Sensory Friendly Solutions

Changes in vision for travelers 55+ with Shelley Ann Morris

• Sensory Friendly Solutions • Season 1 • Episode 4

Share episode

In this episode of the 55+ Travelers: Arriving & Thriving  Audio Conference join Sensory Friendly Solutions Founder Christel Seeberger, and guest hosts Sophie Yang and Christopher Basmadjian, occupational therapy students, as they take a deep dive into the extensive expertise of Shelley Ann Morris, traveler with low vision.

Learn from the lived experience of Shelley Ann Morris, a traveler with low vision.  As the receptionist/administrator for the Canadian Council of the Blind and the host of the radio show, Welcome to My World, Shelley Ann has person-first advice to create exceptional experiences that include more people.

Episode Guide:
0:20  Shelley Ann Morris
0:46 Shelley Ann's role at the Canadian Council of the Blind
2:37 Shelly Ann's Radio Show
4:39 Shelly Ann's Experience with her Own Vision Loss
7:26 Traveling with Vision Loss
10:03 Clients of the CCB
10:34 Travel Accommodations for People with Low Vision
14:50 CAPTCHA's
15:40 bigger, brighter, bolder is always better.
18:15 Shelley Ann's Experience on the Train
20:33 Using Apps like BlindSquare
21:11 Airport and Train Signage
22:30 Shelley Ann researches locations prior to travels
23:10 Speaking to the Businesses Directly by Phone
24:25 One Size Fits all Approach Does Not Work
26:34 Shelley Ann's Tips to Travel or Tourism Operators
31:38 Talk to the traveler to understand their own personal needs.
33:25 Checking into a Hotel
35:10 Attending a Museum or Festival
37:40 Touchscreens provide barriers
42:15 Listen & Act Accordingly When Supporting Low Vision Travelers
45:42 Thank you, Shelley Ann Morris  


Sign up for the Sensory Friendly Solutions newsletter to receive sensory-friendly tips and strategies delivered straight to your inbox.

Connect with us on any of our social platforms:
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
Twitter
YouTube

Christopher Basmadjian: [00:00:01] Welcome to the 55+ Travelers: Arriving and Thriving audio-conference, brought to you by Sensory Friendly Solutions. I’m your host Christopher Basmadjian. In this episode you will also hear the voices of co-hosts, Sophie Yang, my fellow occupational therapy student, as well as Sensory Friendly Solutions founder and CEO Christel Seeberger.  Our guest for this podcast is Shelley Ann Morris. Shelley Ann is the receptionist and administrator for the Canadian Council of the Blind, as well as a host of a radio show called Welcome To My World. We are especially grateful that Shelley Ann will be sharing her personal experiences as a traveler with vision loss.  She has strategies and tips galore to share with the travel and tourism industry.  Shelley Ann, would you like to introduce yourself to our listeners?

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:00:41] Sure. Hi, I'm Shelly Ann Morris and I'm delighted to be here. Thank you very much.

 

Sophie Yang: [00:00:46] Thank you for joining us. So would you like to tell our listeners about what your job at the Canadian Council of the Blind entails?

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:00:55] Sure! I have a really interesting job at the Canadian Council of the Blind. I do reception, administration, and that entails all manner of things, but I also... because I'm part of the vision loss community, I was born with optic atrophy. I have no sight in the right eye and very minimal sight in my left eye. And because of that, I'm part of the vision loss community. So there's lots of different things that I can get involved with as somebody with low vision. So, for example, we have a Get Together with Technology program in which blind, low vision people teach other blind, low vision people how to use technology. So, for example, we're recording on Zoom and Zoom is a very accessible program and we teach people how to use it with things like voice-over or Zoom. And so I'm quite involved with the Get Together program. And also, sometimes the community comes to us to ask us our advice on making, let's say, a museum more accessible, or making the museum's website more accessible or, making a festival more accessible, either online or live. So there's quite a variety of things that I'm involved with at CCB, and it's a wonderful, really challenging, really multifaceted job.

