My first iPhone arrived in 2012 while I was at guide dog school receiving my third guide. I had no idea how to work with either of them and I became quite frustrated. I was pretty stressed out because I was trying to learn how to work with my new dog and I could not even answer my phone. Fortunately, several students had iPhones and they took pity on me. They would call me over and over again so I could practice 2 finger double tapping to answer. I was so relieved to at least be able to answer and make a call.
After a few days of having my phone, I began to notice all the cool things the other students were doing and I started pestering them to show me. That is when the GPS App BlindSquare came into my life. I had to have it! Naturally, downloading an app was out of the question so I cornered the best iPhone user on the bus. I had a captive teacher. He was very kind and we downloaded BlindSquare. It was my first app and it still holds a prominent position on my Home Screen.
With BlindSquare I can search for coffee shops, professional offices, shopping places and tons more. I can set my favorite places or I can just go on a walking adventure with my dog knowing I won’t get lost. It is even possible to make a call to the place you want to go from BlindSquare. The Help section makes learning easy. BlindSquare GPS has empowered me to get out and take charge of where I want to go.
In November 2012, I had a new dog and a new iPhone with maybe 2 apps on it. I made up my mind to become a power user of my phone so I called Mr. VaShaun Jones at Fedora Outlier LLC to find out if I could get lessons. The teachers at Fedora were patient and kind. Between my phone, my dog, and BlindSquare I am on the move!
I now work at Fedora Outlier and I am having so much fun working to teach blind people the tools they need to gain confidence. I let go of my 32 years of massage therapy and embarked on a new adventure. You can do it too.
