Making Writing Accessible

This week, my publishers, Book Republic, agreed to release the rights of The Pink Cage to the library run by National Council for the Blind (NCBI). They didn’t have to do it. After all, the NCBI Library is copyright exempt, so there are no royalties to be gained. But they showed themselves to be leaders in making books accessible to visually impaired people without the usual delay.

Visualy impaired and blind people get a raw deal when it comes to books. Whereas the rest of us can stroll into a bookshop, pick up the hottest new release and get stuck into it straight away, blind people have to wait two or three years before an audio book publisher picks it up or the book is converted to Braille. I continue to feel incredibly lucky and privileged that I can read regular print at close range, that there is no barrier between me and the printed word.

Blind and visually impaired people read books in various ways. Braille and audio are the best known and there are also large print books for partially sighted people. Some people scan books onto their computers and use their screen readers or magnification software to read.

Things have improved somewhat with the arrival of the ebook, but ebooks come in PDF form and most PDFs aren’t picked up by screenreader software. And for magnifier users like me, the print is faint and close packed. Even with my magnifier, I still have to plus plus plus it to get it some way readable. Still, when the text to speech function in an ebook is enabled, people using screenreaders can read ebooks. And the good news is, the text to speech has been enabled on the Pink Cage ebook, so it’s accessible right now.

When the book comes into the NCBI library, it will be available in Braille, audio and large print. I reckon I’ll get hold of a large print book for readings, so I won’t have to bring a rainforest of paper with me. I’ve been told work will begin on the book in August, so I’m looking forward to spreading the word when it’s available.

Making books accessible needn’t be just a feelgood gesture from publishers. It’s estimated that 200,000 people in this country have some sort of sight problem. So there’s a whole market of book lovers to be tapped into if publishers make the leap and strive to make books accessible as quickly as possible.

 

 

 

Full, Clean Driving Licence

These words, in a job advertisement, could be seen as prejudiced against people with disabilities. But I don’t think so. I don’t see well enough to drive a car and I’d rather know upfront if driving is a requirement. Then I won’t have to waste time applying for a job I won’t be able to do.

When I finished college, I applied to every radio station in the country for a job. One of them gave me a week’s trial. When I got there, they immediately told me that they couldn’t give me a job because they needed someone who could drive. I could have considered that they shot me down. But it wasn’t because of my sight. They needed an ambulance-chasing reporter who could get to the story as soon as possible.

The reality is, this is a difficult country to get around if you don’t have a car. As a self employed person, a lot of meetings I go to are held in industrial estates with no bus service, so I have to get a taxi. This isn’t the fault of the companies. Of course people want a place with plenty of free parking. It comes down to infrastructure, to an inadequate public transport system, to lack of parking.

But there are a few simple things companies could do to make it easier for people with disabilities to work with them. With improvements in broadband services, remote working is a viable option for many people. In my case, most people are fine with arranging to meet me in the city centre if I just tell them, or to give me a lift to and from outlying venues.

If a company wants to hire a person with a disability for a sales job that requires a lot of travelling, they could pay taxi expenses to the equivalent of what they would pay for mileage. People with disabilities who don’t drive get free travel, so a company could end up saving money. And above all, don’t be afraid to put the words Full, Clean Driving License on your ad. It saves us time. And it saves you time.

This blog also appears on www.kanchi.org, an organisation which works with employers to break down barriers to employment for people with disabilites.

Doing Business as a Speccer

I’ve decided to come clean. After two years of running my copywriting service, WriteWords Editorial and delivering creative writing classes, I thought it was about time I shared with you what it is like to do business as a visually impaired person – or speccer as I like to call myself. Most of the time, my sight loss doesn’t impinge on my work. All I need to run my business is a computer with a magnifier, Internet access and change for taxis.

Still, I had an experience this week that I think neatly illustrates both the advantages and the disadvantages of doing business as a speccer. I was invited to speak to a women’s network. I needed to get a taxi to the hotel, as like many of these business meetings, it was held in a place more accessible to cars than pedestrians.

As it was my home town, I knew the taxi driver and knew his car was silver. So when I saw a silver car, I opened the door to find it wasn’t him. When I got to the hotel, the entrance had a glass door. I put my hand out to open it and groped empty air.

The talk itself went well. I always use PowerPoint, even though I can’t read the slides, since I know people like to have something to look at. And because I have to learn off my notes, I look really brainy. Since faces are a blur, I don’t feel subject to the crowd’s laser-beam stare, so that reduces the fear factor considerably.

I talked about public speaking being more feared than spiders or death and my slide had a picture of a spider. Moments later, I heard muffled laughter. And one of the women informed me that a spider was hovering in front of me. It was probably fortunate for the spider that I didn’t see him; he would have met a grisly death.

On the way home, having lurched my way down a landmine step that materialised just outside the entrance of the hotel, the taxi driver apologised for teasing me. Then he did something worse. He said he felt sorry for me.

