One of the greatest fears people have when losing their sight is whether they will injure themselves by falling a lot. That’s understandable as those splinters and blotches or lessening definition blurs colors around you. Sometimes, the bright sun of summer shines in through your front bay window or into your kitchen. Then glare gets in your eyes and some contrasts on your carpeting between reds and yellows or oranges make getting around a challenge.
This brief talk by one of Hadley’s Orientation and Mobility staff is for you. There’s also a link to the transcript along with the button for the audio. After all, you’re going to learn a lot of basic tips in a short few moments. Applying the suggestions for enhancing your house or apartment’s color contrasts will take some time.
Here’s the link. https://hadley.edu/workshops/o-m-basics-series/preventing-falls
In addition to the tips the podcast discusses, permit me to ad a couple more that can help both low-vision and totally blind alike.
When walking on ice outside or a longer staircase inside, keep your knees slightly bent. If you do fall, you will slide onto the ground rather than toppling head first. If your legs give out, let your hand arc toward the floor, palm down, so you can break your fall. Whether you back fall or go onto your side, the impact will cause much less injury or immediate shock as would crumbling to the ground. Such break falls are very helpful for those involved in the various martial arts when they are thrown or swept to the floor in randori or a full-out match. They also transfer to your everyday life as well. If you want better hands-on assistance learning proper ways to fall, perhaps, your center for independent living may host a self-defense or mobility safety course from time to time.
For more help with ways of creating color contrasts and other adaptations in your home, check out Dr. Maureen Duffy’s book, Making Life More Livable.
Boldly Blind 