Health | Braille and the Blind

Vitamin B and Blindness Prevention

March 24, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

While some people are born blind, others become blind through out their life due to various medical conditions a new study shows that vitamin B can help to prevent blindness.

What does Vitamin B do?

Taking vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 supplements can lower the risk of macular degeneration in older adults. Macular degeneration occurs when the retina is harmed or deteriorating and can be a leading cause of blindness. Vitamin B keeps the retina strong and lowers the risk of serious complications. Vitamin B 6 can also help with dryness in the eyes. Many older people may experience dry eyes due to illness, low estrogen or other illnesses. Healthy eyes should sustain a certain level of moisture.

What foods contain vitamin B?

If you do not like taking supplements many healthy foods contain vitamin B. Vitamin B6 can be found in bananas, avocados, salmon, peas and brown rice. Vitamin B12 can be found in turkey meat, wild salmon and dairy products.

Catch Eye Problems Early

Your retina can be saved if your doctor catches the problem early on. Always call your eye doctor if you are experiencing problems seeing up close or far away, blurry vision, haloes or other abnormal eye functions.

Signs that You Need More Vitamin B

If you are experiencing other odd symptoms along with your sight problems, it may be the sign of a vitamin B deficiency. Anxiety and fatigue can be signs that you need more B12. Many vegetarians are prone to B12 efficiency if they do not take supplements because most vegetables are not a good source of this vitamin. It’s not as common to have a B6 deficiency since it is found in many more foods. However, if you are having a lot of loose stool or weight loss along with your eye problems it may mean that your body is not absorbing all of the B6 vitamins in your food due to an interaction with another medication that you are taking.

Filed Under: Blindness, General Tagged With: Health, Macular degeneration, Vitamin

Disadvantages Of Blind In The Society

January 15, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

The society can be very rough at times. There are many people who do not have vision and are blind. This can lead to a lot of problems for the person. The person will be at a disadvantage in the society. There are many people who are blind from birth and this is called as congenital blindness. When a person suffers from congenital blindness, the person may have blindness from birth because of some disease or because of the fact that the person may not have their brain properly developed.

There are some people who become blind sometime after the birth. This too is because of the fact that some of them may be suffering from certain diseases that causes damage to the part of the brain that is associated with vision. Other than this, certain injuries to the eye can also cause blindness. When a person becomes blind, it can lead to severe disadvantages in the society.

Education for the person who is blind is difficult. There are only a few specialized schools where the blind are taught. This makes the person to be at a disadvantage right from the start. Other than the education, learning various skills also becomes difficult as the person is not able to see anything. There are some people who may not be completely blind and these people may be able to cope with life.

The person who is blind will not be able to live independently in most cases. In developed nations, it is easier for a person to live independently because of the provision of barrier free environment in the society. The barrier free environment makes it possible for the person who is blind to move around without any problems. This will also increase the independence of the person making life more meaningful.

Filed Under: Braille Tagged With: Health

Learn Braille as a seeing Adult

December 17, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Why learn Braille as a seeing adult? The answers are as endless as they are important. Suppose your child is born blind or you lose your sight unexpectedly? Maybe you are a teacher and one of your students has low vision and is having a difficult time keeping up with the class. Perhaps the idea fascinates you; learning is important to you and you want to experience all that you can from everyone. Why not glean a greater understanding of your blind community and get a taste of how they see the world?

Though Braille is a difficult skill to learn, with perseverance and a daily emotional shot in the arm, adults can not only learn the skill of Braille but know it enough to teach others and connect with someone through letters that they may have never been able to connect with before.

Options for learning Braille are as versatile as you are.

1. Learn from a tutor.
2. Learn from a blind friend. He or she cares for your welfare and will probably be ecstatic that you want to be a part of his or her world in this way.
3. Try an online tutorial, and get the information on your own.
4. If classes are available in your area, take one; they’re usually not too expensive and will give you a chance to work with others who are learning as you are. Your local library will have the information you need to get started or try your local college or university.
5. Check out some books at the library or purchase a few at your favorite book store.

