Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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How can I assist my father who is losing vision? (self.Blind)
submitted by idiosyncrisia
Hey, I figure this might be a good community to reach out to and get some thoughts on what I can do to help my father.
In the past few months, he has gone from being able to see, to not being able to comprehend what he is seeing. It is odd. It has forced him into retirement, and my mother has to drive him around everywhere. I do not live at home so I cannot be there to help with everything.
He is not able to see his phone, computer, and barely the TV. But from my understanding of speaking to him, it is not that he is not seeing what is on the TV, but it is that he cannot understand what he is seeing.
I played golf with him this summer as this was happening, and he told me "I know that what I see is really a shadow going across the fairway, but to me, I see a fence." It has now come to the point where he does not trust what he sees, and when I go on a walk with him, he cannot see people approaching, or he will wave and then ask me if someone was actually there.
My parents are doing everything they can to go to doctors here in New Jersey for this. Of course, they're getting the run around for the past few months, and no doctor is taking ownership of this. They have no idea what is going on, and they are going to neurologists, eye doctors, lyme disease specialists, etc.
Apart from losing his independence, he is really down in the dumps because he cannot read. I feel so bad for him, but he would consume a book a week normally, and the fact he has to rely on my mom (who has multiple sclerosis and cannot walk without assistance) to get around, is really putting him down.
I was wondering if audible would be something good for him, at least to pass the time. The issue is that before my dad lost his vision, he was not very technical. He cannot see the play or pause button on a remote or tablet to listen to it. I tried downloading audible on my mom's iPad over the weekend, to see if he could use it, but he couldn't. I am not an iOS user myself, so I tried to see if I could make Siri open and play books via voice, but that did not work out.
Do any of you have any suggestions on what I can do to help? Are there any tools that are available that you are aware of that can be of assistance?
Thank you very much for reading this and for your time.
In the past few months, he has gone from being able to see, to not being able to comprehend what he is seeing. It is odd. It has forced him into retirement, and my mother has to drive him around everywhere. I do not live at home so I cannot be there to help with everything.
He is not able to see his phone, computer, and barely the TV. But from my understanding of speaking to him, it is not that he is not seeing what is on the TV, but it is that he cannot understand what he is seeing.
I played golf with him this summer as this was happening, and he told me "I know that what I see is really a shadow going across the fairway, but to me, I see a fence." It has now come to the point where he does not trust what he sees, and when I go on a walk with him, he cannot see people approaching, or he will wave and then ask me if someone was actually there.
My parents are doing everything they can to go to doctors here in New Jersey for this. Of course, they're getting the run around for the past few months, and no doctor is taking ownership of this. They have no idea what is going on, and they are going to neurologists, eye doctors, lyme disease specialists, etc.
Apart from losing his independence, he is really down in the dumps because he cannot read. I feel so bad for him, but he would consume a book a week normally, and the fact he has to rely on my mom (who has multiple sclerosis and cannot walk without assistance) to get around, is really putting him down.
I was wondering if audible would be something good for him, at least to pass the time. The issue is that before my dad lost his vision, he was not very technical. He cannot see the play or pause button on a remote or tablet to listen to it. I tried downloading audible on my mom's iPad over the weekend, to see if he could use it, but he couldn't. I am not an iOS user myself, so I tried to see if I could make Siri open and play books via voice, but that did not work out.
Do any of you have any suggestions on what I can do to help? Are there any tools that are available that you are aware of that can be of assistance?
Thank you very much for reading this and for your time.
Sommiel 2 points 6y ago
>My parents are doing everything they can to go to doctors here in New Jersey for this.
Whoops, didn't see this right away. Well, I do have an excuse for that.
>It has forced him into retirement, and my mother has to drive him around everywhere.
This is your ticket to paradise. The Department of Rehabilitation.
Since he is not understanding what he is seeing, he can still be retrained to do something, which will empower him and be almost like training someone that is profoundly blind.
DOR has been wonderful for me. They referred me to all kinds of training programs that provided orientation, mobility and travel training along with technology.
