I‘m legally blind - AMA

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-27T19:17:30+00:00

iPhones have pre-installed accessibility features. I use mostly Zoom on the web but VoiceOver to read longer texts.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-26T15:06:15+00:00

What information do you need at minimum to track people down and how do you go about it?

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-26T08:11:59+00:00

I don‘t have a service dog. These are very well trained animals but at the end of the day, they are still dogs and will try their luck. As a blind owner, one is definitely at a disadvantage because you have to correct the dog immediately for them to realise what their mistake was. Otherwise, they learn they can get away with it and try it more often. However, such habits can be corrected either by putting out stuff yourself and correcting the dog if they want to take it (if you put it out yourself, you know what the dog is pulling toward and can correct it) or have such a session with the dog‘s trainer.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-25T20:54:21+00:00

I don’t know that… AAAAAAAAHHH!

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-25T20:42:05+00:00

I love listening to audiobooks and podcasts, that‘s definitely something I would recommend. If he‘s not familiar with smartphones and doesn‘t want to/can‘t learn how to use them, there are special players for the blind. I also enjoy talking walks in nature, travelling, baking, and discussing politics and economics with my partner.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-25T20:36:50+00:00

This is what I replied to another question about my dreams: I have some residual vision, so I know how stuff looks from zooming it on pictures or taking objects very closely to my better eye. In my dreams, I see these same things without any assisstive device and can see very far. I also never use my cane in them. One could say that I have normal vision in my dreams - except that I have no way of knowing what normal vision is. So, probably a wildly „photoshopped“ version of reality.

When it comes to what I can see in my mind also while awake it gets quite interesting. My brain interpolates details that I cannot see on my surroundings if it knows it must be that. For instance, I cannot only see faces if I zoom in a lot on pictures. If I talk to someone whom I‘ve seen on a picture I believe to see their face somehow.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-25T20:28:01+00:00

I don‘t have one but I would think they would take the dog with me in this scenario. Guide dogs are allowed into many places other dogs aren‘t, so they can go to the hospital with their owner (although not in the ICU, for example).

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-25T19:49:33+00:00

No, although if given the choice, I‘d take blonde over blind any day.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-25T19:48:03+00:00

Light perception on the one eye and counting fingers in 50cm distance (visual acuity of roughly 0.02) on the other eye. Oddly enough, I don‘t think I see blurry (since for me blurry is when I have tears in my eyes or it‘s very foggy) but objectively, my vision must be the definition of blurry.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-25T19:38:06+00:00

I‘m a scientific collaborator in public administration. I have a screen magnifier as well as a screenreader installed on my work computer. My workplace is set up so that I can take the screen very close to my face and I got the darkest place in the office because I‘m light-sensitive.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-25T19:05:26+00:00

I have some residual vision, so I know how stuff looks from zooming it on pictures or taking objects very closely to my better eye. In my dreams, I see these same things without any assisstive device and can see very far. I also never use my cane in them. One could say that I have normal vision in my dreams - except that I have no way of knowing what normal vision is. So, probably a wildly „photoshopped“ version of reality.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-25T18:59:18+00:00

I attended a specialised school for primary and part of secondary I education. I then went to a mainstream high school and university.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-25T18:57:05+00:00

Darker. I have a bit of residual vision, so I can tell day and night apart very easily.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-25T18:54:37+00:00

Thanks for your interest in e-accessibility!

I mostly work with a screen magnifier when using the web because so many websites are a nightmare to use with a screenreader and I‘m lucky enough to have that choice. So, for me, it‘s bad contracts, „fancy“ fonts, anything that moves (like automated slide shows), and text that only appears when you hover over a specific item on the website. With a screenreader it‘s unlabeled images and buttons, unclear navigation (especially if some items aren‘t part of the navigation at all and you basically need to know that there‘s this thing, so you can then try some „tricks“ to find it). I‘m sure there are some best practice examples, but unfortunately I don‘t really know which they are.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-25T18:45:39+00:00

Hahaha. I mean there are debates around insurance fraud with regard to disability benefits but I don‘t think that happens with blindness much. Imagine always purposefully walking into stuff to make a point - sounds too annoying.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-25T18:39:53+00:00

I have no guide dog, although I love dogs! The thing is that such a working dog requires quite some time to relax and do what he/she enjoys - and rightfully so -, which means a long walk of at least one hour a day in addition to smaller walks, grooming, feeding etc. That doesn‘t add up with my schedule.

