Norine's Notes
Norine's Notes
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Rehabilitation
When I first lost my eyesight I thought my life was essentially over. Every day I realized how difficult it was to function without the use of my eyes. Walking from one room to another in my house was a challenge and source of accidents and falls. I could not pour a glass of water without spilling it, or a cup of coffee without burning myself. Trying to distinguish items in the refrigerator made the simple routines of eating a stressor. I had always preferred reading to TV, but reading was no longer an option. I tried to kill time in front of the TV, but with today’s cinematography emphasis on spectacular visual effects, I simply became more frustratingly aware of what I was missing. I felt depressed, sorry for myself, and discouraged. I especially disliked my almost total dependence on others. For too long, I unrealistically cushioned my reality with denial – everything would be better; any day now I would wake up and be able to see again. My husband and family at first gently, then ever more convincingly, let me know that I still had a great deal of control over my life and future. I could choose to withdraw into my dark world and let others take care of me, or I could accept my blindness as a change, and learn new ways to live life accommodating for this change. The later option was the most appealing, but I was not sure how it could be accomplished. It didn’t take much research to learn about the Florida Division of Blind Services. Once I contacted them I learned of numerous rehabilitation education programs and was immediately signed up for the most fundamental ones. Rehabilitation means learning how to do things in a different way. The person learns to accommodate using senses other than sight. I learned that a program of rehabilitation that would be most useful for me would include the following components: Independent Living and Coping Skills, Orientation and Mobility, Computer Training, and Braille.
I was assigned to be a client at Florida Institute of Rehabilitation Education (FIRE) and was provided with individual and group lessons by professional staff in my home and environment as well as at the facility. FIRE helped me learn mobility (getting about blind), independent living, and Braille.
As I became more proficient in managing my every day living I took advantage of another rehabilitation opportunity provided by the state of Florida. I spent several weeks living and working in the Daytona Beach Training Center. There I learned to use the adaptive technology and adaptive software that once again allowed me full access of my computer and the internet. In the following pages (links above) I will talk about my experiences in each of these, but first I want to express some of my thoughts about rehabilitation in general. Rehabilitation education is there and it works! Most programs are individualized or offer components for various age groups and education and interest levels. All these programs are for people who are legally blind which does not necessarily mean totally blind. They are usually state funded and thus available at no cost to the blind or visually impaired person. The best part is they can change a situation of total dependence to total independence. The sad part is how underutilized they are. The majority of visually impaired persons have lost their vision, or become legally blind after the age of 60. Health care workers are often reluctant to refer them or discuss such programs with them. Perhaps for some it is a feeling of an admission of failure for not being able to cure or fix the problem. Unfortunately, many physicians and older people feel such vision loss is just another one of the problems that goes along with aging, and just has to be accepted. Families too see and accept this as the older persons expected loss of dependence and delve into the caretaking aspects rather than the rehabilitation potentials. Rehabilitation guarantees a fuller more independent life for any person in any stage of life. The program can be as brief and simple or as long term and complex as best meets the needs of any individual.
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