Blind and Visually Impaired Community
↑
11
↓
Any accomodation advice? (self.Blind)
submitted by Anya_3
Hoping for some advice! I am going to a conference for work this week hosted by a vendor that our company does business with. I had called ahead requesting slides and materials in advance to accommodate for my visual impairment as I cannot see presentations no matter how close I sit or read standard 12 font. The conference facilitator provided the slides she had but it was very limited and she was reluctant to ask the presenters to try and help accomodate. Any tips on how to accommodate in this type of situation?
Also annoying because we are HR professionals and if we can't provide access to diverse participants at our own conferences, who can....
Thanks for the help!!
Also annoying because we are HR professionals and if we can't provide access to diverse participants at our own conferences, who can....
Thanks for the help!!
multi-instrumental 7 points 4y ago
Ask her again but in a firmer manner. Tell her that it's incredibly important so that you can follow the presentations. Explain yourself better.
If that doesn't work then escalate until the situation is fixed. Make sure you're reasonable/polite. I've been on your end a lot (in certain aspects) these past few years.
If that doesn't work then escalate until the situation is fixed. Make sure you're reasonable/polite. I've been on your end a lot (in certain aspects) these past few years.
KillerLag 3 points 4y ago
Definitely this. Being rude gives them reasons for cutting you off. Keep escalating, and if necessary, try to reach their manager. If there is concerns regarding confidentiality, they may want assurances you wouldn't share it (although it sounds like the information is being given freely... some places don't like handing out copies of information still. My brother's bank is like that).
multi-instrumental 1 points 4y ago
It's almost never an issue of someone being truly rude (I've only had it happen once to me and I'm sad to say I didn't take the "high road"). It's *almost* always a situation where they just don't fully understand your limitations or needs.
It would be nice if more people considered blind people when it came to document creation especially file text that is either compatible with or has the possibility to be converted into a file type that a refreshable braille display can read. The biggest issue is PDFs are huge and reading them in braille is usually a massive pain in the ass. I'm sure life isn't easy for the deaf or hearing impaired either.
I still have a decent amount of my vision left but I've found that reading braille on a refreshable braille display is far more comfortable & it makes me about 5 times more productive. I'm having to completely transition careers as well and people have been very accommodating.
It would be nice if more people considered blind people when it came to document creation especially file text that is either compatible with or has the possibility to be converted into a file type that a refreshable braille display can read. The biggest issue is PDFs are huge and reading them in braille is usually a massive pain in the ass. I'm sure life isn't easy for the deaf or hearing impaired either.
I still have a decent amount of my vision left but I've found that reading braille on a refreshable braille display is far more comfortable & it makes me about 5 times more productive. I'm having to completely transition careers as well and people have been very accommodating.
Fange_Strellow 3 points 4y ago
Get the materials you can ahead of time and then use your assistive technology if you can to read it. Ask lots of questions of the presenters, and let them know you’re visually impaired. Sit with someone who will talk and describe a lot to you so that you get the information. Introduce yourself to the presenters and ask for the materials directly after the presentation. It’s all well and good to ask for and demand accommodations ahead of time but the reality is they’re not always going to be there and so you will need to adapt your self in order to get what you need.
SLJ7 1 points 4y ago
What does "she was reluctant to ask the presenters"mean? That's really the key here. But the bottom line is that one of you needs to reach out to those presenters directly, and if she's getting in the way of that communication then you need to take it higher. Reluctance is a bullshit excuse when we're talking about your ability to actually participate in the presentation. It probably violates several laws as well as basic human decency. So if she wasn't clear on why she was reluctant, that might be a place to start. You need to be firm and remember that you deserve these extremely basic accommodations. Ask yourself how you'd feel if it were someone else; it might help you come across like you mean it.
This nonprofit website is run by volunteers.
Please contribute if you can. Thank you!
Our mission is to provide everyone with access to large-
scale community websites for the good of humanity.
Without ads, without tracking, without greed.
scale community websites for the good of humanity.
Without ads, without tracking, without greed.
©2023 HumbleCat Inc • HumbleCat is a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Michigan, USA.