Information for writers with disabled characters

Hey everyone. Today I thought I'd post about something which I think should be pretty familiar to everybody. I originally posted this elsewhere on Dreamwidth, but I think that other comm has been abandoned. So here's my updated post to that other comm regarding getting around. Ya know, getting around and doing stuff? I'm not talking about finding one's way around one's own house, apartment, etc., or finding one's way around in a public place. That last one can get a bit iffy though, mainly depending on the size of the public place in question. What I'm talking about here is transportation, and the ability to travel outdoors independently. I am specifically referring to something called orientation&mobility, which is abbreviated as O&M. It is basically when a specialist in this field comes out and shows somebody who cannot see well--or somebody who cannot see at all--how to get around independently. There are specifics here which I won't get into, not because I don't want to but because that's not really what this entry is about. There are numerous O&M resources out there, and I'm sure if you Google "orientation & mobility" you will find them. A good website to check out though is http://www.afb.org . Another good one is http://www.aph.org . What I do want to rant about today though is the lack of formal O&M instruction I--and at least a couple others--have had within the past several years. I know that at times funding is not that great, but I would at least like a straight answer as to whom in the heck to speak with regarding a remedy for this situation. Please allow me to elaborate a bit here on my own personal experiences with this. Before doing so though, I'd like to publicly acknowledge all the O&M instructors who worked with me over the years. They all did a terrific job, and I seriously doubt I'd have the cane travel skills I do today had they not worked with me. I doubt any of them are reading this, but who knows? But here is a bit about my recent travel experience. I only go out when somebody is with me, or when I can book a trip on paratransit. I'll get to paratransit in a bit though. I've had family, friends, and neighbors show me around the area a bit. In addition, a formal O&M instructor did work with me for a very brief period a few years ago. Her solution to crossing the street independently was a card that basically said: "I'm blind, please help me across the street!" I was to stand there and hold the card, with my elbow bent, until someone happened along and maybe offered assistance. Either that, or yell and kick and scream to no end about the installation of audio or vibrotactile traffic signals in this area. I tried phoning the city about that with the assistance of somebody who was working with me at the time, and we were met with a somewhat condescending response. I'm not willing to do that again, because I have a thing about advocacy. Not all advocacy, but some advocacy. So as y'all can probably imagine, I'm rather annoyed at this and I really wish something would be done about it once and for all. I'm not always going to have someone around to help me, as much as I'd like to in certain situations. I'm sure this is true of others as well. I was told several years ago that only qualified professionals in the field should be showing me this stuff. I guess perhaps this does at least make some sense, when one really thinks about it. If there's absolutely no way to get a formal O&M instructor out here to show me what I need to know--as in physically taking me to intersections and having me travel--I would at least like to know a bit more about this area. After all, there is the ever-present safety concern which as we all know is important too.

Now, a brief discussion on ADA paratransit for those unfamiliar with it. It is colloquially termed door-to-door, or curb-to-curb in some areas. In order to be eligible for it one must meet a stringent set of criteria. Again I will not discuss this criteria here, as it is probably available by searching online. But where I live, one is only allowed to phone in their ride reservations a single day in advance, and weekend availability is iffy. It used to be that riders could only phone in their ride reservations at the crack of dawn the day prior to their scheduled trip. Often times when doing this, I would get a call at dinner telling me that my ride times had been bumped up, or some such thing. However, the call-in times were extended a bit. So I'll admit the service here used to be a lot worse, but still we're not quite where we should be in my books. So with that, I'll close this long-winded post. Thoughts anyone?

Hello. I am rather new to Dreamwidth and came across this comm a couple nights ago. So I thought I'd join. Hopefully people are still posting here, or will be. But I'd be happy to be listed here as a resource, and/or answer questions. I was born blind, with light perception in both eyes. I can only sense light and dark; no colors or shapes or anything of that nature. I am currently only active on Twitter. I'm going to delete my Facebook account, if I can figure out how to do that myself or get somebody with working eyeballs to help me. In addition, I help out with social media for a local nonprofit organization called JJ's List. I haven't been active with them recently, due to travel limitations and something else which I won't get into on here. But our Twitter handle is @jjslist, if any of you care to follow us. We're also on Facebook, but I'm not doing that since Facebook's accessibility with screen readers is questionable. But our website is http://www.jjslist.com . Hope to hear from someone here soon.