 

Sophie Yang: [00:02:33] That's great, and you're also a radio show host. Would you like to tell our listeners what are some topics that you have explored on that show?

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:02:42] Sure. Well, I am actually a co-host of a show called Welcome to My World. It's a show by, for, and about people with disabilities. It's a cross disability program, which means that we don't just focus on one disability because disability can mean a variety of things. And the show has been on CKCU-FM, which is Carlton University's campus radio station. CKCU has been running in Ottawa for over 45 years now and our show has been running for around eight years now. And the whole idea about the show was to, as we say, change the conversation about disability because we find that with disability, either you’re a superhero or, you know, you're seen  as pitiful. And really, people with disabilities, we span the continuum, really, and we interview people with disabilities or organisations that assist people with a variety of disabilities. So, for example, Sensory Friendly Solutions podcast was on our show in the fall. We also interview musicians who have disabilities and, you know, people living with different kinds of disabilities. So it's just been such a rewarding experience. And of course, we have to do things a bit differently now because we're not allowed into the studio. So like we're doing here today, we're recording from home. Now normally I have a co-host, Kim Kilpatrick. She is the co-host. We also work together at CCB, but her job has kept her so busy that she hasn't really had time to do any hosting. So I'm holding down the fort for now.

 

Sophie Yang: [00:04:38] So you yourself also experience vision loss. Would you like to tell us a little bit about your experience with having vision loss?

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:04:46] Sure. I was born with something called optic atrophy, which is optic nerve damage. So this means that the optic nerves either, we don't quite know why, but they don't function as they should. So in my case, how it plays out is, I have absolutely no sight in my right eye, not even light and dark. It's as if it doesn't even exist, which is hard to explain to people. And in my left eye, I have what's called tunnel vision. I see only about 10 degrees of sight in my upper right hand corner of my left eye. So I have no side vision, I have no peripheral vision, and I have no ability to see looking down, which can make getting downstairs really fun. So I also wear special glasses that are modified. It's called an Ocutech. That's the device that I'm wearing. It allows me to see both distances as well as to read. Also with my technology, with my iPad and my iPhone and ZoomText software on my desktop computer, I do very, very well. In my lifetime, things have really changed and vision loss... you know, we have ways of... of coping with it. Now, I'm very fortunate in that, I shouldn’t say fortunate, I guess, but it might be a poor choice of words. I was born with my vision loss. I've never been able to see the way other people see. This is my normal. This is all I know. I've never had to get used to anything. I didn't even know the extent of my vision loss until people told me what they could see and I'm like, yeah, really, I couldn't believe it. I had no clue that people could see, you know, panoramically, you know, around towards their ears almost. I had no clue people could do that. I had no idea that people could see a traffic light on the other side of the street, whereas I needed a special device to do so. It was a real surprise. But I'm very fortunate that my condition is stable. It's not likely to change. And I've never had to get used to either sudden or gradual vision loss, which I think would be much more difficult.

 

Sophie Yang: [00:07:19] As we know, this audio conference is really designed to talk about travel and tourism for adults ages 55 and older and you, Shelley, bring in a very unique circumstance. So not only do you experience vision loss yourself, but you also work with the Canadian Council of the Blind and you're also hosting a radio show about like creating exclusivity for the disability community. So your experience is very valuable to listen to. And we were wondering, do you travel often?

