Blind technology: hints and tips

Whilst I’m waiting for the local authority to contact me with a date for the ROVI to come and teach me how to use a white stick, I thought I would tell you about some of the technologies I use that have been really life changing.

1. First up is my iPhone. Steve Jobs built Apple with accessibility at the heart of his invention, which I will be forever grateful for. Every phone comes with this in your Settings; You just go to General, then Accessibility and switch on voiceover. Once it’s activated, wherever I put my finger on the screen, my phone will describe what I’m touching. I then just have to double tap everything and my experience is then probably very similar to yours. This technology has got better and better over the years, and I really love that it now even describes Emojis, what people look like on Teams calls, and photos on Facebook. Descriptions are quite limited – smiley face with tongue sticking out, photo of man with glasses standing in front of a tree etc. – but I love it. This accessibility gives me access to all my apps and allows me to interact in them. My best friends of course do receive the odd WhatsApp where I’ve dictated and it’s interpreted me slightly incorrectly! For example, my PA once asked me how many spaces I wanted reserved at a meeting, and I replied: sex will do!! Certainly caused her to smile, but she’s used to it now!

2. My next favourite tech are my talking scales. I am one of those people who seems to tirelessly diet. Unfortunately I’m a socialite at heart and love nothing more than sitting with friends and family enjoying a meal and glass of wine. But, the pounds go on, which means I have to fight to keep them off! My talking scales keep me in check and will tell me how much I weigh in stones and kilos. I don’t think they’ve been rude enough to say, no coach parties or one at a time please!! It is quite amusing when we have friends round for dinner and you hear someone go into the bathroom and decide to weigh themselves while they are in there. My scales then announce their weight fairly loudly, and people panic and throw a towel over them to muffle the noise! Nevertheless, I wouldn’t be without them.

3. Third up is Alexa. This has been a revolution. I love that I can link it to my Audible account and listen to books at night, or even sea sounds if I'm struggling with sleep. When I'm in the kitchen, I can ask for recipes and Alexa talks me through how to make things step by step. One of the best benefits though is probably for my husband as, for some reason, I have never got out of the habit of turning lights on when I walk into a room, but of course never turn them off, and of course don’t know if they are on or off anyway. When I issue the instruction, "Alexa goodnight", she wishes me sweet dreams and plunges our house into darkness, saving the planet and thousands of pounds on our electricity bill. We have linked many other things up to Alexa, including my tumble dryer, the coffee machine, and our central heating Nest system, which has made everything speech-controlled. Awesome!

4. Guys, you might not get this, but choosing the right colour underwear to go under your clothes is an essential part of getting dressed in the morning; It is a huge faux pas to wear a black bra under a white shirt. Thankfully, my husband and kids would hopefully spot this before I leave the house, but they can’t always be relied upon. However, my colour detector can be. It’s a small hand-held device that, when held up to any garment, will tell me what colour it is.

5. Lastly, my talking microwave is a great friend. It’s a combination microwave/oven, so I could make a whole dinner in it if I so desired. My only complaint is, if there has been powercut, when the power goes back on, for some reason the volume goes straight to megaphone which makes it difficult when you’re sneaking down in the middle of the night to make a hot chocolate! You open the door, and it shouts DOOR OPEN!

There are many other devices and apps that have made my life so much easier, and I am so thankful for the people who have taken time to invent them.

Unfortunately, Hampshire County Council have a waiting list, so I may have to wait several months before I can start my training. However, I am going to explore how I could potentially do this privately in the meantime. I will keep updating this blog as a good number of people have asked questions, so I will seek to answer them and hopefully provide useful tips. Don’t hesitate to drop me a line if you would like me to cover something specific.