03/28/2008

Rowena Portch, Accessibility Advocate

If you had to work with your eyes closed, could you do it? Step out of the world of the sighted and take a walk with someone who is visually impaired. It might open your eyes.

Applies to
2007 Microsoft Office system Microsoft Office 2003

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Trials of the visually impaired

When I became legally blind at age 43, I could not have known how much my life would change. When I could see well enough to function normally, I had my routines, and I didn't think much about them. The simple act of driving a car was becoming a daily challenge. I found that when you can no longer drive, a trip downtown that once took an hour now takes three, with a lot of careful planning.

Under most circumstances, prescription eyewear corrects visual impairments. Can you imagine how your life would change if your glasses stopped working? I have Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). It is estimated that over 100,000 people in the United States have this disease, mainly caused by mutated genes that are passed down from one or both parents. Simply stated, the rods in my eyes are disintegrating, which prevents my eyes from processing light and seeing peripherally. It's like looking through a pair of black straws, under water, in a room with little light.

Just like people who have lost a limb but continue to feel as if it were still attached to their body, those who slowly lose their sight might experience a similar phenomenon and *see* ghost images. In my case, I will read words that are not there, or jumble those that are — not a good thing for an editor. My eyes, desperately trying to function, send erroneous signals to my brain.

When I walk down a hallway, I feel as if the floor and walls are spinning around me. I must close my eyes to prevent from losing my balance. At first, my kids found it amusing each time I bumped into the wall. RP also affects depth perception, so multi-dimensional structures, such as curbs and dips, look flat to me. After falling off one too many curbs, I decided to use a white cane so that passers-by wouldn't think that I was drunk. However, the idea backfired. What was meant as a symbol to let people know I have a visual impairment served more as a sign on my forehead that said, "I am a target: see if you can hit me."

I have since learned to ignore the moving walls and floors, and I get around without a cane. For me, my service dog is far more reliable. Working with others is challenging because I must educate my co-workers about my visual condition and inform them how to best work with me. Most of the time, I must adapt to new situations, as a matter of course. But I also need remind myself that people forget that I am blind. For example, I receive e-mail messages that request my input on particular images. When my screen reader interprets the message, I hear, "Image 03443." As descriptive as the image might be to a sighted person, the only intelligent feedback a blind person can offer is to use alternate text that effectively describes the image that is displayed. In this article, I offer a few tips to practice when working with the visually impaired.

When planning a meeting

Meetings are especially challenging for those of us who are visually impaired. It is our number one area of frustration. Here are a few tips that might help.

Lighting

For people with low vision, light plays a very important role in the ability to see. For example, some people can't tolerate reflected light. This often occurs in conference rooms that have whiteboards. The effect is similar to having a camera flash in your eyes. Pretty soon, all you can see is a big black spot in your field of sight.

Other people, like me, require natural sunlight or full-spectrum lighting to see detail. If you are facilitating a meeting that includes a visually impaired person, check to see what type of lighting is best for him or her prior to the meeting so that you can plan accordingly.

Handouts

Being prepared with handouts is a popular way to distribute information during a meeting. Unfortunately, those of us who cannot read them are left out. This often makes it difficult to follow and contribute to what is being discussed. Some of us use screen readers, which require our complete concentration. It is difficult to listen to our computer and stay engaged in the conversation simultaneously. Fortunately, it's easy to get that information to your visually impaired co-worker: send it to them in an e-mail message, at least one day prior to the meeting. This enables her or him to review the material beforehand and come prepared.

Illustrations and presentations

A picture is worth a thousand words — unless you are visually impaired. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to build a visual image based on the conversation during a presentation. When presenting illustrative material, use carefully-chosen, descriptive words to allow a visually-impaired person to envision what is being shown on the screen or the whiteboard. A good way to ensure that your words are descriptive is to ask another person to close his or her eyes and listen to your presentation. You might find that honing this skill improves many areas of communication in your life.