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:07:51] I don't know of that often. I mean, I have traveled. I've been fortunate to... to travel a little bit. I'd like to do more. And I certainly, you know, when covid ends, we're certainly hoping to do a bit more traveling. I have traveled to the US, I have traveled across Canada, and I've also traveled to England as well, because that's where my... my late father is from. And what always amazed me about travel is how universal my white cane is. The white cane seems to work just as well here in Ottawa as it does in the parts of the world that I visited. And I couldn't believe how well accommodating England was. It was... it was quite amazing some of the accommodations that I saw over there. I certainly welcome the opportunity to travel more and, you know, hopefully that'll come. It's interesting because a lot of people, you know, when they... as they age, their vision will change. I probably won't have to worry too much about that because my vision is already pretty low. So I'm already... I'm already there. So it's very, very different. One of the things we do see, especially at CCB, with people dealing with vision loss... it's a whole avenue, it's a whole different area and just getting used to vision loss... that's quite a challenge and that's not something I had to do. But the great thing is because of the Get Together with Technology program, I think meeting peers, meeting people who've been through it, at any age, makes all the difference in the world, because we've seen people come to CCB, come to the Get Together with Technology program, being totally despondent, thinking they could never read a newspaper again or never read a book or never enjoy a TV program. And yes, they have to do it differently, but they can still do it.

 

Christopher Basmadjian: [00:10:02] And your clientele at... well I want to say clientele at the CCB is any ages? Right?

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:10:09] Pretty much. I think about 18 and up. We don't really work with a lot of children, although sometimes parents will call and ask about technology for their children. So that's pretty much the extent of it that I know of. I could be wrong there, but I myself haven't really dealt too much, you know, younger people.

 

Sophie Yang: [00:10:33] When you are traveling, you mentioned that you saw some accommodations for people with low vision. Would you like to tell us a little bit more in detail?

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:10:42] Sure. Well. When I've traveled, I'll just sort of tell you a little bit about my own experience, and again, this is my own experience, it's not the experience of the entire blind, low vision community. Everybody's different and everybody does things a little differently. Travel really starts even when you're planning a trip. So one of the, I guess, some of the accommodations that I've experienced is when you're booking a flight or railway tickets or anything like that, you can call and you can ask for assistance. Some people will ask for things like to have a sighted guide travel with you. Some people will ask for pre-boarding so you can pre-board the train or the plane or assistance getting through the airport. And, you know, you can ask for that. You can ask for some assistance. If you're traveling by yourself, you can ask for assistance, you know, finding the right... the right gate. I've always been afraid of that. I've always been afraid that I'm going to get on the wrong train or the wrong plane and end up somewhere that I didn't want to go. There's always that little bit of nervousness just before I board. “Am I going in the right place?” But those are some of the things that you can do. The other thing that I find really useful is, you know, having information in a format that I can use, either large print or even electronically. Sometimes some people will find it helpful to have that information in Braille. I, as of yet, don't read Braille fluently. I'm starting to learn Braille just because I wanted to learn it. But I don't have enough Braille knowledge to actually read one of those cards that they give you on a plane. I prefer to... I prefer to have things like that described to me and not every blind person reads Braille. Some people use large print. One of the things that I find very useful is when I'm given written information, it's really helpful to have it in a good font and high contrast, that's one of the things that sometimes happens when you're being given printed information is, especially things like travel brochures where they want to make it all artsy and glitzy and glamorous, some… well, sometimes what they'll do is they'll put white lettering on an orange background and that's just horrible. Or sometimes what they'll do is they'll overlay the print on a very busy background or on a photo. And that's... that's just impossible to read. I can't read that at all. The other thing sometimes with... if you go on to a hotel website let's say... they're getting better. But I've been on some hotel websites where, you know, they'll do a big bouncy slideshow of all the features and all the amenities of that hotel and banners that move around on... on a website that confuses the focus on my screen reader. And banners are just awful. I know they're great for sighted people, but for people who are relying on screen readers, especially a moving banner or slideshow, when it moves on its own, it just confuses the focus of the... of the reader and just makes it really problematic to read. The other thing that can be really daunting with a website, either any kind of a travel website, is CAPTCHAs, if you know what a CAPTCHA is. A CAPTCHA, for people who may not know, are, I know I should know what this stands for, I used to know what CAPTCHA stands for, but, it's a way of weeding out humans from, let's say, bots or other machines trying to hack into a website. So what the CAPTCHA will do is it'll have you identify pictures of cars or traffic lights. And if you don't have good vision, you're not able to do that, so you're systematically shut out. Some CAPTCHAs are a little better. Some are, you know, check a box, I am not a robot, but even some of those can be difficult. The other thing, too, is there's an audio CAPTCHA, but the audio is so terrible on them that even people with good hearing can't... can't hear... can't hear it. So CAPTCHAs and websites and low contrast. I have a friend who says this all the time. She has low vision like I do, and she's always said: “bigger, brighter, bolder is always better.” And the way I look at it is probably everybody can read good text on a good background, but not everybody can read small print on a messy background. So I sometimes get going on that, but that is so important to me.

