Dynamic Slides Presentation Comprising 21 Images

Open Your Eyes

to the

Talent Around You

Nicole Hull

Employment Specialist

Bosma Enterprises

Indianapolis, IN

Overview of Bosma Enterprises

•

Not-for-profit organization located in Indianapolis

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Founded by the State of Indiana as the Board of

Industrial Aid for the Blind in 1915 and became an

independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) in 1988

•

Provides training, vision rehabilitation, and

employment services to individuals who are blind or

visually impaired

•

Bosma’s Mission is to create opportunities for

individuals who are blind or visually impaired

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Bosma is putting people to work!

Objectives

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Understand the different types of visual

impairments

•

Expand the thoughts of employers and providers

when working with someone who has a visual

impairment

•

Discuss the daily problem solving skills used by

individuals who are blind or visually impaired

•

Examine the fears managers have when hiring

individuals who have a disability

•

Explore reasonable accommodations in the

workplace

Blindness as a Framework

What is Blindness?

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Visual Impairment – A person’s eyesight

cannot be corrected to a “normal level”.

•

Legally Blind – Visual acuity of 20/200 or

worse with the best possible correction and a

visual field of 20 degrees or less.

•

Blindness – Visual acuity of 20/400 or worse

with the best possible correction and a visual

field of 10 degrees or less.

Types of Visual Impairments

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Diabetic Retinopathy 

- Diabetic retinopathy

is a condition occurring in persons with

diabetes, which causes progressive damage

to the retina

•

Symptoms include:  Seeing spots or floaters

in the field of vision, blurred vision, having a

dark or empty spot in the center of the vision,

difficulty seeing well at night

Types of Visual Impairments

•

Glaucoma

 - a group of eye disorders leading to

progressive damage to the optic nerve, and is

characterized by loss of nerve tissue resulting in

loss of vision.  Majority caused by increased

pressure in the eye

•

Symptoms include:  Sometimes a person will

slowly begin to lose their peripheral vision,

tunnel vision, and could eventually lose all

vision

Types of Visual Impairments

•

Macular Degeneration

 - 2 types (wet, dry)

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Dry:  tissue of the macula gradually becomes thin and

stops functioning properly. There is no cure, and any

loss in central vision cannot be

•

Wet:  when fluids leak from newly formed blood

vessels under the macula and blur central vision.

Vision loss can be rapid and severe

•

Symptoms include:  a gradual loss of ability to see

objects clearly, distorted vision, a gradual loss of color

vision, and a dark or empty area appearing in the

center of vision.

Types of Visual Impairments

•

Retinitis Pigmentosa

 -  a group of inherited

diseases that damage the light-sensitive rods

and cones located in the retina, the back part of

our eyes. Rods, which provide side (peripheral)

and night vision are affected more than the

cones that provide color and clear central vision.

•

Fortunately, most cases of retinitis pigmentosa

take a long time to develop and vision loss is

gradual. It may take many years for loss of vision

to be severe.

Diversity Requires Broad Thinking

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Use “People First” language

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Address them by name (guess who?)

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Identify or Introduce Others

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Speak directly to the Person

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Use natural conversational tone and speed

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Be Specific and Descriptive

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Give Verbal cues

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Don’t be afraid to start a conversation with “Did

you see …”

Diversity Requires Broad Thinking

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Identify yourself when you walk into the room

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Make sure you also tell them when you leave

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Ask them what they see

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Ask if they want a sighted guide

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Do not grab or pull on the person

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Be as descriptive as possible

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When in doubt … ask!

Types of Accommodations?

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Computer accommodations – JAWS, Zoom

Test, Braille Display

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Magnifiers – CCTV (large or handheld)

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Scanner/Reader

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Orientation & Mobility

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Working with an employment specialist or

job coach can make the process smooth

Did You Know?

•

90% of people who are legally blind have some

usable vision and most can read print or

magnified print?

•

88% of accommodations for B/VI cost less than

$1000, 50% cost less than $500, and 15% cost

nothing?

•

Actual studies show that people with visual

impairments do not have a higher risk for

accidents than the general population of

sighted workers?  In fact, insurance statistics

show they have a better safety record.

Did You Know?

•

Consumers intentionally support businesses

that employ people who are blind or otherwise

disabled?

•

54% of households are more responsive to

businesses that feature people with disabilities

in their advertising?

•

1.5million Americans with vision loss use

computers?

•

People with visual impairments are the second

largest group of people with disabilities in the

United States?

Working in a Warehouse Setting

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Job Requirement: take a printout, pick orders

from the racks, bring to shipping area, pack

the boxes and ship

–

Is it reasonable for a company of 3 employees to

split the work of picking and packing orders?

–

What about the same job in a company with 30

employees?  300 employees?

–

Magnifiers, Orientation & Mobility

Working in Manufacturing

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Work environment: the assembly line is

designed at a height to benefit standing

workers

–

Is it practical to lower the height of the line for a

person in a wheelchair?

–

What about installing a platform the wheelchair

worker could use to raise them to required

height?

–

Accommodations needed for assembly work?

Office Based Service Role

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The company does work that relies heavily on

telephones and computers

–

Can a person who is blind or visually impaired do

this job if they can’t see the screen?

–

Would larger screens, magnifiers, or screen

reading software packages be considered

reasonable accommodations?

Sleeping on the Job

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Company is open 12-hours per day and

employees work 8-hour overlapping shifts

•

An individual has a medical condition

requiring them to take extended breaks or

naps during the day

–

Could a split shift accommodate their needs?

–

Might this also serve your company?

Transportation Woes

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Workers shift typically starts at 8:00 AM

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The worker relies on public transportation to

get to and from work

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The bus arrives at 7:15 AM and 8:15 AM

–

Is it reasonable to modify the workers schedule

to start at 8:30 AM?

–

What if they are the only worker who can do the

job and the business needs to open to the public

at 8:00 AM?

Conclusion

•

Help is available from employment specialists

and job coaches when you need it

•

Employers who are open to accommodating the

needs of their workers often have very happy,

loyal, and productive employees

•

Happy, loyal, and productive employees create

delighted customers

•

Delighted customers are repeat customers!

Fun Tools

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Goggles

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Dark-lined paper

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20/20 Pen

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Identify large print preference

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Labeling items

–

cans of soup

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Bleach/Tide

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Jelly vs. Pickles

My Information

Nicole Hull

Employment Specialist

Bosma Enterprises

Indianapolis, IN

nicoleh@bosma.org

(317) 704-8185