Meeting locations

Have you ever wondered how blind people find their way to a meeting room? Before I lost my sight, the thought never crossed my mind. When you can no longer see, you begin to notice little things, mere nuances of space to others but vital information to you. For example, at Microsoft, the location of the card reader for opening doors can be different for every building and every door. And every building has its own layout.

If I’m going to a conference room I haven't been to before, I typically ask a co-worker to walk with me. However, this approach isn't always practical, for whatever reason. In that case, I need to get creative and find either a reception area or a helpful soul who is willing to lead me to meeting. This might take some time. As the meeting organizer, it is helpful to provide explicit directions to the conference room prior to the meeting. Most visually-impaired persons can count doors and hallways. At Microsoft, each room offers a Braille sign that signifies the name and number of the conference room beside the door. If building directories are not offered in Braille, you might arrange to guide the visually-impaired person to the meeting.

When you cannot see, it is very difficult to find a vacant chair in a room full of people, unless you are accompanied by a guide dog. If you notice a blind person entering the room, you can offer to guide him or her to an empty chair, preferably one close to the door.

Online meetings

Meetings that take place online can be fabulous — ideal for the remote worker. However, if you are visually impaired, they can be difficult to access. Screen readers, such as JAWS or Windows Eyes are great, but they have their limitations. When a presentation is shown in one pane, and conversations are shown in another, it is hard for a visually-impaired person to keep up. Imagine sitting at a table where multiple conversations are occurring at the same time. If you concentrate on one, the other conversations get lost in the noise. Presentations that occur in online meetings are not interpreted by screen readers. Unless the visually-impaired person has a human interpreter nearby, it is unrealistic to ask him or her to participate in an online meeting.

When you encounter a visually-impaired person

Most visually-impaired persons are very aware of their surroundings. If you see one of us walking down the hall with a dog or a cane, it is not necessary to pin yourself against the wall. Simply step out of our path of travel. You can even say, "Hi," to let the person know that you are there and that you acknowledge them.

Offering to open the door is a polite gesture no matter the circumstance. But when doing so for visually-impaired persons, it is helpful to say something like, "I have the door for you," so that we are not reaching for an expected door handle.

I remember when I lost my sight, many of the friends that I used to have coffee with were suddenly very busy or having coffee with someone else. It was as if they thought that my impairment diminished not just my vision, but also my ability to enjoy company like everyone else. Please do not feel shy about asking us to join you for lunch or a break, or even a brief hallway chat.

Once, when I was in the break room, a very nice gentleman offered to help me make a cup of coffee with the new Starbucks machine. Instead of doing it for me, he showed me where the buttons were and told me which ones to press. That was so helpful. It turned out that his wife was also blind, so he understood how much it meant to her (and me) to learn how to help herself. Don’t be afraid to offer assistance.

Personally, I love it when people approach me and ask questions. I know very few visually-impaired people who are shy in that respect. Most of us are delighted to share information, so feel free to ask away.

Contact me

If you have comments or suggestions for articles that you would find helpful, please send me an e-mail message at accessad@microsoft.com. I do monitor this mailbox each day and respond to your inquiries in person.

Read more articles by the Accessibility Advocate

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Introducing the Accessibility Advocate column

Making sense of HTML messages in Outlook

Become more efficient with accessibility tools

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About the author

Three years ago, I lost my sight to Retinitis Pigmentosa. Prior to that, I was a technical editor. Learning how to use a screen reader and a Braille display proved challenging enough — having to deal with non-accessible applications was unbearable. To remain productive, I had to learn how to use accessibility tools and write scripts to interact with applications that were not accessible. Tasks that used to take me only minutes to perform were taking hours. My productivity went down, along with my confidence and self esteem. As a result, I felt that people had to be educated about the importance of accessibility features in tools and applications. I volunteered to be a beta tester for SharePoint technologies, Microsoft Office, and third-party vendors of accessibility tools. These opportunities enabled me to offer feedback and help develop applications that everyone can use. Now, I want to share my experiences with other people through this column.

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