 

Sophie Yang: [00:16:11] Absolutely. And do you have a specific type of text font that you find works best for you?

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:16:18] Well, for me, and again, this is just for me, I know that there's websites that you can go to that do have accessibility guidelines for... for text. So I don't really want to say: “this is the font you should use”, because I know I'm no expert at it. I prefer, you know, a nice dark text on a bit of a high contrast background. So a plain white or plain yellow works best for me with good print. And the other thing to, on a website that's really important is in English we read from left to right. So it's really important that the most relevant and most important information is on the left hand side of the screen, because I use very, very high magnification on my desktop computer. I use a program called ZoomText and my screen only shows me a tiny portion of the screen at once, so if there's a really important piece of information, but it's located over on the right hand margin, I'm going to miss it. Unless I use my tab keys and my arrow keys, and I can sort of jump around all over the page. But if I don't know it's there, I may have missed something. So I... I always tell people that things most important and most relevant things can be put on the left hand side of the page. It's kind of like a restaurant menu, you know, we see the food choices on the left hand side and the prices on the right hand side. So that's kind of the theory that I use for that.

 

Christopher Basmadjian: [00:18:01] What other difficulties do you experience in terms of reading signs or just getting on... locating yourself. Is… are there any difficulties that are, like, that stand out for you?

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:18:13] Not really. I don't have any trouble boarding a train. And of course, here in Ottawa now we have the LRT and the LRT is quite good. What you do when you're standing on the platform, there are, now this, again, works really, really well for people with low vision there. They're these big, bright, painted arrows that tell you where to stand and that's where you stand to board the train. And because you know that the train's going to stop right in front of that arrow. So the door is going to open and you'll just be able to step in. What's interesting about the LRT, what I really like, is you can hear the doors open. There's a big red light. At the top of each door, indicating where the door is for people who can see, but also you can hear a voice that comes on when the door opens. The other great thing about the LRT is they have two different modes, I suppose. They’re announcing the trains as the trains are coming into the platform. If you're standing on the platform, a voice will come on and tell you that a train is coming and what direction it's coming. But also there are, I don't know if the proper term is blink boards, but there are big signs saying when the next train is coming. And that's really interesting because for people who have vision loss, hearing it as a voice works well. But for people who don't hear, well, having a visual works well. So you're tapping into both... both things. Yeah. So that's really good. I think the more senses you can use, the better. It's... it's like when you're in an airport or when you're in, you know, like a train station. If you've got it displayed visually, but you've also got it displayed audibly, that makes all the difference in the world and I am finding those audible announcements seem to be easier to hear. At one time, they were really difficult to hear, and even people with good hearing couldn't make what was... make out what was saying. But now they seem much clearer. And of course, too, there's, you know, when you're traveling, I'm sure there's apps and things like there's different apps that you can use now to navigate around. You can use your phone and use an app like BlindSquare, which works well here in Ottawa. I haven't tried BlindSquare in a different city, but if I did, it would give me directions and tell me where to go. So there's different apps that you can use on your phone now, and there's any number of things that can help you navigate around either at home or in a strange place.

 

Sophie Yang: [00:21:11] When we're traveling, we often find ourselves, like, in locations perhaps that we're not very familiar with. So I was wondering, what are your thoughts on the current placement in signages for airports and train stations?

