FIL is mostly blind now, what would be a good, useful gift for him this year?

[Disney1fan2002]

My FIL is losing his sight rapidly. He has had diabetes for a long time, and he did not regulate his sugar intake. His glucose levels were off the chart for a long, long time. Now, he is paying. He had to stop driving over the summer, he sits right up close to the TV with these "super" glasses on. He has started to listen to the books on tape he gets in the mail (in a green container).

He is frustrated that he can't do much of what he used to. What kind of things can I pick up for him that may make this transition easier for him? I had been getting him large print books the past few years, but I don't even think he can read those anymore.

 

[DVC-Don]

Oops, saw you already did what I was going to suggest.

 

[Goofycampers]

How about some books on tape?

 

[terri01p]

How about buying him a scanner, where he can listen to fire, police and if you get a good one people's phone conversation...that's alway fun . Even like a CB where he can talk to people....good times folks! Try to get him interested in something else other than tv.

 

[C.Ann]

If he really enjoys reading, then definitely more books on tape..

Also - how about his telephone? Does he have the one with the super huge numbers so that he can see to dial if he wants to call and chat with someone?

 

[walkerag]

My grandfather went blind for the same reasons as your FIL. He had this little box that was a "talking clock" that he loved. He could press the button to hear what time it was. I do belive that was a Christmas gift and he used it for 15 or 20 years.. He also loved his electric razor because he could shave and not worry about hurting himself, also a Christmas gift. HTH

 

[Disney1fan2002]

How about buying him a scanner, where he can listen to firer, police and if you get a good one people's phone conversation...that's alway fun . Even like a CB where he can talk to people....good times folks!

Oh God! LOL this just brought a flood of memories back about my mom. She loved her scanner! She listened to it all the time, she even had a list of all of our license plate numbers next to the scanner so when she heard them call in a plate, she could make sure it wasn't one of us! That's a great idea. I'll look into it. Radio Shack must sell them, right?

 

[Goofycampers]

Sorry I just realized you already said that in your post. Music, maybe he should also consider learning braille.

 

[terri01p]

Oh God! LOL this just brought a flood of memories back about my mom. She loved her scanner! She listened to it all the time, she even had a list of all of our license plate numbers next to the scanner so when she heard them call in a plate, she could make sure it wasn't one of us! That's a great idea. I'll look into it. Radio Shack must sell them, right?

Hehe, now you know how we grew up, we never hardly ever turnd the tv on and it was always good times in our house. Radio Shack does sell them.

 

[Cindy B]

If he is computer savvy, look into some specific software for visually impaired people such as Zoomtext, Kurzweill 3000, JAWS or other speech software.

Zoomtext magnifies the text whereas Kurzweil and JAWS uses speech based software which give a "play by play" of your mouse clicks and Windows navigation.

I heard the program "Dragon" advertised as a speech software, but I haven't used it.

This sounds crazy but a thorough cleaning and reorganization of the house/place he is living. When we visit our former colleagues (both blind) they are asking us to move something with them so they don't hurt themselves -- usually moving furniture and such.

You may want to install a doorbell if there is not one. Offer to do things such as lawn care or rides to places. Implment a system for visual things such as folding money a certain way that they can manipulate it and purchase iwth it. (ie fold certain corners of dollars, go over types of coins, etc..)

I would also take to AFB or NFB (American Federation of Blind and/or National Federation of Blind) local office and ask about cane training and mobility training.

 

[Cindy B]

Sorry I just realized you already said that in your post. Music, maybe he should also consider learning braille.

Great point about Braille but there is a huge lack of certified Braille teachers in this country. Most are contracted out for specific school and "freelance" instructors" may have assignments in different parts of the country.

 

[C.Ann]

Oh God! LOL this just brought a flood of memories back about my mom. She loved her scanner! She listened to it all the time, she even had a list of all of our license plate numbers next to the scanner so when she heard them call in a plate, she could make sure it wasn't one of us! That's a great idea. I'll look into it. Radio Shack must sell them, right?

Have to be careful what kind of scanner you get though - and if it's going to work in the needed area.. Many of the frequencies are "trunked" now (so criminals can't get a heads up when the police are closing in on them - as well as keeping news crews away from crime scenes that haven't been secured yet)..

DD bought me a $380 scanner a number of years ago and once they trunked all the frequencies, it was pretty much useless..

 

[Cindy B]

Have to be careful what kind of scanner you get though - and if it's going to work in the needed area.. Many of the frequencies are "trunked" now (so criminals can't get a heads up when the police are closing in on them - as well as keeping news crews away from crime scenes that haven't been secured yet)..

DD bought me a $380 scanner a number of years ago and once they trunked all the frequencies, it was pretty much useless..

That is true. Now all we can get is EMS and some smaller police stations far away.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

When I was in college, I worked for the Radio Reading Service for the Blind. It was broadcast on a subcarrier frequency and required a special receiver. This was in Gainesville.

I am uncertain as to how people got the receiver--whether it was something they could buy or something they request or something that they are referred for.

The service was neat, we would broadcast recordings of current books, we would read the newspaper, we even read the grocery ads. It was all on block scheduling. Even the comics were read. We did alot of the stuff, and other blocks were on a national network.

Anyway--I'm wondering if there was a way that you can find out if any of the radio stations offer such a service. If they do, perhaps you can find out how to get a receiver and I think that would be an awesome gift.

The listeners very much appreciated the service and it allowed them to stay current with print items that they no longer had the ability to read themselves.

If you can provide his city, then I would be happy to do some research for you to see if we can come up with something in his area.

Here is a wikipedia article that explains this service:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_reading_service

 

[Daisybelle]

My father went through the exact same thing as your FIL. One thing I did from time to time was ask some of his good friends who lived back we're we were originally from to make recordings of themselves reading some of his favorite magazines. He missed his nature magazines and got a kick out of hearing the voices of friends he hadn't seen in awhile reading to him.

My brother made him a really neat walking stick and bought him a safety vest so he could still go on his walks around the neighborhood and still feel safe. he walked almost 4 miles every day up until the day he died.

 

[chirurgeon]

Have you thought about a subscription to Audible.com? You can download audio books to the computer and MP3 player.

Kim

 

[bookgirl]

One of those huge book sized remote controls.

There also machines you can buy that you lay the book on and it makes the print huge. Kind of like a microscope for books.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

How about a Kindle? There is a text-to-speech option that allows the kindle to read you your book, newspaper, etc.

It is still experimental, so some glitches and not all authors have authorized the reading of their book, but there is still a wealth of books and newspapers that he can have read to him.

 

[C.Ann]

My father went through the exact same thing as your FIL. One thing I did from time to time was ask some of his good friends who lived back we're we were originally from to make recordings of themselves reading some of his favorite magazines. He missed his nature magazines and got a kick out of hearing the voices of friends he hadn't seen in awhile reading to him..

What a great idea!!