[Central-md-chapter] Session 1 notes on traveling independently during chapter meeting

[Graham Mehl]

Hi all,

 

In case  you were not able to attend the chapter meeting or were not able to
take notes at the meeting, I wanted to provide a recap on what was
discussed.

September 6, 2016 NFB Travel Tips

 

Discussions

1) How has blindness affected your shopping experiences?

2) How has blindness affected your restaurant experiences?

3) What are environmental cues (non cane) to help you travel?

 

Opening notes:

October 15, 2016 - White Cane Day - Panera Bread Columbia Mall

 

Get your free cane from NFB - call or online, one every six months
(fiberglass, straight cane)

Know the length you desire before calling.

 

Discussions

1) How has blindness affected your shopping experiences?

- Carrying your cane lets others know you're blind or visually impaired. 

- Calling ahead and going to customer service center helps the store provide
an assistant.

- Ask for directions.

- Know yourself - what is good for you may not be good for someone else.

- Write a list out for the assistant to help decrease discrepancy between
what you wanted or what you get.

- Ask specific questions of shoppers, including prices and whether a
different brand exists.

- Use smart phone list app so shopping assistant can go by that to gather
items with you.

- Ask to touch item before it is put in the shopping cart.

 

2) How has blindness affected your restaurant experiences?

- Go to familiar places, places where you've worked out problems and have
success.

- Dilemma: How do you overcome the awkwardness that may come with using a
cane and networking people?

- How do you tactfully let others know how to help or when not to help?

- Ask for chef to cut food items before the meal comes out.

- How do you find your chair? Leave an item (coat or bag) on the chair to
relocate it.

- Notice landmarks as you walk to help you orient yourself and relocate your
table or chair.

- Discretely call out to friends or associates to help orient yourself.

- Tapping or knocking on the table is not the best cue for others to orient
you - it's alarming and disturbing for the blind person and others around
you.

- Check the online menu before you go to have an idea of what you might
want.

- Use a device or app to OCR the menu. (KNFB Reader)

- Ask for a Braille menu.

- Ask someone to describe the orientation of the food on your plate.

3) What are environmental cues (non cane) to help you travel?

Indoor:

- sounds (water fountains, soda machines, doors opening and closing,
people's voices, escalator sounds, shoes, music playing)

- smells (restrooms, food, perfumes)

- textures (flooring)

- temperature changes

- lighting

- echoes (off of walls, large rooms or areas, narrow hallways)

 

Outdoor:

- traffic sounds (near, far, moving, stopped, parallel, position, volume,
direction of[one or two way])

- air traffic patterns

- sun's placement in the sky

- truncated domes (be careful, their orientation can put you in the middle
of the intersection rather than crossing it)

- street curbing, crowning (street center level is higher than sides),
ditches or gutters beside the street(which do not exist on driveways)

- intersection controls (traffic lights and stopsigns)

- land marks (fences, vegetation, bridges, train tracks, parking lots)

- texture of ground under your feet (asfault, cement, gravel, grass)

- texture of ground that traffic goes over(asfault, cement, gravel, railroad
tracks)

 

At the October chapter meeting will will have session 2, which will discuss
environmental clues with a white cane. And hands on experience with using
the cane.

So bring your canes if you have them. 

 

--

Graham Mehl

 <mailto:blind at trailstone.com> blind at trailstone.com

NFB Central Maryland Chapter, Vice President

LCB graduate, 2016

 

 <http://www.freedomscientific.com/Certification> 

 

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