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:21:25] Well, when I'm by myself and I'm in an airport or a train station, I usually get some sighted assistance. I don't really rely too much on my own sense of direction, especially if I'm in a train station or an airport that I don't know. And even if I am, I probably would go to customer service and have somebody help me because I... I just like that added bit of assurance, and that makes all the difference in the world, but as I mentioned, signage should be nice and big and clear and also audible. So you're tapping into two different things. And also to, if you're going to an airport or a train station or a museum or a gallery or anywhere, if you can get on their website and get a sense of where things are and not just a visual map, because unfortunately, a visual map doesn't really help me. But if I can get an idea of what services I can get there and maybe where to find customer service. One more thing to keep in mind when, you know, you're using a website to do a research either about an airport or a train station or a museum or a gallery or festival, websites are great and they will give you a lot of information. But the other thing that's very, very helpful is if they also include a telephone number that you can call and speak to a person, because when I'm booking plane tickets or train tickets, I could do it on the web. But I really prefer to speak to somebody so that we can have an exchange of information, so that I can ask questions and then I can verify the train ticket or the plane ticket and also any special or any accommodative assistance that I would need. Some people can do it on the web and that's great. Some people could do it online, but some of us are just that much more comfortable. So it's always good if there is a number that somebody can call because some people, and this goes true for some people with different kinds of learning issues, some people would prefer to have a conversation with somebody. I think the whole point, what I'm really trying to get at today is there has to be different accommodations for different people, the one size fits all approach never works well.

 

Christopher Basmadjian: [00:24:14] Yeah, which is completely understandable.

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:24:18] Absolutely. And for different reasons, too.

 

Christopher Basmadjian: [00:24:22] And it’s as you mentioned before, right? Everyone is different. Even if you have the same type of disability or different types of disabilities, the one size fits all doesn't work because everyone's different. Everyone has different ways to cope. Everyone has different ways that you react to certain situations. So it's quite understandable from your point of view that this one size fits all approach doesn't really work. Right?

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:24:44] It's so true. And, you know, if you do your research ahead of time, I think it takes the stress out of being in an unfamiliar place. I just find that if I'm going somewhere, if I can sit down and take a look at the website or if I.. if I really need to know where I can make a phone call, you'd be surprised what you can find out. So, for example, if you're going to see a tourist attraction, you might want to call them and see. Do they offer a tactile tour? Do they have designated seating for a performance? You never know what you might find, but you won't know until you ask. Now, the other thing, too, is if you do need accommodations. It's always better if you could arrange it in advance. I think for me personally, I always found worked out better is if I was going somewhere and I did need a bit of assistance, either a sighted guide or other forms of assistance, I would try to arrange it ahead of time. Because, as good as customer service representatives are, they're not going to know what we need. And you're quite right, when you mentioned about people that may have the same disability, but they might be... they might need different things, so somebody like me who was born with low vision will need a completely different set of accommodations than somebody who is very, very new to vision loss and maybe traveling for the first time as somebody with low vision or blindness. It's a very different story. Certainly, customer service is key and certainly I could go on. That's a whole other chapter right there.

 

Christel Seeberger: [00:26:33] Shelley I'm going to... I'm going to ask the for... for that chapter on customer service, then for travel or tourism operators, transportation, locations, what are things that really make a difference for them and the... and the customer service that they offer? Are there... are there tips that you can give to those service providers? Simple things, right, that... that have all the impact in the world for you?

