New York State of Mind

This is going to be super, super long. It will also be posted in multiple places, so I'm just warning y'all. If you are interested in the trip, grab a cup of your favorite beverage and a snack and relax, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!

My SSP and I left MSY an hour and a half late. This meant that we arrived at LGA an hour and a half late. We found our driver waiting, and threw our suitcases into the back of his car. After some words about the dog (no, she doesn't bite), we headed to HKNC. New York was a lot greener than I Imagined it to be. It was about a 45 minute drive to the center.

We arrived and were shown to our room. My SSP, Laveau and I all shared a room. We quick freshened up and then ran to the pre-conference meeting.

First order of business was for Laveau, and the other guide dog, Walter to say hello. The other instructors were Bapin, and Scott Davert from HKNC and Bruce Visser from Seattle. We all chatted for a while and then got down to business, planning out the week and dividing up responsibilities.

I taught the Apple Mac portions of the program, and shared the Apple IOS section with Scott who, I might add, was a joy to work with. We got the interpreter situation mostly straightened out (so we thought) and broke up for the evening. I went and got dinner with my SSP, then it was back to the room where I fell into bed.

Monday started with more interpreter issues. We had five student trainers at this seminar, two were blind/hearing, one was sighted/hearing and two were Deafblind, in addition to the 4 Deafblind instructors using ASL either tactually or with close up tracking. Once we settled the interpreter situation, some people from HKNC talked about various things.

That afternoon, I worked with students, describing the keyboard layout of an Apple Mac, and using Apple mail. Once the classes were finished, we had a quick staff meeting where it was decided that we'd offer night labs for the rest of the week. After the meeting, Scott and I met in his office for a while and planned out the next day's sessions. And where I banged my head on his desk repeatedly and bemoaned my failure as a teacher.

Tuesday morning, I gave a presentation on the basics of using Apple Mac with the built-in screen reader, Voiceover, and braille support. I also talked about the differences between a screen reader for a PC and the Apple Voiceover. I introduced the finder, and screen layout, as well as the Voiceover keys and the Trackpad commander. I came away wanting a newer Mac, because mine doesn't have one of those nifty trackpad thingies.
That afternoon, I did more hands-on instruction-- watching as my student explored the finder.

That night, a few of us decided that all of the wholesome HKNC country living was making us crazy. We left the lab in the capable hands of Bapin and Bruce and went to a bar where we drank too much, laughed too much, and generally had a wonderful time, although we stayed out too late!

Wednesday morning, Scott and I presented on using Apple's iDevices with braille. I also did a demo of using IP Relay on an iPhone to make a phone call. We demonstrated other iOS apps such as Messages and Safari. Scott and I have the same sense of humor so made a good team.
That afternoon, I worked with students on using the rotor to change ways of navigating iDevices. That night I helped a student in the lab send her first email with a braille display and an iPod Touch. It is always my favorite part of teaching when my students accomplish a goal, which my student did, after some struggle. I also got to look at her Focus 40 Blue braille display. It was the newer model and I liked it.
Thursday was the Bruce Visser show, where he taught us all about screen magnification solutions for both Mac and PC. Bapin also showed us how to work with Window Eyes and Non Visual Desktop Access NVDA, which is a free screen reader for Windows machines.

By Thursday afternoon I was really dragging. I spent that time, working with hearing students. They each got to make a relay call, which was wonderful. It was also quite a bit of fun, as we kept finding things to laugh about during the session.

That evening, between afternoon and evening sessions, Scott, my SSP and I went into Port Washington where we met my friend Kerri for pizza. We had fun talking/texting across the table, and I got to try New York Pizza which was delicious. I was a good girl, and only had Coke.
That night's lab was more of the same working on making relay calls. After the lab was over, we had a bit of a gathering in my room which didn't break up until the early hours of the next day.

Friday was a killer day. I was really dragging. That morning, we learned more about NVDA and news apps for the iOS platform. I skipped lunch and instead went to my room and lay on my bed and tried not to fall into a deep sleep.

That afternoon was final tests, evaluations, and a funny incident involving another guide dog chewing on my chair and making it vibrate which startled me and made me laugh. It was probably made more humorous because I was very sleep deprived by that point.

That night turned into a big party. A bunch of us met at a bar in Port Washington. I decided that since I was on Long Island that I'd drink Long Island iced tea. I had about three of those, and then switched to a drink called the Motherfucker which had about seven different kinds of alcohol in it. I shared about five of those.

Now, since what happens in New York, stays in New York, I won't get into specifics. But I will say this. Some Deaf/Deafblind people may have gotten up and danced. And some Deaf/Deafblind people may have even sung kerioke. And some Deaf/Deafblind people may have even gotten pictures of them singing kerioke posted to Facebook. It was a very fun night, bruises and all! I wanted to be the designated driver, because alcohol improves my driving skill! However nobody believed me, and so I was bundled into a cab, and I staggered in around 2 ish.

The next day we went into New York City. My SSP and I had all of these plans about when we'd leave, and lets just say that we missed that 7:30 AM train. However we were on the rode by 11. We arrived in Penn Station, and after fortifying ourselves with the universal hangover cure of Star bucks, we took a subway to the Majestic Theater for Phantom of the Opera. While in the subway, I tried to walk off of a train platform, but thankfully, Laveau put herself in front of me and shoved me backward. Good dog, I guess I'll keep her!

I had originally called the Majestic in late June, to ask about ASL interpreters for Phantom. Their reply was that Deafblind people didn't go to the theater so I'd have to bring my own. So I talked to my SSP who happens to also be a law intern, and she worked her way up the chain of command. Nobody wanted to give me interpreters. They wanted to give me the script, and they wanted to do braille CART, but finally! PAH! A demand letter was written, and signed by a lawyer, explaining the law and requesting that they comply. And they did, four days before we were scheduled to see the play, we got word that I'd have interpreters.

