Queen Alexandra College (QAC) are once again bringing their Sight Village exhibition to London.
 
QAC say “The Roadshow allows visitors to come and find out more about the latest technology, equipment and support services available to people who are blind or partially-sighted. If you or a family member have a visual impairment it could be of great help to visit the show. We also welcome a wide range of professionals that support people with visual impairments and businesses looking to better meet the needs of their employees and customers.”
 
Vicky and I already have pre-registered and will be attending on Tuesday 6th November. We had a great time last year, meeting many of the exhibitors and updating ourselves on the latest equipment and services available for vision impaired people and we’re hoping to do the same again this year. Of particular interest to us, AIRA will be present this year and with this service about to roll out in the UK, it will be good to see first-hand how this really works. The new OrCam is also meant to be a great device so it’ll be interesting to see this compared to last year’s version.
 
If you’re heading to the exhibition on Tuesday 6th November then keep a look out for Vicky and I; we’ll have our VIDA shirts on so will be relatively easy to spot for most of you!
 
The exhibition specifics…
 
Date & Times
Tuesday 6 November, 10:00 – 17:00
Wednesday 7 November, 10:00 – 15:30
 
Venue
The Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, W8 7NX.
 
Food & Drink
Refreshments are available for purchase throughout the event.
 
 
For more information about the exhibition and to pre-register, visit: http://www.qac.ac.uk/exhibitions/sight-village-southeast/3.htm
 
We’re always interested to know about other people’s experiences and thoughts. Please share these by commenting…
 
Interested to learn more about VIDA Training? Read about our Training and Consultancy packages, specialising in Vision Impairment and Disability Awareness, Communication and Team Building or contact us for further information.

Vicky: In reading Dave’s post last week it struck me that there must be a fine balance between getting on with life and learning to live with sight loss/vision impairment but also wondering if there is a chance that vision may be restored in the future. I guess it’s the same with a lot of different impairments. Last year Dave and I took part in the Run in the Dark event in London for the Mark Pollock Trust, funding research into a cure for paralysis. Mark Pollock is blind and had a spinal injury following a fall from a hotel room and now pioneers research into potential cures for paralysis.
 
On the other side of the coin, Dave and I have read articles before by people with vision impairments who say they wouldn’t accept a cure for blindness should one become available to them as they have ‘accepted’ being blind and that it has shaped their lives and makes them who they are. I have also read similar comments from people who are wheelchair users.
 
However, there are many others who say they haven’t ‘accepted’ their condition but learnt to live with it the best they can, making the best of life as Dave said in his blog last week but who certainly wouldn’t turn down a cure if it was offered to them.
 
It’s a difficult one to get our heads around if we don’t consider ourselves to have an impairment. I guess none of us really know how we would feel, cope or respond if we’re not in that position. I know a colleague of ours who is a wheelchair user, was told by someone (in quite a patronising tone) that he was ‘such an inspiration’ and responded, politely, that he has little choice and was just getting on with his life.
 
At the other end of the spectrum though, a recent discussion on a Facebook group called ‘VI Talk’ included comments that people with vision impairments had received from those with sight. One of these was ‘I would rather die than be blind’. One person said they had responded to this comment by saying ‘Why wait?’ which made me smile.
 
So no easy answers apart from getting to know someone or ask them rather than making assumptions or passing judgements. I saw an adaptation of the saying ‘never judge a man until you’ve walked in his shoes’ which read ‘Don’t judge me till you walk a mile in my shoes or spend a day in my life’. I think it’s a good maxim to live by!
 
Dave:
I think there is a fine line here and it definitely depends on the person and their situation. I do remember talking to a vision impaired lady many years ago and her saying that having no sight was easier than when she had just a little bit. I couldn’t get my head around this and still can’t really as I feel that even a little vision is helpful. However, I do lots in the dark so maybe the little vision I have isn’t needed all the time – maybe I’ll write an Insight on that soon!
 
We’re always interested to know about other people’s experiences and thoughts. Please share these by commenting…
 
Interested to learn more about VIDA Training? Read about our Training and Consultancy packages, specialising in Vision Impairment and Disability Awareness, Communication and Team Building or contact us for further information.

