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• Coping at Work with low vision
• Posted: 2008-03-13 19:06:17 By joan s
• Hi,
  
  I am new to the world of message boards but I need help and don't know where to start. I am interested in finding some other people with issues similar to mine so that we might share ideas for coping with low vision at work.
  
  Here is my situation. I am an engineer in a large chemical company. I work in an office. My vision is not bad relative to many with RP, about 20/70. I have what seems to be an unusual expression of RP: in addition to losing peripheral vision, I also have macular blind spots.
  
  I have special computer equipment and readers to allow me to do my desk work. I thought that I was dealing well enough to do my job. In fact, unless I tell them, most people don't know I have a vision problem. Today's technology is great but there are somethngs I am really struggling with, like how to communicate effectively in large rooms whn I can't see people's faces, can't make eye contact, need extra time to read slide presentations...
  
  Anyone been through or going through this and have suggestions for coping? I have lots of quesitons.
  
  Joan

• Re: Coping at Work with low vision
• Posted: 2008-03-16 16:19:05 By Kim V
• Joan,
  
  I don't think that my vision is quite at the point yours is, but not that far off. If I had to make presentations, I made sure I was at the meeting place either before everyone elso or even to the room the day before, also made sure that I was positioned so my back was to the windows in the room even if the shades were closed. If the room was dark I made sure I picked the spot that would make everything I needed accessble. I used my memory ALOT!!! Eye contact is hard especiall when all I saw was the hallow of their head, I tried to pick out their nose (0K, that didn't sound so good) and then look up just a bit, and move to a place that I could see their eyes...Just being organized and prepared, have a set of slides or notes printed out for yourself, and let the tech person know that it has to be in this order. Again my memory was all important for me so I rehersed and rehersed and rehersed again. Alot of what I did for presentations was on farm with printed material for farmers, so much of it was small print and too light for me to see in the light of sun, so I would gently move them to a place that I could explain and point to the area on the paper that the information could be found. I rehersed well enough that most did not notice. And I found that if the results of your proposals were desirable and the you did what you said it didn't matter. In your case you may want to let some of your close collegues know what is going on and how they can help you. I had one that I trusted with my life and he helped me through many meetings and presentations, so it can be done, you sound like a very sucessful and intelligent person and I am sure that people will be more understanding than either of us thinks (I know they were for me) Take care and good luck...Kim

• Re: Coping at Work with low vision
• Posted: 2008-03-18 14:54:18 By andrew b
• Most important thing about slides, never, ever, ever read them. You should always know your slides in intimate detail. Slides are for illustration purposes only. If they're too detailed, then you're insulting your audience because they can read for themselves, and you'll find they read your slide too instead of listening to you. Showing a schematic or other engineering diagram however would be a separate issue. Play around with the background and font/line colors. Likely you can find a combination that works best for you.

• Re: Coping at Work with low vision
• Posted: 2008-03-23 19:59:42 By Joan S
• Thanks for the tips and the encouragement. I am going to a couple of technical conferences in April. I sit up fornt and use a telescope in the technical sessions. I follow the slide presentations fairly well. I really struggle, however, with the networking sessions. These are an important part of a conference but I always feel that I get limited value because I can't recognize faces or see name tage. This makes mingling, reconnecting with people I
  I've met before, introducing myself to speakers.... difficult.
  
  Since I still have a fairly good field of vision, I get around ok. Looking at me, people don't relaize that I have vison problem. A psychologist friend suggested that I wear some sort of "button" that indicates that I have limited vision. She said that she had seen hearing impaired people do this to let people know they are reading lips. Anyone ever tried anything like this?
  
  Joan

• Re: Re: Coping at Work with low vision
• Posted: 2008-03-23 20:20:11 By Kim V
• Joan,
  
  I think that this would be a great idea, especially for revisits or reconnecting with people in your industry. People really are very accomadating, especially if you had seen them or spoke to them before. I also think that it would help, because others would then offer to point out speakers for you, and will automatically give you a name.
  
  I really think that this is a great idea and well worth a try. I have just the opposite problem as you, I have good central vision but poor peripheral, so I am quite clumsy and bump into people and things, very frustrating, and so many don't understand until you tell them....good luck Kim