The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

14 THE HERALD Wednesday JnM 1M What happens when your senses or mobility is impaired ByLISARUTLEDGE Hie Herald If you speak to those who know me well they will tell you my favorite saying is I can do it myself Even as a child I was too stub born to ask for anyone s help I was always the type to play the game and read the rules later if I read them at all But it s easy for me to get away with this impatient at titude because I ve never had any real barriers to prevent me from completing any tasks I had taken on Last week with help from the Of For Senior Citizens Affairs and Region Elderly Sex vice and Advisory Committee I learned that everyone needs help The two groups organized a workshop Through Others Eyes last Friday at to provide insight into the struggles much of the elderly population face while performing simple daily tasks About 20 community represen tatives were asked to wear various equipment that would cause visual hearing and muscular comparable to the ailments many seniors suffer To simulate muscle and joint paralysis we were asked to wear water wings ankle and wrist weights To mimic fening joints and a poor sense of touch all participants had to wear two surgical gloves on each hand Many stroke victims lose a large percentage of peripheral vision so many participants bad to wear swimming goggles taped over making onl tunnel vision possible Others had to wear spotted tinted gaggles to simulate catarax We were also given ear plugs to simulate hearing impairments Not only did we look like confus ed Martians left behind after an Earth expedition but we were given a shopping lift and were told to return in half an hour with every item on the list In the beginning it was a game to me because I strongly believed my willpower would see me through the exercise in minutes or bet ter Fortunately as I began my tour around the store to stop for my designated items I couldn see or hear well enough to notice other shoppers laughing at me The first item on my list was a package of spearmint gum Luckily just after I picked up my shopping basket I passed or rather bumped into a free stan ding bulk gum package display They weren the individual packages I was supposed to get but I took it anyway I like to chew lots of gum or so I told myself The next item on my shopping list was a pair of mens medium elite style loafers Wearing my trusty tunnel vision goggles I head over to the back of the store where I though I might find the shoe department Many seniors need to feel Independent and wont ask for help Const Leaver I caught a glimpse of a ceding hung sign and discovered it did not designate the department I needed to get to Realizing there must be a men shoe department sign somewhere I began circling on the spot with my nose in the eyes and my eyes squinting straining to see any sign of the word shoes After finally finding the shoe sec tion of I started looking thoroughly through all the aisles and shelves but t find men elite loafers anywhere Against the wall I discovered men leather loafers but I couldn tell which ones were the elite style I began combing the shelving stickers hop ing to find the right ones Rather than wasting my time wearing the aisle wax thin I decided to move on to one of the next items which was a ninepack of Kleenex Ac I cheated because I heard someone say which part of the store they were in but even when I found the bin I t decipher which package I was supposed to buy So I grabbed the first one that fell into my hand and tossed it into my hand held shopping basket Another item I was supposed to locate was Speed St Wild Moss scent That easy I thought because I had passed the pharmacy section on the way in Going slowly from item to item I finally got to the deodorant section and found the Mennen product line However the printing was so tiny that I couldn tell which scent I was supposed to take Although I thought to myself I don t care what he smells like as long as its not BO I was determined to find this item I never thought I would spend 10 minutes looking at deodorant sticks Quaker State 10W 30 Oil was one of the next items on my shopping list Fortunately I already found the auto department from previous wrong turns But when I finally found the oil and put it in my basket it felt so heavy I nearly put it back But no I had to complete this list because I was not going to let these temporary impairments slow me down After spending close to 10 minutes searching for red tea towels the exercise monitors call ed the participants as our half hour was up I wasn even close to my goal and I quickly became an angry shopper I never had the chance to check out the public washroom or look up a name in the telephone book Wendy Leaver a Metro policewoman who helped ordinate workshop and four others in Halton said my reactions are typical of those felt by many seniors Many seniors need to feel dependent and won t ask for help because they feel embarrassed Ms Leaver said Since hearing or vision impairments prevent easy communication seniors will often become extremely target oriented not caring what they re buying is exactly what they wanted she said Large shopping stores can be confusing to some seniors because they become rushed and irritated by the inability to shop efficiently Comments from other par ticipants illustrated a lack of awareness a crime of which most of us are guilty Most realized how much good vision is taken for granted in a daily routine There were few participants who even looked at the prices because fin ding the items was difficult enough a task Not only where the hand held shopping baskets a heavy burden but participants became ex asperated from the constant frustration of the search Finding the way to a particular department is difficult because various colored signs are hard for seniors to see Ms Leaver said Ms Leaver mentioned a London which hired students to solely help seniors complete their shopping lists She believes if seniors know they aren bothering busy personnel they will not be em to ask for help The central message of the two elderly service groups is that public services must be more aware of the elderly if they plan to keep a growing populations Close one million or per cent of the Ontario citizens are over and this population is living longer and has more spending power than ever before Ms Leaver said The fastest growing sector is the to age bracket she said When I finally took the glorious apparel off I was not older but I was certainly wiser I never realfz ed how strenuous trivia respon sibihties can become Society as a whole has to become more aware of these physical impairments and must alter public environments to make daily tasks easier beginning today COMPUTER SALES SERVICE INTUIT QUICKEN Reg NOW SPINNAKER Better Working Eight in one Reg 4000 6999 now Guelph St Fai 1 Geoigetown OFFICE MAGIC St Georgetown Nells DRIVING SCHOOL Approved by Ontario Safety League JUNE 25th- 28th Day Crash Course 9 30 to 3 For Information About Courses or Private Lessons phone 8772671 THE CORPORATION OF THE Town of Hills Halton Hills Drive- Box 128 HALTON HILLS Georgetown Ontario 73200 NOTICE TO THE RATEPAYERS OF THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF HALTON HILLS The 1990 Final Taxes are due and payable in two in JUNE SEPTEMBER Z6TH Taxes may be paid at the Finance Department Halton Hills Drive Georgetown Hydro Office 43 Alice Street Ac ton or any branch of The Canadian Imperial Bank of Com located within the Town of Halton Hills subject to a service charge A penalty of Vi per cent per month will be charged on the first day of default and on the first day of each month until taxes are paid Taxpayers are reminded that the Ontario Property Tax Credit as provided through the 1990 Personal Income Tax Return is based on the property taxes the taxpayers pnn cipal residence being paid in 1990 Please contact the Finance Department if there are any questions pertaining to your business or real properly taxes by TELEPHONE 873 2600 OR BY MAIL Ad No 1275 In Business For Business SUMMER Monday to Friday HOURS Saturday a 530 CLOSED WEEKLY SPECIALS SUPERSTEN0 CHAIR Back height adjustment 5 dual wheel castor for easy mobility 186 List 95 LOW BACK TILTER Contoured seat and back Manual seat height adj Five legged injection molded base 147 List 00 95 DOUBLE PEDESTAL DESK Many great features List 439 00 OFFICE SUPPLIES SECRETARIAL SERVICES 348 Guelph St Unit 4 Blvd 7 Georgetown 8466947