Current location:
Features
- Profile: After rehabilitation, Muhammad Jihad returns to helping people
- Blind Perspective: As blind people we are history in the making
- Talking Tech w/Curtis Chong: My transition to Windows 7 and Office 2010
After rehabilitation, Muhammad Jihad returns to helping people
By Courtney Townsend, Contributing Writer
After having a stroke that left him visually impaired, Muhammad Jihad thought he was done working for good. However, after contacting the Iowa Department for the Blind, he soon realized this was not the case.
“It helped me get back on my feet to go back out to the workforce,” he said.
Jihad, 44, is now a full-time employee at the Hy-Vee grocery store in Windsor Heights—a suburb of Des Moines. The job keeps him busy washing dishes, setting tables and filling jelly trays and napkin holders, but his favorite part of the job is interacting with customers.
“My biggest thing is helping people,” he said. “Hy-Vee likes it because I’m always happy and talking to customers, because I’m very friendly.”
That is evident. It is rare to see Jihad without a wide grin upon his face, greeting people and asking about their well-being in his booming voice.
Previously, Jihad worked in Des Moines federal buildings doing custodial work; however, after his stroke he thought his time working anywhere was over.
That led to a conversation with IDB Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Toni Reimers. And, in May 2009 he entered the Orientation Center unsure of himself. “If I hadn’t gotten into this program, I don’t think I’d have gone back to work,” he said.
But, once he learned non-visual skills he felt a huge boost of confidence, he said.
After graduating from the Center in September 2009, Jihad said he realized that his attitude toward his blindness had changed, and he was ready to leave and go back out to the workforce.
“He was always very upbeat and worked hard on developing a positive attitude about his blindness,” said Sandy Tigges, director of the Center. “It’s really exciting to see a former student be so successful in a job because that’s what it’s all about.”
The skills he was taught during his time at the Center have proven to be useful at his Hy-Vee job.
“I have to do [my job] differently because of my vision loss,” he said. “I use the TC vision scanner to read labels, instructions and manuals, but I keep the dining room clean.”
Jihad said his supervisors were hesitant at first upon hiring him because of his blindness. But they soon realized that not only did he get the job done, he did it well.
“At first I was concerned because there are so many obstacles, like pushing carts or interacting with customers, and I wasn’t sure what his abilities were,” said Randy Kruse, store director. “He’s done a fantastic job, though, and it is great to have him on board. It’s good to be a part of giving someone a second chance to have a job and feel worthy again.”
Jihad said he likes this job better than his previous job in custodial care, and he’s more comfortable because there is less stress and there’s a lot of interaction with customers.
When he is not working hard, he enjoys listening to a variety of audio books, which he receives from the Iowa Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, a division of the IDB.
“Right now I’m listening to the Quran, but I like fiction and history books, too,” he said.
Jihad said he is very grateful for the assistance he obtained through the Orientation Center and the Department. Since his time at the Center, he has moved back into his Des Moines home and enjoys being self-sufficient once again, he said.
He now can continue his life as it was before vision loss, with a few modifications to help with his blindness.
“I thank the teachers for the help and getting me back out in society. I don’t have to wait on anyone to help me anymore and can function with my blindness,” he said.
Blind Perspective: As blind people we are history in the making
By Linda Slayton
When someone says, “We’re seeing history in the making,” we know something important is happening in the world. The truth is we see history in the making every single day of our lives. More amazing to me is that we get to live history in the making. Think about the changes that have occurred since each of us was born. Age-wise we may be anywhere from 10 to 100, but every one of us has witnessed tremendous changes in our lifetime.
For blind people those changes are remarkable. There are so many areas where opportunities have grown out of seemingly infertile soil. When I began losing my sight in 1986, I didn’t know any blind people who even had a job. The blind people I had met were elderly, stayed home and had others who assisted them. It’s no wonder that I felt disillusioned at my future prospects. No wonder I was so scared. Indeed, blindness was the one thing I had been warned about since becoming diabetic as a child.
I think the reason the Orientation Center at the Iowa Department for the Blind drew me in, initially, was because it was the only place I believed any hope existed. The philosophy made sense to me. The core elements of the program not only made a promise, it placed that promise squarely in front me in the form of capable and successful blind people.