I ate a New York hotdog, and showed up to the theater. It was old and beautiful, with intricate ironwork. I walked up a long and winding flight of steps to find that we had gotten our own private box.

It was so cool! So, so sosososososo! neat! There were comfortable chairs, and a table, complete with pillow, for me to rest my arms upon.

The play was amazing! I really enjoyed it, and loved the difference between everyday signing and this which was much more stylized and just, expressive in a totally unique way.

And since you are all probably falling asleep, I'll end this entry here and write another one all about my day in Manhattan!

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Pizza!

Don't get me wrong; I love to cook. However sometimes I'm feeling lazy and just want to order in and have dinner in my PJ's. Most of the time Mister Pawpower is around to call in our order, but when he is away, I go through what can only be described as phone hell to order dinner. It usually goes something like this.
I call the restaurant using Relay, and the person on the other end picks up:
Person: "Hello?"
Relay Operator: *explains relay*
P: "We don't want any"
*hang up*
Me: "redial number"
RO: *explains relay*
P: "I told you! I'm busy and don't want any!"
*hangs up*
Me: *gritting teeth and wondering if I should just suck it up and cook.
Eventually I get someone who isn't an idiot and I order dinner. Sometimes they won't listen so I send a nastygram to corporate, CC'ing the local manager. This usually results in shamed-face apology, as it should.

However, while perusing the iPhone App store, I found that Domino's has an app where you can order your pizza. It's very accessible with voiceover and a braille display. Better yet, I don't have to talk to ignorant people who don't listen to learn what relay is. Even better still, the app has a "pizza tracker" and it tells you where your pizza is in the making process, e.g. being made, cooking, out for delivery, etc. This was a liberating experience and their chocolate lava cakes are to die for. Now I have been spoiled by Domino's, I think all restaurants should have an app. Everyone accept the greek place who actually doesn't give me relay guff.

Pizza, anyone?

Tech? No!

I wanted to blog a bit about technology, and describe what kinds of technology are out there for Deafblind People.

The word Deafblindness is a broad term. It can mean someone who is hard of hearing, with low vision to a person who is profoundly deaf and totally blind. most deafblind people have a bit of sight, or a bit of hearing, or a bit of both. I, for example have a small bit of sight, but not enough to use for reading print, or signed conversations. I use braille and ASL tactually. I can also hear a bit but can only hear speech in quiet settings. If I am going to listen to audio long term, I plug a device called a streamer into my computer or iPod, and it links it directly with my hearing aid-- eliminating background noise and cranking up the volume. Since there are so many different combinations of "deafblindness" what works for one won't work for all.

I use a Macbook with a braille display. The display runs off of USB, and is "twenty cells" long which means that it displays twenty characters or spaces at a time. There is a program called Voice over which will either speak what is on the screen, or will translate it into braille to be read on my display.

I also use an iPhone with a braille display. I learned to operate the iPhone using the touch screen and various gestures. The iPhone has opened up new worlds for me. Until I got an iPhone, I couldn't make phone-calls independently when away from my computer. I use relay to make calls. I use AOL Instant messenger to connect with relay operators who call the number I want. They type in what the other party is saying. I read the conversation on my screen, and type back my answer. The relay operator then reads my answer back to the hearing person. It is a newer version of the TTY. But I could only use this on my computer. Until I got an iPhone and downloaded an application for AOL Instant Messenger and could now make phone calls to anyone, from anywhere.

This meant that I could call a cab for myself, when out doing the shopping. It meant that I could call the pharmacy to get refills for my meds while I was on the buss. It meant real independence. The iPhone has many other apps. I can identify money, the color of a shirt, the label on a can, and get hurricane warnings all on my iPhone. I can also do texting, which opens up a huge new world of communication possibilities for friends and family. I can also use GPS.

On Friday I took a buss from my office to the grocery store, I got on, paid my money, and opened up my iPhone and braille display. I started my GPS app, and it began naming the streets we were crossing, as well as the street addresses. I had told the driver where I was going when I got on, and also that I was deafblind and could she tap my leg when we got to my stop? But by watching the addresses move by on my braille display, I could know if we were coming close to my stop, could remind the driver about my stop, and could know when we arrived. This is more information about the environment than most deafblind people have ever had.

I also use a Braille Note. It is a small device-- about the size of a net book-- and is akin to a PDA. I can do things like compose documents, keep an address book, and read trashy romance novels, all on my Braille Note. This unit can also act as a braille display for my iPhone-- using bluetooth, it will reflect what is on my iPhone's screen or the screen of my Mac, when requested to do so. I also use my Braille Note to facilitate face-to-face communication. When going to a store, or an office, I can ask the person with whom I wish to communicate to type their message on my Braille Note's QWERTY keyboard. The message then appears in braille. The unit also has a USB port for a keyboard for use to caption meetings when I can't get an interpreter. The Braille Note can also go on the internet but I don't use this feature much because I find the speeds faster using my iPhone. I can read books from
<"Bookshare">
on there. Bookshare's collection is growing every day, and I can read books on almost any topic using my Braille Note.

There are also programs designed for computers and cell phones, for people who have low vision which make the font larger and the colors contrasting for easier reading. All of the programs I described have speech, so if a person has remaining hearing, they can use that. Whether you prefer Mac, Windows, or Linux, you use a braille display or large print, there is a computer out there which can meet the needs of almost everyone.

Since the iPhone is gaining in use amongst the deafblind population, I would like to start a series of blog entries about apps which are usable by, and helpful for, deafblind people. I will start out with my personal favorites, but would love to hear from any DBP out there who have a particular favorite app!