[blparent] Transitions

[Judy Jones]

Well, I have mixed feelings about this. Bare feet can be valuable. For instance, I like to go barefoot when cleaning floors, as one can pick up on missed particales that need to be swept up. But it seems that anyone, sighted or br, are going to distinguish between floor surfaces with bare feet. My question is, why make the ordinary seem remarkable?

I will also add that one can also detect slight changes in floor surfaces wearing shoes.

Another instance. When our office relocated to a new building, when the file cabinets were moved into place, several of us, sighted and blind, had difficulty 'in opening a particular cabinet and were gathered about, each trying a different solution. Another sighted colleague noticed the cabinet was not sitting quite level, so the rest of us moved it a few inches, which solved the problem. But note here, that a sighted person noticed the problem, where the rest of us, sighted and blind, did not.

Again, if we are wanting to fit into a sighted world, who thinks we're either remarkable, oh feeble, let's leave the ordinary as it is, and promote common sense. Blind people use object perception all the time, and several good common sense tips are listed below, and, no doubt, great discoveries for someone who has recently lost their sight. But all of this is common sense, and maximizing the use of senses give to human beings.



Judy
sent from the U2 Mini

----- Original Message -----
From: tmcgee3917 via BlParent  <blparent at nfbnet.org>
To:  blparent at nfbnet.org
CC: tmcgee3917 at aol.com
Date: Thursday, September 22, 2016 11:59 am
Subject: [blparent] Transitions

>
>
> ""Transitions??
> Many blind individuals experience their environment through various ways... Using a white cane, using a guide dog, using your fingers and the one method that I have perfected over the past few years, as I have been  losing more and more vision is experiencing my environment through my bare feet. As the seasons change, transition is more and more challenging for me, moving from spring and summer into fall and winter present many challenges for blind people for me it is going from bare feet around the house in the backyard to using shoes. A few years ago I might've thought that you were crazy, if you told me that I could deduce walls, surface changes, recognize when I was moving from one room to the next by detecting the change in temperature all through my bare feet. In fact it's true! I have perfected this skill over the past three years chasing around my now preschooler in my bare feet. I think it is truly incredible how I can recognize when I am playing with Desmond, that I might be getting closer and closer to A wall or a step simply by detecting changes in the environment through my bare feet. Many times you can become disoriented if you are crawling around on your hands and knees or spinning in a circle with your child as you were playing and perfecting the skill has been a welcomed addition to my toolbox of line tools. 
> Photo description:
> Upper left-hand photo: Tracy working her guide dog Chiffon, as she holds her preschooler Desmond's hand while traveling down the sidewalk.
> Upper right hand photo:  Tracy feeling her braille spices with her fingertip.
> Lower left-hand photo: Tracy using her white cane to navigate a campground.
> Lower right-hand photo: Tracy using her bare feet to distinguish between the hardwood floor and the hearth of the fireplace.
>  #Fall #Seasons #Transition #BrailleTools #WhiteCane #GuideDog #BrailleSpices
> #Nfb #LiveTheLifeYouWant
> 
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