Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Help me help my dad! What are your hobbies? (self.Blind)
submitted by poffin
My dad has been in a cycle of drug addiction and depression. One small part of helping him recover is encouraging him to open up his world again with more experiences than just watching TV and drinking. I'd really like to be able to suggest some new activities/hobbies for him, and I'd love to hear about some of the less vision-focused fun stuff you do.
He does watch some TV, but I think reading is a no-go for him. He is legally blind, as well as having constant involuntary eye movement. I think the latter contributes to reading being the most difficult for him, so things like puzzles & books aren't ideal for him. He has a pretty strong creative streak, when he chooses to, and has played the guitar. I can think of some fun stuff we can do together, like board games, but I'm struggling to think of things he could do to keep his mind off drinking when he's alone. I already have a few ideas based on his history (like getting him back into music) but I'd love to hear any new suggestions y'all have! Thanks for any advice you might give me. :)
He does watch some TV, but I think reading is a no-go for him. He is legally blind, as well as having constant involuntary eye movement. I think the latter contributes to reading being the most difficult for him, so things like puzzles & books aren't ideal for him. He has a pretty strong creative streak, when he chooses to, and has played the guitar. I can think of some fun stuff we can do together, like board games, but I'm struggling to think of things he could do to keep his mind off drinking when he's alone. I already have a few ideas based on his history (like getting him back into music) but I'd love to hear any new suggestions y'all have! Thanks for any advice you might give me. :)
JackEsq 3 points 6y ago
I think you will have better luck encouraging him to pick up old hobbies that he enjoyed previously and then figuring out how to adapt those activities given his visual impairment.
That said if you want to try out board games. $1 is a site that does accessibility breakdown/reviews for designer board games. There is also $1 that sell accessibility kits for some games.
That said if you want to try out board games. $1 is a site that does accessibility breakdown/reviews for designer board games. There is also $1 that sell accessibility kits for some games.
reddit_aol_com 2 points 6y ago
Get him a whittling kit. It is a creative, artistic outlet that can be tactile rather than visual. Also music lessons could give him a friend, or at least someone scheduled to talk to once or twice a week.
awesomesaucesaywhat 2 points 6y ago
He might like audio books and there are also apps that will read books, news stories etc. I'm also a huge fan of swimming, or just being in the water. It gets me out of the house, interacting with people, and I get some exercise and sunshine.
k00l_m00se 2 points 6y ago
You've inspired me to start swimming as soon as I finish up school in a few days. This will be my first time swimming since I lost my sight, so I'm a little nervous. Got any particularly useful advice?
awesomesaucesaywhat 2 points 6y ago
Yay! I'm kind of obsessed with it right now. I count my strokes and stop if I'm not sure how close the wall is. Backstroke I bump into the landlines, no advice there. I also like treading water in the deep end and listening to whatever radio the lifeguard have on. If you want some gossip, go to the hot tub after a water aerobics class. The old ladies have the dirt on everyone at the pool!
ALWAYS_TELLING_LIES 2 points 6y ago
I am personally into rafting, fishing, hiking, and video gaming.
A good friend of mine who was blind loved watching movies, doing carpentry projects, and pottery.
A good friend of mine who was blind loved watching movies, doing carpentry projects, and pottery.
EndlessReverberation 1 points 6y ago
A few suggestions. Look into some audio podcasts that he might be interested in; there is a podcast about literally everything, and some of them are well done. Also if he creates a free account at www.blindmicemart.com he can download thousands of free audio described movies from their database. These movies are just the audio of the film and the description of what is going on, so no video.
If he likes games there are several accessible online game platforms where he could play with other blind people. Three such platforms are RS games, QuentinC's playroom, and Blind adrenaline. RS games and QuentinC's playroom are free, Blind adrenaline has a fee you pay every six months, but it is worth it if he is really into any of their games, because their interface is super great and they have a pretty dedicated community for several of the games. I had to quit playing Texas Holdem poker on there because I played too often. There are poker tournaments three times a week that normally get about thirty people.
Since he is into playing music he might be interested in getting into audio recording etc. although this takes a lot of time to get good at, and might be difficult for him to get into if he does not have great computer skills. He could also look up youtube videos to learn new songs or techniques on his guitar; there are videos out there for learning just about anything.
You might try the meat up web site to see what is going on around him. There can be lots of things to do, if he has a way of getting to them.
If he does not have great blindness skills he might think about attending an adult training center, such as the Louisiana Center for the blind or the Colorado center for the blind. I attended LCB and there were students of all ages. They kept us super busy from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM with training, and there was lots of stuff going on outside of those times. It could be a good community to make friends and learn from other blind people; it’s where I met my wife.
If he likes games there are several accessible online game platforms where he could play with other blind people. Three such platforms are RS games, QuentinC's playroom, and Blind adrenaline. RS games and QuentinC's playroom are free, Blind adrenaline has a fee you pay every six months, but it is worth it if he is really into any of their games, because their interface is super great and they have a pretty dedicated community for several of the games. I had to quit playing Texas Holdem poker on there because I played too often. There are poker tournaments three times a week that normally get about thirty people.
Since he is into playing music he might be interested in getting into audio recording etc. although this takes a lot of time to get good at, and might be difficult for him to get into if he does not have great computer skills. He could also look up youtube videos to learn new songs or techniques on his guitar; there are videos out there for learning just about anything.
You might try the meat up web site to see what is going on around him. There can be lots of things to do, if he has a way of getting to them.
If he does not have great blindness skills he might think about attending an adult training center, such as the Louisiana Center for the blind or the Colorado center for the blind. I attended LCB and there were students of all ages. They kept us super busy from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM with training, and there was lots of stuff going on outside of those times. It could be a good community to make friends and learn from other blind people; it’s where I met my wife.
bradley22 1 points 6y ago
Hello. I've not read any of the comments. (I'll read after making this post.) Is he into spiritual things? If so, meditation is awesome. Learn about astral projection, chi which is basicly energy or lifeforce and perhaps he could look into EVPS and that kind of stuff.
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