Interview with a Department of Services for the Blind Social Worker
By Sarah Brackett

As a Reader Advisor I am often asked questions that I do not have the resources to answer. I often refer these patrons to their local Social Worker for the Blind. I recently spoke with April, who holds this position in Buncombe County. I asked her some of the common questions she get from clients, as well as some questions I had of my own, about what social workers for the blind do, and how they help their clients.

My first series of questions addressed the common struggles that clients have. These struggles are physical, practical, and emotional. April indicated that the most common physical challenge was a concern about exercise. There were several practical concerns. The top among them being getting places (inability to drive); reading mail (other important documents); and cooking. The emotional impact of visual impairment was also varied. Feelings of depression can be observed, and also feelings of isolation due to feeling that they had to give up many activities they previously enjoyed.

As a follow up question, I asked April how she could help her clients address these concerns. She told me that one of the most valuable resources for physical struggles that she could help people discover is an orientation mobility instructor. These instructors help her clients as a sighted guide, they also help teach how to use the bus and anything else to do with traveling. She recommended using Uber or Lyft, the bus system. She also indicated that counties sometimes have alternate bus systems available (for instance in Buncombe County there is Mountain Mobility). She also suggested that clients who felt uncomfortable asking friends or family to drive them somewhere treat them to lunch or offer to pay for gas.

April also recommends using magnifiers (which social workers for the blind can help you obtain). She offered several strategies that can help make cooking safe. For instance, placing thumb tacks on the dial of the oven at commonly used temperatures. In this way her clients can feel where 350 degrees is without having to ask a sighted person for help. Social workers for the blind visit client homes to help them set up such systems. She emphasized that coping with visual impairment can be difficult, especially at first, but that the more independence a person gains the better he or she will feel, and that part of her job was to help individuals reach their independence goals.

My third question was about strategies to reduce practical struggles and promote independence. She responded that if a person feels there is something they cannot do: think of ways to do that activity that do not require sight. Have family, friends or a social worker help brainstorm. She has yet to encounter an issue that cannot be overcome with ingenuity. She suggests thinking about the lighting, using tactile cues to feel a button or switch, making
things larger, adding contrast (for example pouring black coffee into a light flavored mug), etc. April also stressed the importance of organization. Having a designated space for items in the home and in the refrigerator is crucial.

Next we talked about the various services that clients go to a social worker for the blind to receive. She spoke of the social workers for the blind as a contact point for the client. They are able to refer the client to any number of resources. Including independent living counselors who help the client reach personal goals with cooking for instance, nursing eye care consultants to determine the visual aids that will most help the client, vocational rehab
staff if the client is looking for help with his or her career, and assistive tech teacher who can help the client learn about and obtain technologies to assist him or her. They can help them apply for the medical eye care program for eye surgery or medication but they don’t have insurance.

The list of resources goes on and on. I asked April who she referred clients to the most often. She responded with the Library (a little tongue in cheek perhaps), Mountain Mobility (an alternate bus system in Buncombe county), Disability Partners (they provide individuals with refurbished desktops or laptops at extremely low prices ~65), Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (for those clients who require hearing aids, Braille Bibles International Low Vision Support Group (for emotional support), Counsel on Aging (this group knows resources available for seniors), Hadley School (who offers low cost and free courses in technology, independent living, and recreation), and the Lion’s Club (whose mission is to help those with vision loss who need glasses or an exam. They also provide recreational activities such as Camp Dogwood and a Fishing Tournament).

My final question for April was what other advice do you give your clients. I will leave you with a quote from April: “Life is still good, just different. Be willing and ready. Some are in denial. Be ready for help. Once you start receiving help and become aware of different strategies and technologies you will flourish and no longer need to call me.”