White cane day isn’t celebrated in the UK as much as it is around the world but we thought that we would give it a mention… #WhiteCaneDay.
 
As a white cane user myself (Dave), the white cane is the one item that I can’t leave the house without (obviously other than my clothes and shoes!).
 
Simple yet effective, the white cane allows me to have a reasonable level of independence and, if the sweeping technique is used correctly, it enables me to detect steps, kerbs and other hazards such as lamp posts, A frames and cars parked on the pavements.  What it doesn’t detect is overhanging objects such as trees and bushes. This is one of the reasons why I wear my sunglasses nearly all the time as they protect my eyes from being poked or scratched from these things. If you have a pavement outside your house, please ensure that you keep your trees, hedges or bushes well-trimmed.  
 
Here are 5 facts you might not know about the white cane:
1.    To suit the shortest children to the tallest adults, canes come in all sizes, some as long as 6ft (1.85m) tall.
2.    Some people tap their canes for the audio feedback, while others keep continuous contact with the ground.
3.    Canes can have dozens of different tips: plastic, metal, round, flat, soft, hard and rolling. All serve a different purpose and are appropriate in different environments (depending on the floor surface).
4.    The majority of canes fold up but some are telescopic and some are rigid.
5.    Although the international white cane is white in colour, you can get canes in different colours or with bright patterns on. These are sometimes preferred by children and teenagers and it is felt that it is better for them to use a cane to get around safely than not use one because it is white.
 
If you see me or anyone else out using a white cane, please remember these 3 things…
 
1.    Acknowledge that you’re there. Most vision impaired people are tuned in to their environments and can hear you coming towards them. Hiding in a hedge or jumping out of the way makes you look silly; just say ‘Hi’!
2.    Getting around without sight can be daunting and we do have to concentrate on where we are all the time. It is therefore appreciated if you, the sighted person, moves out of our way when we’re approaching. You can see where you’re going; we’re likely to get lost if we go off our memorised route or can get disorientated if we need to turn to avoid you.
3.    If you see someone with a White Cane  waiting to cross a road, rather than assume that we need help, ask us if we would like some assistance with knowing when it is safe to cross – we don’t usually bite!! J
 
We’re always interested to know about other people’s experiences and thoughts. Please share these by commenting…
 
Interested to learn more about VIDA Training? Read about our Training and Consultancy packages, specialising in Vision Impairment and Disability Awareness, Communication and Team Building or contact us for further information.

I’m (Dave) very much a realist when it comes to my sight and live each day as best I can using the limited sight that I have. I’m regularly asked if there is any treatment or operations that I could have to improve or restore my sight and my simple answer to these questions is ‘No, not really’.
 
However, I have spoken to my consultant at Moorfields about the research in to my condition (Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP)) and have had discussions about retina implants and in particular the Argus II ‘bionic eye’ developed by American company Second Sight Medical Products, as this is the most advanced treatment currently available for RP in particular.
 
“Surgeons at Manchester and Moorfields Eye Hospital made history by delivering the world’s first trial of the Argus II Bionic Eye implants in RP. Specialists at both Hospitals initially supported early studies, which demonstrated that the Argus II restores a degree of visual function to patients who have suffered complete blindness due to the condition.” (https://www.england.nhs.uk/2016/12/bionic-eye-surgery/)
 
Currently my small amount of vision is probably better than what I would get from the Argus II and I don’t have to wear camera glasses or charge batteries, etc. so this treatment isn’t on my radar just yet. However, I do believe that there might be a light at the end of the tunnel (I couldn’t help myself with this pun) either via a bionic eye or with stem cell treatments.
 
A story broke recently that pricked my interest about a bionic eye that had been printed using a 3D printer. I read an article on the Daily Mail website that covered the story quite well…
 
“Scientists have taken another important step towards building the world's first bionic eye, which could give millions of blind people the chance to see again.
 
In a world first, a team of researchers have built a three-dimensional artificial 'eyeball' capable of detecting changes in light levels.
 