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:27:04] Oh, my goodness. It is so amazing to be asked that. It’s... it’s so important. Good customer service can make or break a trip, either a trip across town or a trip to a museum or a trip to a festival or a trip to another city or province or other country. And now I think customer service is being considered more. And that's great. Interestingly, being involved with the festivals as I am and being involved with the accessibility crews that help out with the festivals, customer service is probably the biggest factor. So, for example, in Ontario there is online customer service training. I am probably getting the name wrong here, so please don't quote me... Serve-Ability training. Now, that sounds like Smart Serve, which is used for training if you're serving alcohol, but there is online courses that you can take here in Ontario to teach you how to assist people with disabilities, varying... varying kinds of disabilities. Some festivals or some customer service providers, it's mandated you have to take that course online and then you can print out a certificate. So that's a great place to start learning about assisting people with disabilities. But then you also would want to have the opportunity to talk to people who have what we call lived experience of those disabilities. And the first thing, the first thing to keep in mind is, as was mentioned earlier, everybody is different. And the customer service provider really needs to listen to what the person with the disability has to say, because that person with a disability probably knows their disability better than anyone. Listen to what that person says. Let them describe the accommodation that they need and then plan accordingly. Like the funny story that I put in my notes here is how many people with vision loss have been given a wheelchair ride through an airport? I think we've all experienced that when that's always... when it's a story that we all love to tell. And a lot of times that's because they just don't know. I, for one, don't really need a wheelchair when I'm in an airport. But what I do need is I need to be able to follow somebody who can guide me to the right place. Again, some people who are blind, low vision will take an arm, but I prefer to follow. I'm good as long as I can follow somebody. And that works well for me. So one of the very important things, especially like in an airport or... or a train station, is really listening to what that person has to say and planning accordingly. You know, we tell our accessibility volunteers with some of the festivals that I work with, we tell them listen and then plan accordingly. And the other thing too is people with disabilities, we sort of have to, and this isn't always easy, but we sort of have to articulate what we need, it's very important that we're able to explain what we need. And, after a while, I know for me, I've been doing it all my life, so I'm quite good at it, but it does take practice and it certainly is a skill that you build. The other thing too is don't assume that everybody with that same disability does things the same way. A good example is some people will assume that all people who are blind read Braille, or all people with low vision read Braille, which isn't the case. It really is important to talk to the person, talk to the traveler and find out what they need. It's amazing how helpful that is. I've had some really positive experience when I travel. For example, when you go to a hotel, sometimes,  when you're booking a hotel room, if you need it, you can sometimes get a room that's closer to the elevator, which makes it a little easier to find. Also, room numbers in a hotel, this is quite interesting. I've been to a hotel where the room numbers were way up high up above the door. And who thinks to look up there? I don't. You know, I've had it happen where I've been looking, running around the hallway, all confused, trying to figure out, only to find out that the room numbers were way up high. Why would I think to look there? So nice, clear, big room numbers. And now sometimes hotel room numbers are now also in Braille as well as larger print. And the other funny stories about hotels, how many people have doust their hair in body lotion as opposed to the shampoo? I mean, those little complimentary bottles of shampoo and conditioner and body lotion, they all feel the same and it's sometimes not easy… and that’s sighted people!

 

Christopher Basmadjian: [00:33:06] Yeah. They all feel the same and they’re all grouped up in the same pouch where they give them to you. So it’s like you’re just picking one at random at this point. Right?.

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:33:12] Exactly. So, you know, it would be... and I think there's a move on to... to try to maybe make them a little bit different. What's very nice, what really helps me is when I'm checking into a hotel, if somebody could give me just a bit of an orientation to the room. So typically, when you go to a new hotel room, somebody will say, oh, the controls for the air conditioning is over here and the lights are here and the phone is there. And I don't know about you, but I've always been a little afraid to turn on the hotel TV because I've always been afraid that I'm going to accidentally push that button and end up watching a risque movie that wasn't my choice. I've always stayed away from that hotel remote and I kind of wish people would give me a bit of an orientation because I didn't want to be seen as maybe watching some entertainment that maybe I accidentally stumbled upon. I couldn’t be interested. But also... too... hotel phones, sometimes, if you're getting a call to your room, there'll be a red indicator, light flashing. But if you can't see that, that can be a problem. So it's always better if you pick up the receiver and you hear like a broken dial tone. So both would work really well, that flashing red light for people that don't hear well and maybe a broken dial tone for those of us who can't see the light. So it's just little things. But if people could maybe find out what the traveler needs and maybe if the traveler could indicate what they need, then things will work well. If the traveler assumes too much or the service provider assumes too much, it doesn't make for a good experience. Same with a festival or a museum. When I go to a museum now or a festival, I'll usually call ahead and say, what... are there provisions for people with disabilities? Because some festivals now will allow the person with a disability to bring a sighted guide free of charge and at a lot of festivals now there's designated seating close to the stage if people want to sit closer to the stage. I was very fortunate. I was able to, because I have low vision, I was able to bring my... my father to... my father and I just loved jazz. Jazz was our thing. And for my father's 70th birthday, I was able to get front row center tickets to the Marsalis family concert, which was mind blowing for us because we just loved jazz and it was just such a great thing. I had to pay for the tickets. But sometimes if you call ahead, you might find that there's seating that's a little closer or a little closer to the stage that is. You never know. It doesn't always happen, but it doesn't hurt to call ahead and find out.