When all is said and done you will be happy that you not only tried something new, but that you didn’t give up, but prepared yourself for the unanswered future whether your own future or someone else’s.

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: Blindness, Braille, Health, Learning, Low vision

What the Low Vision See and How you Can Help

December 16, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

If your vision is between 20/70 and 20/200, you already understand the complexities and very real concerns in living with low vision. You know that you have difficulty crossing a street in heavy traffic, or seeing that small hole within a needle or even reading your book at night without the aid of a strong light. You may feel as if you are standing in a cloud or walking in partial darkness even if it’s day out.

But one thing is for certain. You like to feel as if you are independent minded. Still, you may wonder if your disability causes you to shy away from society at times or keep you cooped up indoors for longer times than is feasible or even healthy.

Maybe we can help.

1. Offer to pick up your friend or acquaintance and take them to lunch.
2. Purchase books with large print. Think of the senses of hearing, feeling, tasting and touching when presenting gifts.
3. Be open to opportunities to assist, whether the assistance comes in the form of reading a menu or explaining an outdoor sign.
4. Don’t speak too loudly. This should be an obvious, no-no, but it’s amazing how many of us do it.
5. Driving a personal car is probably non-existent for a low vision individual. Some with low vision avoid taking the bus, taxi or other mode of public transportation because it takes them out of their comfort zone. Offer to drive them to the grocery store or to the doctor’s office.
6. Never force your help on anyone. Ask before providing it.

A low seeing individual’s life is really not that much different than your own. And it takes someone not only who is helpful to see what the low sighted might not see, but to be that kind of friend who doesn’t have it in their mind to push the seeming difference.

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: Health, Low vision, Visual impairment

Blind and Low Vision are not Limited in Work Opportunities

December 12, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

You may think that the blind are limited in what they can do because of their lack of sight; you may have even Googled this question only to discover that their limitations are only in one place your own head. And if so, you may wonder, how do the blind and low seeing do it? How do they overcome their lack of sight to excel in careers such as a piano business, a barber or a bicycle technician?

Think about your own personal skills as well as those skills that you lack. Say you own an advertising agency. How many folks, and to what positions are they given? Can you do all of them? Are you expert at all of them?

Probably not. The same is true for the blind or low vision.

If errands during the week can be shortened by someone who can drive a car and get you there, then you hire a driver. If you need to keep abreast of the latest business trends because you own your own business, then you hire a reader. If you can’t read requests on a slip of paper for a job that needs to be handled, you record it.

Never hesitate in hiring a low vision or blind individual. Rather than thinking about their perceived limitations, ask them what they excel at and how they can bring added success to your company.

If you are a blind or low vision individual with a dream of owning your own business, don’t hesitate. Get the information you need on how to start, manage and operate your business. Get the help you need in writing a business plan and obtaining the funds you need to get your business going.

Whether you are looking to hire or work for someone else, remember that limitations only limit those who choose to limit themselves.

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: Blindness, Health, Low vision, Vision loss, Visual impairment

The Importance of Appearances for Blind Teens

December 7, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Parents of blind or partially sighted teens will be aware of a constant struggle for their offspring to be seen as one of the crowd. As parents, all that we want for our children is for them to feel confident and accepted. With the turmoil of the teenage years and the problems of popularity and peer pressure, this can be a hard enough task for teens who have it all going for them.

But for teens who are, in some way, different, the quest for confidence and acceptance can be one that is even harder. For this reason it is important that the parents of teens who are in some way vision impaired keep their finger on the pulse of teen culture and help their teens to integrate, if that is what their children want.

While we would all like to believe that appearances do not matter, it is an unfortunate truth that nevertheless is true during those teen years. And, while parents should continue to be conscious of not placing too much importance on superficial qualities, it is important to maintain an awareness of the things that are important in the world of a teenager.

