Miss-Delectable
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London Free Press - Local News- Walking in their shoes
London Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best padded haltingly out of her office down the hall.
Her guide, Kelly Patterson, gripped her arm and showed her how to feel the edges of doors and the corners of walls to navigate the long path to the city hall kitchen.
The pair slowly and painstakingly located a can of soda from the fridge and poured it into a cup, Patterson holding DeCicco-Best's hands to sign words and instructions.
"Good job," signed Patterson when the task was finally complete.
And for 20 minutes, DeCicco-Best lived the life of a person who is deaf and blind.
June is Deaf-Blind Awareness month.
Kelly Patterson and Tracey Veldhuis, two interveners at DeafBlind Ontario Services, paid the mayor a visit to help her understand the reality of deaf-blind life.
And while the mayor was sporting black goggles and ear plugs during her trek to the kitchen, she said the experience was unnervingly real.
"I had no idea where I was," she said. "It seemed like it took such a long time to get to the fridge."
Patterson and Veldhuis have done the same exercise with others dozens of times.
Their goal is to raise awareness of Canada's deaf-blind community and the struggles faced by those whose world ends at their fingertips.
There are 36 deaf and blind people living in Ontario, and seven in London.
As interveners, Patterson and Veldhuis guide them through the trials of everyday life, helping them become involved in the community and finding activities that can be enjoyed without sight or sound.
"A lot of them like to swim because it's a sensory thing," Veldhuis said.
DeCicco-Best said that after her journey into a dark and silent world, she has a new appreciation for a different kind of disability.
"We're doing more and more with accessibility in this city, but I don't know that we have the experience of every type of accessibility issue to deal with first-hand," she said.
"Obviously this gets me a little closer to understanding."
London Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best padded haltingly out of her office down the hall.
Her guide, Kelly Patterson, gripped her arm and showed her how to feel the edges of doors and the corners of walls to navigate the long path to the city hall kitchen.
The pair slowly and painstakingly located a can of soda from the fridge and poured it into a cup, Patterson holding DeCicco-Best's hands to sign words and instructions.
"Good job," signed Patterson when the task was finally complete.
And for 20 minutes, DeCicco-Best lived the life of a person who is deaf and blind.
June is Deaf-Blind Awareness month.
Kelly Patterson and Tracey Veldhuis, two interveners at DeafBlind Ontario Services, paid the mayor a visit to help her understand the reality of deaf-blind life.
And while the mayor was sporting black goggles and ear plugs during her trek to the kitchen, she said the experience was unnervingly real.
"I had no idea where I was," she said. "It seemed like it took such a long time to get to the fridge."
Patterson and Veldhuis have done the same exercise with others dozens of times.
Their goal is to raise awareness of Canada's deaf-blind community and the struggles faced by those whose world ends at their fingertips.
There are 36 deaf and blind people living in Ontario, and seven in London.
As interveners, Patterson and Veldhuis guide them through the trials of everyday life, helping them become involved in the community and finding activities that can be enjoyed without sight or sound.
"A lot of them like to swim because it's a sensory thing," Veldhuis said.
DeCicco-Best said that after her journey into a dark and silent world, she has a new appreciation for a different kind of disability.
"We're doing more and more with accessibility in this city, but I don't know that we have the experience of every type of accessibility issue to deal with first-hand," she said.
"Obviously this gets me a little closer to understanding."