Caring for loved ones with disabilities

After a series of eye surgeries in the US (18 surgeries from 1982 to 1989 due to glaucoma), Jaime Silva, more known to family and friends as Jimmy, and his wife Helen decided to change the focus of their lives. Instead of travelling back and forth to the US for his eye treatments, they opted to stay at home in Manila to take care of their daughter Erica and build their family. Later on, they were blessed with a son, Sandro. In 1989, his eyesight continued to deteriorate, from low vision to total blindness.

While in Grade 7, he was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma, and had to wear corrective glasses. As a teenager, Jimmy enjoyed solving math problems, and did sketches and drawings. This encouraged him to take up architecture. “I never thought my glaucoma would be a hindrance to my profession. Though I had constant headaches, and my eyesight a concern, I persevered to finish the course. After passing the board exams, I worked for an architectural office for experience, and eventually started my own practice,” shares Jimmy

This December, Jimmy and Helen will celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. Jimmy tells us “Between eye surgeries in the US, I studied orientation and mobility and later learned Braille. I had so much time that I found a new passion, listening to spoken books. At that time, it was more on four-track cassette tapes and flexible phonograph discs. That was when I started to read, and read, and read.”

When we asked him what advice he could give to those with disabilities, he said, “I would advise that they first try to find out what they really want to do. This is where their passion will begin. Once they have decided on what to do, they should start learning everything about it, not only to be good at it, but to be better than the other person. Most important is that they should continue and not stop learning, but aim to be the best. As JFK would say, ‘We do not do things because they are easy, but we do things because they are hard’.”

Jimmy, vice chair, Sub Commitee on Accessibility on Built Environment and Transportation, National Council on Disability Affairs, shares 10 insights on caring for and being with loved ones with disabilities:

1. Dining. A sighted person can verbally explain to the blind person, where each type of food, like fish, vegetable, meat or rice, is located on his plate. The sighted person can use the clock orientation to explain where the specific food is located. The key is to use the clock orientation to inform the blind person where the food is located on his plate. If the blind person is served food, avoid serving him chicken with chicken bones, fish with fish bones, and seafood with shells.

2. Directing the blind person to the chair. To assist the blind person, the sighted person can take his hand and make him touch the back rest of the chair, then make him touch the seat of the chair. That way, he will know how far he is from the chair, and where the chair is facing.

3. Assisting the blind person when walking to go to another location. When bringing the blind person from one location to another, the sighted person offers his right elbow. The blind person will hold on to the sighted person’s right elbow with his left hand. As they walk together, the blind person will be one half step behind the sighted person. If they need to make a turn, the sighted person informs the blind person a few steps before, they they will make a right or a left turn.

4. Descriptive videos. A blind person can watch the same videos that the sighted person watches. One of these is the subscription program “Sero from Serotech.” This subscription includes not only movies and television series, but also podcasts, World News, documentaries, Entertainment, Sports, History, Technology, Geography, and many more. To better understand descriptive videos, there will be a voiceover, narrating what is happening on the screen.

5. Blind person at the pharmacy counter. Together with other customers, the blind person is standing in front of a pharmacy counter, where other customers are also waiting to be attended to. After a few minutes, the pharmacist then steps in front of the blind person and waits for the blind person to give his order. What should the pharmacist do? The pharmacist should tap the arm of the blind person, to inform the blind person, the pharmacist is talking to him.

6. Appreciation of building facade. One day, a graduating student of architecture visited me at the office and asked me to comment on her thesis. After we discussed the floor circulation of her design, and I gave my observations, she asked me how I’d be able to appreciate the building facade. I told her that a sighted person will appreciate the building differently from a blind person. The sighted person will appreciate the building visually, through its proportion, color, balance, and other aesthetic design features. On the other hand, the blind person will not appreciate the building facade, but will appreciate the building by experiencing the different functions and areas, as he walks through and experiences the building.

7. Misuse of PWD IDs for discounts. The law requires retail establishments to accommodate discounts to PWDs in restaurants, drug stores, department stores, groceries, transportation fares, movie houses, hotels, and other retail establishments. Unfortunately, many non-PWDs are able to secure PWD IDs, by falsifying their health conditions. It is important to understand that these PWD IDs should only be used by persons with permanent disabilities. These types of permanent disabilities include blindness and visual impairment, deafness and hearing difficulties, ambulatory disabilities, and developmental and intellectual disabilities.

8. Audible and visual announcements in transportation terminals. A blind passenger will always request assistance at the airport to bring him to the waiting area near the assigned boarding gate. Unfortunately, sometimes, these assigned boarding gates are changed and broadcast visually through television monitors inside the transportation terminal. The blind person will not know of the new assigned boarding gate, if no audio announcements are made. In short, if we want these transportation terminals to be accessible and inclusive, announcements must be both in the audio and visual medium, for the blind and deaf to be aware of the change in gate assignments.

9. Text to audio device. Not all websites are accessible to the blind. Many materials downloaded from the websites are in PDF format, but some still are not computer readable. These barriers hinder the blind person from downloading research materials needed for school or for work. The same conditions are experienced on digitized online platforms. A website is considered accessible and inclusive when the text is computer-readable, the photos or drawings or other forms of graphic features have alternative text features explaining what is shown.

10. An office environment. When a PWD is hired in an office, he is expected to co-exist with the other employees. He undergoes orientation to familiarize himself with office policies and procedures. In addition, the company modifies the architectural office facilities to be accessible to the PWD, and expects the PWD to be productive. The PWD should adapt and interphase with other employees. On the other hand, the company should also conduct disability seminars, to orient the other employees, on how to understand and interact with PWDs, so they can be independent and productive.

We welcome your suggestions and comments. Please e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Instagram @monsromulo.