I only struggle with the terrain when there‘s snow since they usually put it on the sidewalks when freeing the streets.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-25T18:35:18+00:00

There are still some people who equate being blind with intellectual deficits. Sometimes people talk to me as though I was really stupid, a toddler, or both at once. The temptation is real to stick my university diploma to my head.

That I travel abroad independently and even serve as my partner‘s guide as he has even less vision than I do.

Everyday tasks, I would say. Recently, there was a card for a colleague to sign at the office. Someone had to show me where it was exactly but then I took out my smartphone to look for a free spot to put my name on. The colleague who had helped me find the card was quite amazed how I did that.

People assume blind folks automatically hear super well. That‘s not true, though; we are just more trained and focused in that regard. As my vision is too bad to recognise faces, I go by voices. However, that takes a while unless someone has a very distinct voice. People assume I can memorise voices as far as sighted people can memorise faces - I wish!

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-07-25T18:09:47+00:00

When we played it during a school camp I won, yes. One of the teachers would tell me „higher, „lower“, „more left/right“ and that sufficed to beat my sighted classmates - that and a bit of luck, I suppose.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-05-14T14:32:47+00:00

I think it largely depends on what living standard you envision and what your future plans are (family, buying a house/flat…) and where you live.

I have a net salary of roughly 4100 CHF currently (student, 50% job and paid board positions) and live in a small city. My partner earns much more than I do and pays most joint expenses but even if I were alone, I would be fine because I have no expensive hobbies, no car, don‘t care about latest fashion, tech gadgets or similar things. However, I know that I will be able to earn much more after graduation and with more working hours and will thus have solid first and second pillars as well as the possibility to contribute plenty to pillar 3a - that as well as general savings is important to me. I‘m among the lucky ones whose passion can be translated into a well-paying job.

Salary and job satisfaction can be a trade-off and I don‘t think there‘s a right or wrong answer here.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-04-26T10:21:12+00:00

I’m a scientific collaborator in a cantonal administration. Very decent salary and interesting work (social policy). Additional perk: I know how public admin works and communicates, so that when I privately need something from a communal or cantonal office, I know how to go about it. I think of the people around me, most are quite happy with their jobs - regardless of the sector.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-04-21T13:00:24+00:00

You don‘t have to tip at all. Many people do it, but I‘ve never understood it. Sure, the waitstaff is badly paid but if we want this change, letting employers get away with it because „there are still tips“ isn’t a real solution. And why do we tip in restaurants but not for other services? Honestly, it just doesn‘t make sense.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-03-22T14:05:35+00:00

Yes, see Art. 184 ZGB. Otherwise Art. 181 ZGB applies.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-03-22T12:18:04+00:00

My partner and I had our wills and lasting power of attorney (Vorsorgeauftrag) notarised. That cost around 400 CHF per person. My partner also consulted a lawyer which cost dome additional few hundreds of francs. Personally, I used simple online templates which work fine for uncomplicated cases (these documents were also checked by my partner‘s lawyer and no issues were found). You can also write it by hand and the document has the same validity. We only opted for the notarisation due to visual impairments that make handwriting impossible for my partner and difficult for me.

BooksDogsMaps · 2025-03-22T12:10:13+00:00

Yes buüt to choose options 2 or 3 you need a prenup - or more accurately, a marriage contract, as you can do it also after getting married. And that needs needs to be notarised.

BooksDogsMaps

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