<div dir="ltr">Hello All,<div>While social distancing is important, it can be quite challenging for us.</div><div>Please see the article below.</div><div>Mary Silverberg</div><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Hartford
Courant <sub>I</sub> Section 4 I Sunday, March 7.2021 <br>
<br>
<b>Its hard to distance when you can’t see 6 feet</b></span></p>
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</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">An employee assists Will Butler, who Is legally blind, on
Jan.31 at a California grocery store. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><br>
Visually impaired facing new hurdles in pandemic world <br>
By Lila Seidman <br>
Los Angeles Times </span></p>
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LOS ANGELES — Will Butler breezed through the entrance of the Silver Lake
Trader Joe's, bypassing a small line of shoppers waiting to get in. An employee
monitoring access said nothing as Butler swept a red-tipped white cane to find
his way inside. <br>
Butler had no idea he'd cut in front </span></p>
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"How would I find the liner the legally blind 31-year-old asked.” <br>
This time, there were no problems, but that's not always the case. On Sundays,
"when the line is super long and everyone's like really scared and grumpy
no one will offer any help," he said. On those days, Butler makes his way
to the back of the queue, trying to maintain a socially distanced space without
being able to <i>see </i>it. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Like
so many challenges wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, grocery store lines are
just one of the new impediments thrown, literally, into the way of the
visually impaired. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Those
in the blind and low-vision community have long faced challenges now
synonymous with the pandemic: social isolation, mobility limitations,
classroom dynamics that are less than ideal. But the crisis has exacerbated
those problems. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Friends
aren't volunteering as many favors. Sighted strangers who may have previously
lent a hand are more skittish to approach. Visually impaired children who
learned daily tasks with a hand to guide their own are now relying on exhaustive
verbal descriptions over video chats. And public transportation and
ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft — lifelines for those who can't drive
or live alone — now pose potential health risks. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">"Everybody's
feeling kind of shut in right now and out of touch with people, but we already
have that isolation. So, for us, it just has deepened even more said Diane
Wilkinson, 56, who has retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative retinal disease. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Visual
cues during the pandemic are difficult to navigate for those who can't <i>see.
</i>It is impossible to tell whether someone is 6 feet away or wearing a
mask. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">And
<u>masks</u> present other obstacles. Butler helps orient himself with the
sound of voices, which can be muffled behind cloth or plastic barriers.</span></p>
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Wilkinson still has some peripheral vision, and masks can obscure the limited
sight she has. <br>
She sometimes bumps into people. In prep an-demic times, most were
understanding. Now, she said, they're scared. </span></p>
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The access and administration of coronavirus<sup>.</sup> us tests can be a
challenge too. Many of the testing sites are drive-thru. The visually impaired
could hail a ride to a testing facility, but many are financially disadvantaged
and can't afford the extra trip. Mail order tests are an option, but many can't
read the instructions. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">For
those living on their own, like Butler, getting COVID -19 Is kind of your
worst nightmare," said Butler, who began losing his vision when he was
19 from a retinal detachment <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">"You
can't see already, but what COVTD does is, if it's bad, it'll disengage your
ability to speak," he said. "So, if you can't write and you can't
speak and you can't see the FaceTime call, you can't do anything but listen.
It's like torture <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">An
app called Be My Eyes, for which Butler works, allows volunteers to assist
visually impaired people by describing what the user points at with their phone
camera. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">It
has partnered with Accessible Pharmacy, a home-delivery pharmacy based in
Philadelphia that specializes in services for the blind and low-vision
community. Users can order medications with Braille labels or have COVED-19
test instructions read to them. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">But
many in the blind community don't know' about that option, Butler said, noting
he wished bigger pharmacies would provide such services. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">The
Braille Institute — a nonprofit organization that serves nearly 12,900 adults
and children across the county — <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">offers
three times as many support group sessions to students in Southern California
as it did a year ago<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">when
the coronavirus was first detected in the U.S., according to Sergio Oliva,
associate vice president of the institute's programs and services. Because of
COVID-19 restrictions, all sessions are provided over the phone or online. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">"Just
close your eyes and imagine all you can do is hear what is going on:' Oliva
said. 'It brings a lot of anxiety. It brings a lot of depression!' <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Troubleshooting
a video session — a messy room showing up in the frame or the web camera
being too close to your face — is awkward enough for those who can see. For
those who can't, it can be a daunting task, especially for young children who
have to face sometimes less -than-sensitive classmates. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">"Video
meeting, it's a very visual medium," said Matthew Beckwith, the youth
programs manager at the Braille Institute. "So, for kids who have visual
impairments, it's a matter of how do you actually engage?" <br>
<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">The
Braille Institute offers specialized supplemental classes and now sends young
students a "distance-learning kit" with tools such as a smart-phone
or a tablet stand, Beckwith said. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">But
not all teachers are convinced that distance learning is feasible for the
visually impaired. <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Krista
Bulger, a teacher in Vancouver, Washington, who works exclusively with
visually impaired children, says the kind of hands-on education offered
inside a classroom to students with disabilities "can't be replicated in
the same way. It just can't" <br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Many
with visual impairments who've been forced to become tech savvy during the
pandemic aren't digital natives. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">"It
is a technology hill to climb—to learn, but it feels good to be on
that," said Annette Nickerson, 81, who learned to use video meeting
software through the Braille Institute. Nickerson has macular degeneration,
one of the most common causes of vision loss for older people. <br>
<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Coronavirus
restrictions have led to the loss of gym access and in-person classes, which
can be isolating, Nickerson said. But with the ability to make video calls
from her computer and phone, she can meet friends and family more safely. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">And
technology also has adapted to COVED-19 protocols. Sunu, an armband that uses
echolocation-like technology to help guide the visually impaired, now offers
a setting to alert users when someone or something is 6 feet away.<br>
<br>
</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:white;display:none">OCR in
progress. Please wait for additional content.</span><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;display:none"></span></p>
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