Since I have x-ray vision in speccer terms, it’s easy for me to forget that my visual impairment does affect me at times. If I did speak up about it, the people I meet would know why I seem to blank them, or can’t immediately lay my hands on where things are. And it would help them see that people with disabilities of all kinds can make a useful contribution to the business environment.

This blog also appears on www.kanchi.org, an organisation which promoted employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Cystic Fibrosis Campaigners, Reluctant Media Heroes

Yesterday, the new cystic fibrosis unit at St Vincent’s Hospital was given the green light after more than a decade of delays and bureaucratic bungling. Thanks to the tireless media campaigning of people with cystic fibrosis, we are all aware of the fallout of these delays. Of course, there is the fallout on their health. But what about the fallout on the campaigners themselves?

In order to achieve their goal of a dedicated unit, people with cystic fibrosis have had to perform an uneasy dance with the media. Their dignity and eloquence touches the heart and gives them a compelling media presence. Yet when they speak, you can hear an undercurrent of unease that they have to speak in the first place. In order to achieve their goals, they have to sacrifice some of that dignity and pride and expose parts of their lives that ought to remain hidden. And they have had to allow themselves to be defined by their illness.

No doubt, they feel that the end justifies the means. But they shouldn’t have had to do this. They shouldn’t have to be describing the colour of their mucus to Joe Duffy on Liveline. This is another way that they have been let down by the Government and the Health system. Where are the HSE spokespeople? As usual, they are hiding behind a wall of paper. No fear that they’ll put themselves on the line the way people with cystic fibrosis have.

The media has done great work in highlighting the issue. But it also bears a responsibility to these campaigners. The media can’t resist heroising people (see my previous blog post, http://bit.ly/9gsod9), because it’s more newsworthy. Even the language they use ‘cystic fibrosis sufferers,’ is problematic. Cystic fibrosis does cause a lot of suffering, but people who have it have learned to adapt and live full, ordinary lives.

It’s about time media coverage reflected the reality of life with cystic fibrosis. Hopefully with the announcement of the new unit, the media will let people with cystic fibrosis get on with the business of breathing, If they do have to give the Government the nudge, that the media will give a more rounded portrait of the cystic fibrosis campaigners.

Writing on Snow

This week, I’m going to turn my previous post on its head. There have been times in my writing career when offering my services pro bono has reaped rewards. There are also times when the cause is worthy enough for me to offer my services for free. Recently, I used my writing capabilities for the benefit of a rather special skiing trip I go on. I created an article which the trip organisers can use to ensure the continued success of our trip. It was the least I could do, since their generosity to me and the others on the trip is beyond price.

Here’s the fruits of my labour

Every year, an army of green-vested skiers come to the Bavarian Alps for skiing and merriment. On their vests, there is a drawing of an eye, with the words Blind Skier printed above it.

The skiers are accompanied by guides who wear matching green vests. The skiers and guides came together over 20 years ago, when British soldiers who were serving in Northern Ireland decided they wanted to create greater links of friendship between the communities there.

Over the years, the trip has become a gathering of friends, some of whom can see a little better than others. The skiers come from Northern and Southern Ireland. Some are totally blind, while others have a good level of sight. Many of them are experienced skiers, but the group welcomes new faces each year.

This year’s trip began on Saturday, February 27^th and lasted until Saturday March 6^th. The skiers and guides stayed at the Hotel Hirsch in Immenstadt. in the Allgäu region in Bavaria.

When the skiers arrived, they were kitted up with skis and boots supplied free of charge by the team at the British Army’s Alpine Training Centre. The skiers also receive free lift passes from the centre.

Every day, the skiers hit the slopes of Oberjoch, Söllereck and Kanzelwand. There is a half-hour transfer from the town of Immenstadt, so the guides drove the skiers there in vans donated by the local branch of Europcar.

While they were on the slopes, the skiers were guided in a number of ways. Some followed the green vests, some followed instructions to turn left and right and others listened out for the swish of their guides’ skis. One even skied to the sound of heavy metal!

Halfway through the week, the skiers and guides were joined by pupils from the Realschule in Sonthofen, who tried their hand at guiding for the day. For the pupils, it was a chance not only to practise their English, but also to learn that blind people can ski down the mountain just as well as they can, with the right guidance

During the trip, the group also tried out night skiing.  They enjoyed the novelty of skiing under floodlights. Some of them found it easier to see the slope than they would during the day. Even the totally blind skiers were able to savour the difference in atmosphere.

There was plenty of fun off the slopes too. The group sampled local cuisine in the restaurants of Immenstadt, where they were treated with great politeness by the locals. They also spent lots of time at the Hotel Hirsch, where the staff were warm and friendly and made sure they had everything they needed.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, but the group took away many happy memories. The success of the trip would not have been possible without the dedication of Paul Jones, David Wallace and Mike Woolgar, who put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes to make sure the trip ran smoothly.

This trip is an inspiring experience for all concerned. The guides learn that being visually impaired need not be a cage. And the skiers experience the greatest freedom they are ever likely to know.