I got life skills training training and it's been invaluable. Since I am in their retraining program, they provide a lot of the equipment that I needed to get up to speed.
New Jersey has a Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. That and the Braille Institute are your shoehorns to get into the programs. Even if you do not think you want to work (which will limit what they will provide), there is a lot of training for life skills available. How to get around, how to cook, how to clean.
What getting into a program will do for your dad, is show him that there is not only hope, but support. A lot of the places offer group discussions weekly, so that he knows that there are other people going through the same thing. I went from being suicidal to adapting reasonably well (I am still pissed off).
All of my trainers have been visually impaired and super inspirational to me with regards to the effort that I put into learning new skills.
You can get different sized silicone buttons to attach to remotes (or in my case, your home keys). There is a fabulous Infila needle threader. I have braille and audible kitchen tools.
I would take a look at $1. You will find a lot of cheap and simple products that are super helpful there. Talking watches, silicone bumps, writing guides, canes. You don't have to buy them, you can just figure out what they do and compare it with what you might need.
I can't recommend cane/mobility/orientation/travel training highly enough. Realizing that you can be independent will be a revelation to him. It will lift his level of frustration and buoy his mood.
I made a call to my tech trainers at Blindness Support Services to get info on what readers are best for the less tech savvy among us. Since they see a variety of clients, they will know. They will give me a call back later and I can tell you what the recommend.
Whoops, didn't see this right away. Well, I do have an excuse for that.
>It has forced him into retirement, and my mother has to drive him around everywhere.
This is your ticket to paradise. The Department of Rehabilitation.
Since he is not understanding what he is seeing, he can still be retrained to do something, which will empower him and be almost like training someone that is profoundly blind.
DOR has been wonderful for me. They referred me to all kinds of training programs that provided orientation, mobility and travel training along with technology.
I got life skills training training and it's been invaluable. Since I am in their retraining program, they provide a lot of the equipment that I needed to get up to speed.
New Jersey has a Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. That and the Braille Institute are your shoehorns to get into the programs. Even if you do not think you want to work (which will limit what they will provide), there is a lot of training for life skills available. How to get around, how to cook, how to clean.
What getting into a program will do for your dad, is show him that there is not only hope, but support. A lot of the places offer group discussions weekly, so that he knows that there are other people going through the same thing. I went from being suicidal to adapting reasonably well (I am still pissed off).
All of my trainers have been visually impaired and super inspirational to me with regards to the effort that I put into learning new skills.
You can get different sized silicone buttons to attach to remotes (or in my case, your home keys). There is a fabulous Infila needle threader. I have braille and audible kitchen tools.
I would take a look at $1. You will find a lot of cheap and simple products that are super helpful there. Talking watches, silicone bumps, writing guides, canes. You don't have to buy them, you can just figure out what they do and compare it with what you might need.
I can't recommend cane/mobility/orientation/travel training highly enough. Realizing that you can be independent will be a revelation to him. It will lift his level of frustration and buoy his mood.
I made a call to my tech trainers at Blindness Support Services to get info on what readers are best for the less tech savvy among us. Since they see a variety of clients, they will know. They will give me a call back later and I can tell you what the recommend.
idiosyncrisia [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Wow, thank you so much for this information! I am going to go over it with them this weekend! Really, this is a huge help!
Sommiel 1 points 6y ago
Please, feel free to PM me any time. I am happy to help out where I can.
People helped me and it changed my life.
People helped me and it changed my life.
Sommiel 2 points 6y ago
I can help direct you to services.
I have found that when you get your diagnosis from the doctors, they have no idea how to access services. I had to dig it all up the hard way, wasting a lot of precious time. Now the doctors at the clinic call me to tell their patients what they need to do.
