Talk Direct Continued To Help The Visually Impaired
Talk Direct Continued To Help The Visually Impaired
On Thursday 21st of April talk direct continued its commitment to help the visually impaired by holding a Technology day in Doncaster at the towns partially sighted society. The event was aimed at helping people get more from a smart phone or tablet device with some impartial training and advice. We have held several of these events and always prove very successful and worthwhile not only for us but more importantly for anyone who is visually impaired. This latest event had been in the pipeline for quite some time so it was great to finally meet the people who had been looking forward to meeting the staff at talk direct.
On this occasion I was joined by Sergio Ali and josh Suter who are 2 of talk directs most experienced gurus and both were looking to test the knowledge they had built up in store at an external event. Both Sergio and Josh had previously served visual impaired customers in their stores but had never been to an event out of store that was totally dedicated in helping people suffering from sight loss. The good thing was they accepted this challenge with both hands and couldn't wait to help the people attending and to show how a little support can make such a difference.
As soon as we opened for business we immediately had a room full of people suffering from a range of sight problems wanting to know how we could help. Most of the people told us that this training was something they had wanted for a long time and couldn't wait to get started with the session. The groups level of knowledge with technology was very vast as some of the clients have never entertained using a digital device to help them in their daily lives. For those that were a little nervous we held a few group sessions and let them use a working device as many had never had the opportunity to do so. It really is amazing how quickly some one classed as a novice can start to use a device when taught patiently how to use the basic functions.
One of the highlights of the day was when a lady who at the start of the training said she had no intentions of using anything other than trusted phone she had been using for the last five years and would not be converted to anything that had a touch screen. After a few hours of being taught how to navigate a screen with voice-over and how to use apps that made navigating the device easier, she actually left the training to go and buy a Samsung tablet! Another highlight was when we taught somebody with really low vision how she could download recipes off the Internet and how to get them read out to her on a smart phone. The lady had been very frustrated not being able to bake any more due to not being able to follow the instructions, but now was more than willing to give this new way a try.
The event was so successful we have been asked to hold the sessions at least every two months, and many of the people who attended said this was the best day this society had put on for a long long time. This was absolutely fantastic to hear and we have already booked another date in our diary for a return. Both Josh and Sergio also thought the day was absolutely fantastic and both learnt so much away from their stores.
I would like to thank Anita and the team at the Doncaster partially sighted society and look forward to our next event in July.
