A lesson that could change the lives of visually impaired people

Former Boeing engineers, retired school principals and firemen, mothers, fathers, spouses, the elderly and the youthful are all present in the cross-section of North Carolina society taking part in an opportunity that will teach them to live with partial vision loss or blindness.

ìWe all just assume amongst us that all of us here have some sort of visual impairment,î says Dorothy Frye, a participant at the Mini-Center. ìBut we all have one thing in common. We have had to make a change in our lives.

The North Carolina Division of Services for the Blind is conducting a workshop for independent living and rehabilitation services in the form of ìMini-Centers for Persons with Visual Lossî at Southern Pines United Methodist Church.

The Mini-Center is a community-based learning center for individuals with severe visual impairments. Classes are usually held once a week for a 12-week period of time, providing a variety of services for the visually impaired.

Karen DíEmo, an independent living counselor from the North Carolina Division of Health and Human services, is overseeing this workshop. Mini-Center classes are created to help individuals maintain their independence.

ìSome of the real successes are when someone learns something in class and then goes and successfully does the same thing at home,î says DíEmo. ìThere is such a feeling of accomplishment doing it themselves and not asking for help. If we can offer some tips or different ways of doing things that can reduce frustration, it gives something to get them through.

It was becoming too dependent on my husband,î says Sheryl Smith, a participant. ìWe all have to go on. You have to. Here you learn for yourself, and you ask people to help you less and less and less.
Classes include cooking and using a crockpot or microwave to prepare meals easily, eating techniques, and diet and nutrition. Students are working in small groups in order to solve problems together while learning to measure liquid amounts safely, use a stovetop and safely cook for themselves in a group setting. They can then carry this knowledge with them and use it in their own homes.

ìYou learn the safety features of getting around in the kitchen,î says Frye. ìThere are other things you can do besides using your stove top. We learn how to make easy recipes, but the main thing is safety. We learn how to do things we did before, but just in a different way.

Students are also learning labeling and writing techniques. Many have figured out how to use bright colors or large, adhesive letters in order to organize their belongings.

Mobility, traveling safely with limited vision and learning to use a white cane are also being taught. One-by-one, Mini-Center participants are being led into an unfamiliar room in order to practice using a sighted guide.

Sighted guides are done by locking arms with visually impaired persons and leading them while utilizing subtle arm signals that can cue those with impaired vision into their surroundings. For example, moving the guiding arm behind the body will notify the guided person to walk behind you because of a narrow passage way.

Cleaning, laundry and repair techniques are also being taught. Visually impaired students have adapted and learned how to sew buttons onto clothing, and use tools such as hammers in order to do something as simple as hanging a picture, made complicated by loss of sight.

The Mini-Center will teach participants how to shave safely and apply cosmetics, as well as learn grooming techniques that can make their lives simpler.

Mini-Center participants may also take advantage of adaptive devices made readily available to them, low vision magnifiers, leisure activities and special library services such as signing up for audio books from the North Carolina Library for the Blind. The center may also provide sun shades to eliminate ultraviolet rays, telephone directory services and telephones for the blind.

People with visual impairments are compensating for their loss of sight by pushing the development of their other senses.

ìYour fingertips become your eyes,î says Frye. ìMy vision impairment, to me, is just an impairment. I never claim blindness because a blind person can see with fingers and hands.

Peer support, sharing ideas and feelings with other people with vision loss, and creating friendships are among the many goals of Mini-Centers.

ìMost of these people didnít know each other before this program, but now they call each other all the time and have developed a network,î says DíEmo. ìItís amazing the changes you see in people throughout the program. Some of the people get very shut-in in their homes. Transportation is not available. Of course their family sees them, but their contacts are very limited. As a result they get comfortable cut off from the world. They may not see how the program will work for them until they get here, and then it becomes the highlight of the week for them because they get out and do something. They have gotten really excited and look forward to the program.

ìI realized I wasnít alone,î says Frye. ìThere are other people who have the same difficulty. Your attitude changes. Iím no longer depressed. I come in here and I feel normal. Here you can lose track of time, itís never been boring. I look forward to this every single week. I always learn something, and you donít learn unless you are challenged. I want to attend all of them and see what else I can learn.

There is no charge to participate in a Mini-Center. Instructors are supplied by the North Carolina Division of Services for the Blind. Transportation, and supplies are provided for all participants.
For more information on Mini-Centers, contact the North Carolina Division of Services for the Blind at (910) 733-4234 or 1-800-422-1884. Jamie Perkins, social worker for the Blind in Moore County, can also be contacted at the Department of Social Services at 947-2436.

Martha Tyree, a recent graduate of Appalachian State University, is an intern for The Pilot.