These are a selection of stories written by staff members at the Lighthouse of Collier. Our team members develop unique and special relationships with each client, which is reflected in this retelling of each clients’ successes.
A client who participated in our Independent Living Skills Program has no light perception. He was initially unable to independently operate his microwave, dishwasher, and stove because the smooth touchpad controls lacked tactile reference points. Routine household tasks became frustrating and often required assistance from others, reducing his independence within his own home. While receiving instruction at Lighthouse of Collier, he learned to use appliances that had been adapted with tactile “bump dot” markers, allowing him to locate and operate controls independently. Through individualized instruction and repeated hands-on practice, he became familiar with the placement of the tactile markers and developed the confidence to identify and use each appliance safely and efficiently. After demonstrating success with these adaptations, a Lighthouse instructor completed a home visit and instructed the client on how to apply tactile markers to his microwave, dishwasher, and stove using the same techniques taught in class. The home visit ensured that the adaptations were customized to his personal appliances and daily routines while reinforcing the skills he had learned during instruction at Lighthouse of Collier.
The client is now able to operate each appliance independently, restoring his ability to prepare meals and manage household tasks safely without assistance. He is also able to cut vegetables and fruits safely on his own after participating in the Safe Cooking Program. By combining adaptive technology with practical instruction, our client is now able to complete essential kitchen tasks with greater confidence, improved safety, and increased independence in his everyday life.
Another participant had stopped preparing fresh meals because she was fearful of cutting herself while using kitchen knives. As a result, she relied on prepackaged foods that limited her independence in the kitchen. During instruction at Lighthouse of Collier, she was introduced to a variety of adaptive safety devices purchased through the Moorings Park Foundation Grant, including cut-resistant gloves and silverware.
Each device was selected to address specific safety concerns while making common kitchen tasks more accessible and less intimidating. She received hands-on instruction using each device. The individualized instruction allowed her to practice at her own pace, ask questions, and build confidence through repetition in a supportive learning environment. As her confidence increased, she decided to purchase the same adaptive equipment to use in her own kitchen. This demonstrated not only her confidence in using the devices but also her commitment to maintaining these newly acquired skills at home.
She has since resumed preparing fruits, vegetables, and other fresh foods independently and reports feeling both safe and confident while cooking. She shared that being able to prepare meals independently has increased her confidence and has allowed her to enjoy cooking as part of her daily routine once again.
One participant had trouble operating the touch controls on her kitchen range even with tactile accommodations. Despite using tactile adaptations, including bump dots, the flat touch panel was difficult to operate safely. This not only made meal preparation frustrating, but it also limited her independence in the kitchen.
Her skillset changed drastically after learning how to use an Alexa-enabled multi-cooker. She discovered that voice-activated technology could eliminate many of the barriers she previously experienced while cooking. Through guided practice, she became comfortable using voice commands to operate the appliance safely and independently. Over time, she developed confidence in completing cooking tasks on her own and no longer needed to rely on trial and error or assistance from others. Recognizing how much this technology improved her ability to cook, she purchased an Alexa-enabled full-size range for her home. A TVI did a follow-up home visit to pair the appliance with her existing Alexa device, offer individualized training, and reinforce troubleshooting strategies. The visit also provided an opportunity to personalize the device settings and practice common cooking tasks as she transitioned to using the new technology in her daily routine. She now uses her oven independently and reports that she is once again able to bake with confidence using voice commands rather than relying on inaccessible touch controls. This individualized training and follow-up support restored an important daily living skill, increased her confidence in the kitchen, and allowed her to safely return to an activity she truly enjoys.
Tony is a senior gentlemen who has been coming to the Lighthouse of Collier for several years as a client. Tony was recently our “Guest Chef” for our cooking class.
He treated us to his fabulous Steak Pizzaiola, made right in our kitchen at the Lighthouse.
Tony shared with staff and other clients how to shop for, prepare, cook and serve this flavorful, delicious treat. And despite the challenges of working in a new, unfamiliar kitchen while teaching -he created a scrumptious Italian meal. Tony’s dish came out perfect. What a great way to learn about Italian cooking.
The clients also learned how to use adaptive kitchen aids and about specialized safety techniques.
And….what a great example of independence, friendship, sharing and camaraderie.
Cheers and thank-you to Tony.
Jack is an 89 years young gentleman who I have been working with for a few months. I have never met a more eager to learn individual when it comes to learning more about the iPhone than its basic capabilities.
Each week he comes in to my office with at least 15 questions, he records our sessions and also takes meticulous notes. Now that he has the basics down, we are currently learning how to type using voiceover so he may enter his passwords into specific apps.