I have found that when you get your diagnosis from the doctors, they have no idea how to access services. I had to dig it all up the hard way, wasting a lot of precious time. Now the doctors at the clinic call me to tell their patients what they need to do.
not_court_ 2 points 6y ago
Voice Over is a BIG help with low vision
Personally I am legally blind so it is what has helped me on worse vision days
Also Tommy Edison on youtube could be a great research tool for you, sometimes his videos are more for fun but when he explains how his does ordinary things, no one can explain it better. I've taken a couple of his tricks for being independent myself.
Hang in there with the doctors, it can be frustrating but hopefully can figure it out.
Maybe check in to some deaf and blind schools, occasionally they do research on some of the more rare conditions
Personally I am legally blind so it is what has helped me on worse vision days
Also Tommy Edison on youtube could be a great research tool for you, sometimes his videos are more for fun but when he explains how his does ordinary things, no one can explain it better. I've taken a couple of his tricks for being independent myself.
Hang in there with the doctors, it can be frustrating but hopefully can figure it out.
Maybe check in to some deaf and blind schools, occasionally they do research on some of the more rare conditions
idiosyncrisia [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Thank you for this response! I will definitely check out Tommy Edison. And yeah, the doctors are not sure what is going on. They thought it could have been cone and rod disorder or something, but he had some tests today and the doctors are stumped. He is going for more tests later at another eye doctor...
angelcake 2 points 6y ago
My partner is low vision. Audiobooks, podcasts, it's incredible the amount of material that is out there. There are thousands of podcasts available, all free.
idiosyncrisia [OP] 2 points 6y ago
Yeah, I listen to a lot of podcasts myself. I am trying to figure out a way that my dad can listen to them on his own without my mom or myself pressing play for him or opening the app as he cannot see the screen.
angelcake 2 points 6y ago
Siri does voice commands, you can definitely open the podcast app using only voice, I'm not 100% sure however if you could tell it to play a specific podcast.
Leyanyar 1 points 6y ago
Personally we believe the echo is worth it for this alone, along side the voice streaming and voice activated internet radio. My husband has concluded that the Echo is the device he has been wanting for a very long time.
Leyanyar 1 points 6y ago
My husband went blind in 2009 and we use audible, originally I use to download the books and transfer them to mp3 to play on a usb stick in a stereo. Now we have an Amazon Echo and connected the amazon account to the audible one, and vola we have full access to the audible books via voice. The Echo will when requested play the book you want, pause and resume the book. You can pause or stop playing it and go back and it will remember where you were in the book or multiple books you have accessed. So much easier you just speak to it and it works, takes a little bit to setup but its very easy.
tardis_brain 1 points 6y ago
Siri managed "Play the Guardian Books Podcast" for me just now. Siri couldn't subscribe to a new podcast, so someone would have to help with that part. Good luck to you and your Dad.
fastfinge 1 points 6y ago
If he doesn't want to learn to use a touch screen without site, you might try the $1. It takes SD Cards, so you can worry about loading books onto the device for him. All he needs to do is play, pause, etc.
idiosyncrisia [OP] 1 points 6y ago
This looks great, but a little expensive. I have been looking into maybe Audible with an Amazon Echo now. Great site by the way, will definitely show this to my mom.
fastfinge 1 points 6y ago
I don't know much about the echo, because it's not available in Canada. So no idea how complicated it is to set up with audible. Sorry!
enjoyoutdoors 1 points 6y ago
Start with Settings > General > Acessibility > VoiceOver
That activates the feature that speaks out all the elements on the screen. So that he can actually use iOS without seeing the screen.
You can turn it on and off via a quick menu (triple-click on the home button) but I'm not sure if that menu is activated by default.
Your mum will go crazy on voiceover since she won't need it, so activate that quick menu too and teach them both how to use it to get what they want.
That activates the feature that speaks out all the elements on the screen. So that he can actually use iOS without seeing the screen.
You can turn it on and off via a quick menu (triple-click on the home button) but I'm not sure if that menu is activated by default.
Your mum will go crazy on voiceover since she won't need it, so activate that quick menu too and teach them both how to use it to get what they want.
idiosyncrisia [OP] 1 points 6y ago
I will definitely try this on the weekend. Was planning on going to an apple store with him also.
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