Organizing Tips for the Vision Impaired and/or Blind
Vision impairment and/or blindness can be a difficult adjustment if you have been sighted for the majority of your life. Adjustments take time and patience can wear thin.
My Reizen Braille Labeler is one of my favorite organizational tools and so fun! It allows us to customize labels for our vision impaired and/or blind clients! Every client has different and specific needs, so we definitely try to accommodate everyone. We have listed our top 5 tips for organizing to accommodate special needs for our clients.
1. Find out what they specifically might need or want, just as you would in any consultation. If they are using a guide dog and the dog has the harness on, they are working. Do not jump the gun and love on them until you have permission to do so.
2. Braille labels alongside traditional labels help identify products; by using traditional labels, it helps sighted visitors find and return items to the same spot.
3. Baskets with different textures are a great resource for using other senses such as touch. Being able to group similar items in the same baskets limits confusion.
4. Clock references: for example, your coffee station is at your 9 o’clock tells them that their coffee supplies are to their left.
5. You can apply the same system for organizing your kitchen and closet in similar methods. Box shoes in clear bins and have them labeled. Clothes can be labeled and technology nowadays offer incredible devices that can tell you what color your shirt is. Oftentimes, clients like their outfits matched up ahead of time to avoid confusion and tend to keep color palettes that work interchangeably.