Read the transcript of video: Meet Guide

[Vocaliser] Meet Dolphin Guide

My name is Zena, I actually lost my sight totally, overnight, six years ago, so I went be being able to see a little bit and woke up seeing nothing at all.

My name is Reg White, I lost my sight twenty-one years ago, and basically lost it as a result of detached retinas.

My name is Michael McQuade and I’m a registered blind person. I lost my sight finally about five years ago, just after I retired.

R. When you first lose your sight it’s a period of massive readjustment.

Z. I had to rely on my husband to read the post or recipes.

M. I did feel awkward about constantly asking people for help and support . They were very good but I was always that my condition was deteriorating and I was making more and more demands on their time, and that did used to make me anxious.

R. And bottom line I want to be in control of my own destiny.

M. I researched long and hard and looked at various systems. And I found that of all the systems I used, and I looked at many, I found that Guide was the most sensible, easiest to access, and easiest to understand, and it caused me no anxiety at all.

Z. It was shouting out to me that ‘you can use it, anyone can use a computer with guide on it.’

R. When I was introduced to Guide it really was like having a tutor alongside you, holding your hand,  walking you through all of the necessary processes, and that is just amazing, it really is an amazing experience.

M. I thought this is exactly what I want, I don’t need anything complicated anymore, I’m retired.

Z. It’ll tell you that you press one to send E-Mails, two to write a letter or document, or three to browse the internet, and you literally just press the number.

M. You can just zip through it in all directions and it really is as easy as ABC.

R. I decided to make contact with an accredited Dolphin trainer, and just spent a brief period of time on the telephone, half an hour, and really that was all that was necessary because it is logical and intuitive.

Z. I sort of managed to teach myself by following all of the on screen instructions because it’s so easy to use.

M. I do all kinds of things like I look at weather forecast for the Mediterranean and the Caribbean; I’m very much into meteorology.

R. It’s enabled me to pursue my interests, my hobby of family history research. When I receive correspondents from archive units, from record offices, I don’t have to wait for family to come home. I can put the envelope on the screen reader, and it will tell me it’s addressed to me, not wife or the family. I can open the envelope, I can read it, I work upon that, I can respond to it.

Z. I do like the games, I think hangman is a nice little feature on it.

M. I talk to my Grandchildren when they’re on holiday, they were in Colorado, and they sent me some beautiful photographs of them skiing, and I just can’t get over the novelty of that, the fact that at the touch of a button I’m in instant communication wherever they are, and I love that because it means the family is connected.

Z. Well I think Guide is certainly a worthwhile investment.

M. I took the long view that if it’s going to help me improve my life anything’s worth it.

R. I’ve got a laptop computer, I have a scanner, and I have a printer, beyond that you need no other piece of equipment.

Z. it’s so easy to use that anyone of any age with any sight problem can use it straight away.

R. It’s not wading through, it’s almost thinking for you.

Z. Dolphin offer a wide of services.

R. You’ve got the best support team imaginable, the most patient group of people, they’re there to help you and they do help you, they will never turn you away.

M. I can see that Guide would be ideal for older people who maybe are a bit frightened of all the technology they think is inside the computer.

R. if I met someone who had recently lost their sight or was visually impaired, and on the brink of making a decision, thinking about computing, perhaps never even touched a computer in their life before, I would explain to them what it’s meant to me, how it’s changed my life and how it could change their life. And above all don’t be frightened of it.

M. I’ve gained the ground I’ve lost, and that’s fantastic for me because I didn’t think I was ever gonna be able to do it, I was quite upset about it really. But in this it’s almost as if I’m saying ‘that’s it, I’ve been looking for that for years, there it is, that’s exactly what I want.’

[Vocaliser] Dolphin Guide, delivering independence. www.dolphinguide.com

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