Overcoming Limitations: There’s an App for That – Part 2

Dealing with limitations is a fact of life as we age, whether it be vision, mobility, hearing, or something else. In the last issue of Voice of the Village, several members of our community talked about the tool, technology and tenacity that help them.

Not everyone is quick to embrace technology. Fear and vanity can hold them back. One Villager confessed: “I have to ask my husband to turn up the volume and turn on captions on the TV. He tells me I need a hearing aid. My doctor confirmed this – two years ago! I still haven’t gotten them. Vanity keeps getting in the way.”

Dick Myers, President of Pasadena Village, doesn’t let vanity, fear, or anything else get in his way. Dick relies on an alphabet soup of technology from A (audio books) to Z (Zoom) for his visual impairment. He also uses ChatGPT, Siri, Spotify, screen magnifiers, dictation in Word, transcription apps, and the read-aloud function on Chrome. And that’s just for starters! He also has human helpers, his assistants. “I have a lot of trouble editing because then I have to change things, so I use one of my assistants on Zoom to work with me,” he explains.

Fortunately, Zoom, one of his most relied on tools, came along before Dick’s eyesight had significantly deteriorated. “When Zoom first came out, I could see better, and I learned how to make it work and know where to look for things. If I had to start now it would be much harder,” he says.

Finding tools that work, then figuring out how to make them work for him is all part of the equation—and hard work. The read-along function in Chrome works great for reading newspapers and magazines – except when it doesn’t. Articles in the New Yorker, for example, after a few paragraphs, say, “click here to read more.” That posed a problem; a problem Dick solved by having his assistant open the articles fully before he reads them.

“One of the most important things you can have is agency. When you have a problem, ask yourself, ‘What can I do about this?’ If you can do something, do it, and see how it works out. When you solve a problem, when you find a workaround---even a small thing—celebrate it. Take it as a victory. I say, ‘I’m going to beat this,’ and I do, and I feel great.” Dick says.

Dick attributes many of his problems to “Roger.” He explains: “I have a personal gremlin, Roger, whose job is to frustrate me. Some days Roger has a lot of time to annoy me. I personalize it. When I beat him, I feel great! ‘Hi Roger. I outsmarted you again.’ It’s all about mental attitude. A sense of humor goes a long way.”

In his humble way, Dick wants to make clear that “the Village makes all this possible. It connects me to all these opportunities and to people who come in to help me.” Dick must know the feeling is mutual. Villagers are in awe of his fortitude and fearlessness.

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Overcoming Limitations: There’s an App for That – Part 2