He decided he wanted to add an app where he could send money to his children quickly and efficiently. We downloaded both the Zell and Venmo apps to see which one would work better. After reviewing, we decided to go with Zell so we created an account. We worked on this remotely as he was not able to come into the office. It took us an hour and a half to get the account created. Anything that could go wrong, did! He never lost his patience even when I wanted to pull my own hair out! It is a beautiful thing to work with a rare gem such as Jack!
William is a 96 year old WWII vet who loves to tell stories of his past. He talks about his father from Finland who fought in the Finish Civil War, and who was born in 1888!! As an army vet himself, William served time in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea. After the war, William developed a love of healthy living and fast cars. In fact, after moving to Naples, William’s primary job was to repair and maintain a fleet of high end, one-of-a-kind and rare cars owned by a few uber-rich Naples residents.
As mentioned, William is also into health. After suffering from two heart attacks 10 years ago, he gave up all medications and switched to vitamins and distilled water. In fact, William swears that distilled water is the key to longevity.
This story highlights one of the 5 year old’s in our Children’s Program who we will refer to as “Justin”. Justin has been with Lighthouse of Collier for about 4 years. In that time, he has made many gains in areas such as orientation and mobility, social skills, and sensory/cognitive development.
His current goal is learning Braille. Unfortunately, Justin does not find Braille very fun! He would struggle to sit through lessons and focus. So I had to think outside the box to keep Justin engaged and begin learning his Braille. I remembered that Justin’s new favorite thing is Pokémon and decided to create a Braille Pokémon Battle game with homemade large Braille flashcards and homemade “Pokémon cards”, and even brought in some Pokémon plushies to make it even more exciting! The rules made it so that Justin had to find the first letter of each attack, in Braille, in order to battle. He absolutely loved it, and began to even get excited to find the letters! He now anxiously awaits instruction each week.
Mary is a medically fragile 24-year-old client. She is a significantly physically impaired young lady who spent the better part of last summer in the hospital after suffering a cardiac incident. She is non-verbal and has little to no fine or gross motor control. Mary uses a ChatFusion device to communicate with her nurse caregivers and family. She accesses the device through the use of head mounted switches – one switch steps through the choices while pressing the other switch causes the device to ‘speak’ the selected word or phrase out loud for her.
During my first visit, Mary’s mom informed me that she was not at all tech savvy and really hoped I would be able to update the ChatFusion to offer more functional choices for Mary. (It had not been updated since she was in high school!) I had never worked with this specific brand of augmentative communication unit before, so I searched online for a manual and spent many hours learning how to work the device and make changes to the settings and choice menus. I was genuinely concerned about making ANY changes since I knew this client’s ability to communicate completely relied on this device. I feared if I deleted something by mistake, or broke the device completely, this would leave the client with no means to communicate… No Pressure there LOL!
Many of our clients have concerns/questions regarding makeup. Can we use it? Should we attempt it? Do we really even care about looking good if we can’t see? The answer to all three of these questions is an unequivocal “YES.” Lighthouse of Collier recently offered a specialized makeup class so our clients could learn unique techniques for applying makeup without sight.
Maggie Saldana, visually impaired aesthetician and our receptionist, shared a variety of tools and tips to ensure proper blending of foundation, safely applying mascara and methods for applying nail polish without making a mess – and much more! Also YouTube videos with various blind and visually impaired make-up artists were shared as another great resource for home reference.
Lighthouse of Collier client, Karla received a new make-up kit for Christmas and used it to learn tips for color and application. Karla looked gorgeous!
Polly is 87-years young with the vim and vigor of a 65 year-old. About four years ago, she was diagnosed with macular degeneration and glaucoma. At the time, Polly was very concerned about her diagnosis and therefore enrolled in the Independent Living Classes. Polly was quick to implement the tools and techniques she had learned into her daily home life. This enabled her to continue to live independently.
Over the past three years, Polly became a permanent client “fixture” at Lighthouse of Collier. She used Uber or Paratransit to attend weekly various classes/events including: a sewing group, Out and About events, cooking and accessible art classes and several support groups.
Polly also came regularly for assistive technology lessons to learn how to access her smart phone and tablet. Today she can independently use various accessibility options, including: Select-to-Speak, Hey Google and Zoom. Additionally, Polly learned how to use Envision AI to scan/read paperwork and bar codes. Not bad for this spritely 87 year-old. Just goes to show – age is just a number!!
If you would like to own one of these cocktail table books, please donate a suggested selling price of $35.00 to Lighthouse of Collier and we will send you one straight away.
Lighthouse of Collier dedicated the book to Art Bookbinder, a man who could see beyond blindness. He was a great friend and leader. May he rest in peace. August 1942 – April 2020.