 

Christopher Basmadjian: [00:36:27] Yeah, it's better to know than to just assume that there is.

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:36:31] Yes. Or assume that there isn't. You know, it's amazing. The more research you do the better. And, you know, people are really getting good at customer service. I'm having some very positive experiences. Every once in a while I'll have an interesting experience, but that's to be expected and, you know, not all of my accommodations can be met. So I have to be reasonable. And we know that when we travel, things are going to go wrong. Things go wrong for travels... travelers, pardon me, without disabilities. So and again, I'm just talking from a blind, low vision perspective. I'm sure that there's a whole array of other things that need to be taken into consideration if, let's say, you're traveling with a power wheelchair or oxygen or other things. That can be, you know, very interesting as well. That's a whole other array. That's a whole other conversation. A barrier that I completely forgot to mention,  I should mention… that I should mention here is touch screens. You know, nowadays more and more things are done on a touch screen and touchscreens don't work for all of us, I'm afraid. They don't work for me. And...

 

Christopher Basmadjian: [00:38:00] Why do they not work for you?

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:38:02] Because I can't see them all. 

 

Christopher Basmadjian: [00:38:04] OK.OK.

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:38:05] See, some touch screens are nice and big and high contrast, and so I am able to see them, but some are not. And so for somebody who's totally blind, a touch screen would be completely useless unless the voice chip was added to it. And the other thing about touch screens is somebody like me needs more time to read what's on the screen, but they tend to time out and boot me out quicker than... I haven't quite finished reading the page yet, and all of a sudden timeout.

 

Christopher Basmadjian: [00:38:41] It thinks you are not even there anymore. So it just closes on you.

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:38:44] Exactly. Now I’ve got to start from square one. So, you know, again, the cookie cutter approach doesn't work for everybody. The one size fits all approach doesn't work for everyone. And I think that's an important thing to think about. And when people who are designing websites and touch screens and different things like that sit down and really talk to people who live day to day with certain disabilities, they're going to find out some pretty interesting facts. One of the things that I find when I'm advocating for myself, and I'm asking for a bit of extra assistance, one of the things I often hear is: “oh, I didn't know that!” A lot of times when we ask for an accommodation, it's often met with: “oh, I didn't know that was a concern.” And why would it? I've always thought that new parents who are, all of a sudden pushing strollers out into the world, all of a sudden discover how many stairs there are and how many non-push button doors there are. You know, where did they come from all of a sudden? How come there's all these stairs or how come these doors don't open automatically? So until you sort of lived in the shoes of somebody, it's amazing what you don't know. But I do find that when people know that there is a concern or know that there's an accommodation to be made, oftentimes they will once they're made aware of it.

 

Christopher Basmadjian: [00:40:24] You were mentioning the restaurants and those touch screens. Does the brightness affect your vision, like the only on the touch screen, but, let's say, inside the restaurant or if you’re at any event like does the brightness sometimes be too much for you, or does that not affect you in any sort of way?