While I was a student, the Commission for the Blind was placed under the Department of Human Rights. I was part of a grass-roots effort to regain our department-level status. As part of the newly formed Department for the Blind, I saw first-hand what organization, effort and belief could accomplish. About that same time, technology started blossoming and along with it came technology for blind folks. I remember writing a letter of recommendation for utilizing something called a CD Rom. I had no idea what a CD Rom was and could only write that letter after a crash course on its benefits. Fast forward and here I am in a world of digital book players and flash drives! JAWS went from being a thriller to a means of communication.
My husband, Kevin, and I watch a show called Covert Affairs, in which one of the main characters, Auggie Anderson, is a blind man who works for the CIA. He uses highly technical equipment. The best part is the devices are no longer science fiction and the blind guy is portrayed as an intelligent human. (Sorry, Mr. McGoo, I’m leaving you for Auggie!)
My point is that as blind people, we are ourselves history in the making. We are at a turning point in which we switch from being considered poor disabled outcasts to being integrated contributors in society. I don’t get the chance very often to say thank you to those who paved this road for me. So thank you. I don’t take lightly the sacrifices you made for the future I get to live now. I hope that, in some small way, I leave something for those that follow me down this same path. Our shared path may have its twists and turns, even brambles, but we walk it together—taking neither the past nor future for granted.
Linda Slayton is a freelance writer living in Des Moines. She can be reached by e-mail at lcslayton@yahoo.com
Talking Tech w/Curtis Chong: My transition to Windows 7 and Office 2010
Early this fall, I decided to take the plunge, rebuild my office computer, and start using Windows 7 and Office 2010--all in one go. Windows 7 is the most current operating system from Microsoft, and Office 2010 is the latest Microsoft offering in its line of Office products.
I was reasonably certain that Windows 7 would work with my screen access technology, and I had heard from a number of blind friends and colleagues from around the country that Office 2010 would be OK as long as I upgraded my screen access program to the latest version.
While I have been using these two significant upgrades for only a few months, I have reached the point where I am comfortable performing everyday tasks without having to search for buttons or checkboxes that I used to find with ease.
For me, the transition from Windows XP to Windows 7 was not as challenging as the transition from Office 2003 to Office 2010. Windows 7 is essentially a lot like Windows XP with a few improvements. On the other hand, running Office 2010 on a Windows 7 computer has resulted in a few interesting quirks for me. For example, I noticed right away that the “My Documents” folder has gone away. Windows 7 now likes to use libraries which are essentially collections of pointers to files and folders. Beware of the library if you like to know where things are located on your hard drive or on a network drive. I find myself doing more copying and pasting of paths in Windows 7 than in previous versions because of the absence of the “My Documents” shortcut.
Changes You Will Notice With Office 2010
In Office 2010, Microsoft has decided to implement the Ribbon for all Office applications--not just Microsoft Word. For people who have grown accustomed to the standard menu bar found everywhere else in Windows, this will require some learning and exploration because all of the usual menu items have now been relocated. Fortunately, in programs such as Microsoft Word and Outlook, many of the standard keystrokes still work: Control+E still centers text; Control+U still toggles underlining; and in Outlook, you can still press Control+N to create a new message, Control+R to reply to a message, Control+Shift+R to send a reply to all message recipients; and Control+Shift+B to open the Outlook Address Book.
My transition to the Microsoft ribbon was made less painful because of something called the Quick Access Toolbar. This is a toolbar on which you can place those buttons that are not often used and which take several minutes to find when you need them. For example, one button I have placed on my Quick Access Toolbar in Microsoft Word is the one used to print envelopes--something which I do about once a month. Once I explored the Ribbon to find the Envelopes Button, I was able to right click on it and add this button to the Quick Access Toolbar. Then, when I need it again, I simply press two keystrokes to get to the Quick Access Toolbar and right arrow to the Envelopes button. It is really that simple.
For those who want to learn something about how to navigate the ribbons used in Microsoft Office 2010, I found a free audio tutorial which, although it deals only with the ribbons of Word 2007, still provides extremely valuable information. This free tutorial can be found at http://www.blindtraining.com/free/ribbons/Ribbons(mp3).zip
It is safe to say that both Windows 7 and Office 2010 can be used with the latest available versions of screen access technology. All of the new computers that are purchased today will certainly be running Windows 7, and it is highly likely that if you have made the decision to acquire the Microsoft Office product, you will receive Office 2010. Unfortunately, there is very little in the way of free training material available. The nonvisual access technology team at the Iowa Department for the Blind has made the transition to Windows 7 and Office 2010. We would be delighted to discuss these programs with anyone and to point you to any of the training resources we find.
