Welcome to the Voice’s newest feature! If Blindness Comes is a special pull-out section on diabetes and vision loss, printed in a larger font. If you know someone living with diabetes and vision loss, please pull this section out and share it.
Each If Blindness Comes special section will include Voices of Reason, an interview addressing your questions about diabetes and vision loss. We welcome your questions for future issues. This issue features Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind.
Q: Dr. Maurer, readers have noticed that the Voice is published by a division of the National Federation of the Blind. Why does the NFB publish a diabetes magazine?
A: The NFB works to improve the lives of ALL people with vision loss. We’re very active in diabetes because many blind people develop diabetes, and many diabetics lose their vision. In fact, diabetes is the single greatest cause of new blindness among working-age Americans, with many thousands of individuals losing sight from diabetes each year.
The NFB’s goal is to help blind people achieve self-confidence and self-respect. Too often blind people are told that we CAN’T do things on our own—that we can’t travel or cook or raise children or support ourselves—without a sighted person to help us. As more than 50,000 NFB members prove every day, this notion simply isn’t true!
Likewise, many people with diabetes who lose their sight are told that they cannot manage their diabetes on their own. That is just wrong! As you know from reading the Voice, many, many blind diabetics test their blood glucose levels, administer insulin or oral medications, and even use insulin pumps, completely on their own.
The NFB seeks to show the world that blind people, including blind people with diabetes, can be self-reliant. Publishing Voice of the Diabetic is the best way the NFB can further this mission among people with diabetes. For 21 years, Voice editor Ed Bryant has led our efforts to spread the NFB’s message of ability, equality, and self-empowerment to the diabetes community.
Q: I’ve been working for years and enjoy it, but now that I am losing my vision due to diabetes, my boss thinks I should retire. What should I do?
A: Of course you do not need to retire. You and your boss need to learn about the training and accommodations that will allow you to do your job just as well as you always have. The NFB is here to help. Call our national office at (410) 659-9314 and we will help you find all the tools you need. We might even connect you with a blind mentor in your field.
Blind people succeed in all kinds of jobs. The NFB’s members include farmers, lawyers, secretaries, factory workers, teachers, nurses, restaurant managers, child care workers, social workers, and computer programmers, to name a few. With the right tools, I am confident that you can stay on the job.
But if your boss refuses to make accommodations, or if you need help speaking to your employer about your rights, the NFB may be able to advocate on your behalf, as we have successfully done in many instances.
Q: You’ve mentioned blind people working with computers. Can blind people do so independently?
A: We can and we do, every day. In fact, the advancements in adaptive computer technology and the availability of rehabilitation training have provided blind people with more opportunity than ever. There are many technologies available for people with low vision and blindness. Some devices magnify the screen to enlarge the print display, others read the computer screen aloud, and still others translate the screen contents into Braille.
The NFB has a wealth of information on these and other adaptive technologies available on our Web site (www.nfb.org). You can also call our Technology Answer Line at (410) 659-9314, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern-Standard Time. Our technology specialists can help you identify the information and resources that best meet your needs.
Using a computer is like anything else—when blind people want to do it, we will find a way.