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:40:40] Not really. The... the brightness of the screen, actually, if it's a bit brighter, it helps, especially if the screen is really high contrast. So for me, I'm able to use a touch screen that has very good print and high contrast and doesn't time out as quickly as they normally do. Some touch screens I can use. I prefer not to use them, but some I'm actually able to use. So the brightness isn't too much of a problem. As a matter of fact, the higher the contrast, the better it is. And it's the same on those notice boards that you use. For example, the ones that we see here in Ottawa in the LRT, they have I think it's orange lettering. The numbers show up and the letters show up in orange on a black background. So I'm actually able to see them. If it was low contrast, I wouldn't be able to use such a thing. So for me, high contrast, yeah, makes all the difference in the world.

 

Christel Seeberger: [00:41:50] Shelley Ann, you've shared just a phenomenal number of ideas for, I think both for older adults who are travellers and most importantly, for travel and tourism operators, just really simple, straightforward tips that they can... they can enact and make things more accessible and inclusive. Is there anything we've forgotten to let listeners know about? Do you have a... and one or two things that you just... you... you want travel and tourism operators to know if they... if they can do one thing? What... what would that number one thing be?

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:42:29] Well, I guess the one thing they can do is listen to the traveler with a disability, listen to what they need and act accordingly. Like don't assume, you know, listen to what the person says. Also, some people with low vision don't use a white cane. And sometimes you can't tell that they have low vision. So if they're asking for directions and somebody says over there and you kind of get a blank stare, then you may want to clarify because everybody's a bit different. Again. I think it's very important to, you know, really slow down and listen to what the traveler has to say, what kind of accommodations they need, and actually it's quite easy to accommodate. Accommodations aren't really that difficult to make once you know what the person needs and as a person with disabilities myself, it's up to me to ask for the accommodations and maybe try to ask them ahead of time. And the other thing that I completely forgot on my end is somebody with a disability is if I've had a good experience at a hotel or a festival or when traveling, I always try to make sure that I say thank you. I think that if we stop, take the time and say thank you, it goes a long, long way. And I really try to make sure that, as I say, if I’ve had a positive experience that I have said thank you. You know, sometimes you'll get those cards in a hotel room or also you can do that online as well if that card is inaccessible to you. I know, and rightly so, I know that when we have a concern, when we've had a not so good experience traveling, we may send an email or a letter or something to express our concerns. And sometimes that's needed. But I also think that we should... if we've had a positive experience as people with disabilities, we really should be thanking and, you know, congratulating the service for doing such a good job. I think that sending a positive note goes a long, long way.

 

Christel Seeberger: [00:45:00] Shelley Ann that was actually a delightful way to wrap up, because, as you know, we called... we called... I called our... our social enterprise sensory friendly solutions because we want to share solutions and what is positive and helpful in making things more accessible and inclusive to people of all ages. So that was absolutely perfect. What a, yeah, perfect thing to say.

 

Shelley Ann Morris: [00:45:31] Well, I hope I mentioned everything. Like there is so many.... so many things, I guess it’s just common sense. But it really is amazing. I’ve had so many positive experiences while traveling.

 

Sophie Yang: [00:45:42] I would like to thank Shelly Ann Morris, admin of the Canadian Council of the blind and radio show host  Welcome to My World for joining us today and sharing such valuable information on the topic of vision loss and many important tips and strategies. Thank you as well to our listeners. We hope you are enjoying and learning from the 55+ Travelers: Arriving and Thriving audio-conference brought to you by Sensory Friendly Solutions. You may also be interested in our episode on hearing loss with Lynn Leblanc, executive director of New Brunswick Deaf and Hard of Hearing services, since changes in vision and changes in hearing both affect older, mature travelers. You can find more resources about making tourist attractions, events, and location sensory friendly at sensoryfriendly.net.


People on this episode

Head Shot

Christel Seeberger

Co-host

Podcasts we love

Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.

Mike and Kristen Artwork

Mike and Kristen

Mike and Kristen