The bionic eye, which mimics the function of the retina in order to restore sight, works in tandem with an implant to convert the images it sees into electrical impulses for the retinal cells, which carry image signals back to the brain.
 
By using 3D printing, scientists were able to produce the prototype much faster than previous efforts – sparking hope this could be a viable commercial solution in the future. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6109589/One-step-closer-creating-worlds-bionic-EYE-Scientists-3D-print-prototype-eyeball.html).”
 
It is the 3D printing that took my interest in particular and the ability to print light detecting electrodes on a curve. I remember attending an exhibition in London 6 or 7 years ago that showcased 3D printing and what you could do using this new technology. Items ranged from candle stick holders and small ornaments to remote control cars through to some pretty cool stuff like personalised printed electric guitars and drum kits. Back then they were talking about 3D printing being available in the home in 10 – 20 years with the future being that you’ll be able to download a template and print your own parts – circuit boards for washing machines for example. I certainly didn’t think back then that this technology, particularly in such a short time period, would be printing a bionic eye or could be the answer to restoring my sight!
 
As I mentioned at the beginning, I am a realist and am not expecting my vision to be restored before I die, however, I am excited by this kind of developments as it demonstrates that work is being done and there could be hope, if not for me, for people in the future.
 
We’re always interested to know about other people’s experiences and thoughts. Please share these by commenting…
 
Interested to learn more about VIDA Training? Read about our Training and Consultancy packages, specialising in Vision Impairment and Disability Awareness, Communication and Team Building or contact us for further information.

In a recent post – “Playing to our strengths” (http://vidatraining.weebly.com/blog/70-playing-to-our-strengths), we briefly touched on fatigue. I, Vicky, think this is something people frequently forget when considering the impact of many different impairments/disabilities unless they can actually see/imagine it for themselves. So, when watching someone self propel a wheelchair up a slope, people can see and therefore imagine the physical impact and that it’s potentially quite tiring (although for some fit wheelchair users, probably less tiring than walking up the same slope would be for others!).
 
However, people don’t usually consider fatigue when thinking about other conditions and impairments and it’s another one of those hidden impacts we have mentioned in previous blogs (like our one for World Alzheimer’s Day – https://vidatraining.weebly.com/blog/77-a-huge-hug-for-september-worldalzheimersday).
 
For example, on a recent training course, Dave mentioned that he experiences fatigue as his vision impairment means he has to keep a mental picture in his head of where he is, the layouts of rooms, orientation for when he’s out etc. and that this is tiring.
 
One of the participants on the course who is a Deaf sign language user, agreed, saying that for him the additional level of concentration required every day is exhausting.
 
It was also mentioned recently in a blog by Wendy Mitchell, who writes about her life with dementia. Wendy’s blogs are about her everyday life and often discuss the huge amount of meetings she participates in, the book she has written and a wide variety of interviews etc that she undertakes. However, this post touched on the fatigue of living with dementia. Wendy writes:
‘For me, having a shower in the morning is exhausting. I’ve always had a shower before going downstairs for a cuppa tea and I see this now still as important. My cuppa tea is my reward for this exhausting process. When the brain is still waking; when the process of working out what to do takes so much; when the simple act of breathing while water is streaming over your head is a mission. Having a shower is exhausting for so many reasons….
‘I often say how exhausting it is to have dementia. Imagine how physically exhausting it would be to swim in the sea against the tide, being carried away by the current and fighting your way back to shore. Well that’s what it feels like mentally 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Thinking distance has been swum yet still no further to shore or swept away with the current further than you thought.’ - https://whichmeamitoday.wordpress.com/2018/06/28/dementia-can-be-exhausting/.
 
Wendy ends this blog by saying ‘Can you imagine living in our world……?’
 
The answer for most of us is probably no, but we can all raise our awareness…
 
We’re always interested to know about other people’s experiences and thoughts. Please share these by commenting…
 
Interested to learn more about VIDA Training? Read about our Training and Consultancy packages, specialising in Vision Impairment and Disability Awareness, Communication and Team Building or contact us for further information.