it twice to get the correct spacing between words and then lock the board down. Once I had the letters cut out I used the table router to cut the edge to my sign. All I had to do was hold my board firmly and push through and the blade did all the work. Then, I did more sanding to smooth things out. The next step was to paint the letters. How does a blind person do this? Easy! I put on a pair of gloves and dipped my finger in the paint. I used the other hand to help guide where my finger with paint should go. You outline the letter up and down and repeat three times. It was okay to get paint outside the letters because the next step was using the planer and that takes off the top layer of the wood, which took that paint off and make it smooth and clean looking. Last step was to apply the finish! I wore gloves again and used a folded paper towel that was inside a big plastic paperclip. I would dip it and used my other hand to guide and orient myself. I repeated this three times and then it was completed! The sign turned out great! The "s" and "n" are two of the hardest letters ,to do because you have to do the cutting in sections and freestyle in some areas where you are not using the template.

The project that I am currently working on is the cutting board. I started by taking the two woods that I'm using and cut it to 31 inches long. I measured using the Click Ruler. Then I ran the wood through the planer and joint planer to get it smooth and the ink markings from the lumbar store off. Next, I had to cut my wood into strips, which I measured with a Click Ruler and set the fence of the table saw to that measurement. Once I had the saw in place where I wanted it, I moved the cover to the blade over until I had enough room so I could push the wood through with a piece of wood. Using this saw isn't hard and I was not nervous just awkward because I had to stand so far to the left and reach to push the wood through, but I managed! After my strips were cut, I then cut them all in half. Then I glued them together alternating dark wood then light wood. I scrapped the dried glue off and ran through the planer again to level out the wood.

That is how far I am now, enjoy the pictures!

Pictures of Sign: