Blind Skills Training for Individuals and their Sighted Supporters
Are you a sighted supporter of someone experiencing vision loss? Or maybe vision loss is your own journey? I am here to help.
If you live on lower Vancouver Island, I tailor my one-to-one in-person training to meet the needs of my client. If you’re not located within our in-person service area, I am available to help and guide you by telephone or Zoom.
Whether you have a child or a teenager, if you’re an adult or a senior, no two peoples’ experiences or abilities will be the same. I will show you how I accomplish daily tasks using no vision, in a way that you too can learn. If you’re a sighted supporter, I can help you gently guide your loved one so they can remain, regain, or become independent.
You will learn from me how to help your loved one’s transition, or your own transition, through vision loss and all of the challenges and changes that come with it.
You will empower yourself or your loved one by learning new methods, helpful tools and devices, or alternative techniques at an individualized, comfortable pace. From my own experience with vision loss, I know that small steps in the right direction lead to big successes, which builds self-confidence and independence.
If you, your elderly parent, family member, or friend is experiencing vision loss and the fears that accompany it, I can help lessen that burden by teaching you ways to make life easier, safer, and more independent.
Because of my 30+ years of lived experience through my own vision loss journey, in combination with my intensive rehabilitation training at the Louisiana Center for the Blind (LCB), I am in the unique position of being able to guide you in how best to support them or yourself.
I will teach you how to:
Label almost everything you need to identify using a tactile method.
- medications
- clothing
- appliances of all sizes
- food items
- dry goods
- toiletries and cosmetics
- footwear and socks
- grooming products
- keys
- electronics
- currency (money and cards)
Orientation and Mobility (O&M) otherwise known as cane travel
You will learn from me how to safely and independently use a white cane to navigate your environment both indoors and outdoors.
A white cane represents freedom to the person who uses it.
Technology
Technology is intimidating for older folks, for those not exposed to technology, and for people who are struggling and scared that they can no longer rely upon their vision. I overcame these same challenges and learned how to make technology work for me, and I will teach you or your loved one how to accomplish the same.
Cooking and cleaning
I teach methods to allow people who are blind or partially sighted how to accomplish everyday tasks, such as household tasks related to cooking, cleaning, and laundry.
Everyone learns at a different pace, so I tailor my program to meet the needs of my clients. I teach you or your loved one tips, tricks, and hacks for navigating the world without vision.
Home visits include:
- navigating the home environment
- how to label and identify everyday use items
- kitchen safety
- meal preparation
- cleaning techniques
- things specific to your home and your needs
Learn from me how you can easily help your own or your loved one’s transition through vision loss without causing additional stress. I will share with you the tools, devices, and techniques that people who are blind use to make their lives easier, safer, and more independent. I will show you where to buy these helpful gadgets. We’ll review the pros and cons of the various materials and designs available to find the ones that are best suited to you or to your loved one.
What you can learn from me in hours will benefit you and your loved ones for the rest of your lives. There will be less tears and fears because you or your loved one will have the tools, devices, and techniques that will allow for living a full life -- just differently than before vision loss.
No two people experiencing vision loss are the same. Even if they have the same diagnosis. Let’s take the following points into consideration:
- Everyone has a different support system at home, at work, or in the community.
- The funds available to purchase the tools and devices that make life easier vary depending on personal financial circumstances.
- People learn in different ways and at different speeds.
- The opportunity to get training and specialized education isn’t financially feasible for everyone.
- Everyone reaches acceptance in their journey in their own time.
- Everyone with a disability experience it differently.
Let me help create maximum safety and independence for you or your loved one. Through the training and education that I provide, greater self-reliance, independence, and confidence is attainable.
Read our client reviews from prior clients!
When you’re ready to begin this journey, I encourage you to take advantage of a no-cost 15-minute telephone consultation with me. Your introduction to me, and to my commitment to help you, begins with that phone call.
Cheers,
Gina Martin
Diverse Abilities Inc.
Free introductory 15 min telephone or Zoom consultation
$125 initial assessment up to 2 hours
$100 per hour in person training (available on lower Vancouver Island only)
$40 per 30 minutes phone call or Zoom
Vision loss/blindness skills training, with in-person presentations, as well as online courses and modules.
“I enjoy life, only I enjoy it differently than when I had sight.” Gina Martin