Buying for blind teens is an important part of helping them integrate into the world around them and parents should not fall into the trap of assuming that, because a teen cannot see the labels or logos attached to their clothes, that what they wear does not matter.

Blind teens may be more keen than their seeing counterparts to appear as one of the crowd, so don’t discount the idea of investing in big brand clothes or Philip Stein watches on their behalf. Asking a trusted friend along on shopping trips can help offer a contemporary perspective and determine peer acceptability of purchases.

Filed Under: Advancements, General Tagged With: Adolescence, Blindness, Health, Parent, Peer pressure, Philip Stein, Support Groups, Youth

The Importance of Learning Braille

November 25, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

: Image via Wikipedia

Braille is the main form of written communication for those that are legally blind. It is a way that they can read what others have written, see what is on a menu and even be able to learn in schools the way that those that are sighted are allowed to.

A study conducted by the state of Washington looked at the impact that learning Braille had on those that were legally blind. The study’s findings were amazing.

The study showed that legally blind students who were exposed to and learned Braille at an early age did amazingly well in all areas of study. In fact, they did just as well if not better than their sighted peers and were able to compete in the work force against them when it came to jobs.

Another area of the study looked at legally blind people and unemployment rates. Those that were unemployed and legally blind who had learned to read Braille made up 44% of the unemployed workforce. While those that learned to read print such as books, magazines and such made up a much larger number of 77% of the unemployed work force.

This study concluded that learning Braille at an early age is critical for legally blind students to develop mentally and physically as well as be able to keep up with students who were sighted. It also cited that by learning Braille these students have a better chance of learning crucial adult skills that will help them in their future careers and be able to let them be employed by many companies.

With such a finding it is amazing that schools and areas are starting to phase out the Braille system in favor of other means of reading and writing for those that are legally blind. To give those that are legally blind a fair chance it is important that school systems teach the Braille system to those that are legally blind.

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: Blindness, Braille, Health

The History of Braille

November 16, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Braille is a widely known form of communication for those that are legally blind or have vision problems. It allows them to be able to read and communicate in ways that weren’t possible before. By using an advanced system of dots and codes a legally blind person is able to follow the lettering and read the various words as if they were reading off of a printed sheet or book.

So where did this form of communication come from and who invented it?

Braille originally started in response to the French army’s need for a communication system. Napoleon wanted a way for his troops to be able to communicate with each other without having to speak. By having a form of communication without speaking it lessened the chances of enemies knowing what the next move was to be and then they would be able to attack before it happened.

Charles Barbeir came up with a system that involved the use of 12 dots that could stand for various commands and codes that the army needed. This system was deemed too confusing for troops and never used by the army.

In 1821, Charles Barbeir went to the Institute for the Blind and was able to meet with one of the students there. Louis Braille was able to sit down with Charles Barbeir and talk about the system that was being used. Louis Braille found that the problem with Charles Barbeir’s system was not that it had a bad idea but that it was too large for a human’s finger to travel over the code and would therefore confuse the person. He developed a six dot code system and it quickly became known as the Braille code which has been proven very successful in today’s world.

Who would have thought that a communication system for the legally blind would have its roots with the French army and Napoleon!

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: Blindness, Braille, Health

From Braille to Electronic Cigs

November 9, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

The Braille system of writing is very fascinating. Born from a need for soldiers to communicate silently and in the dark during Napoleon’s campaign, and perfected by a blind child, Louis Braille, the system has provided a means for the blind to read using touch rather than sight. It may be long before our time of cell phones, PDAs, and electronic cigs, but this technological advancement was amazing for its time, when blind reading was basically running your hands across large embossed letters on a copper sheet.

Each character in Braille is separated into a group of six dots, called a cell. By rubbing your finger from left to right across these cells, you are able to ‘read’ the characters by feeling which dots are raised up into bumps and which ones are smooth. However, it can be considered not a perfect system because there are not very many combinations of six dots, and some of those combinations are not use-able because they feel very similar to other dots. For example, two dots in the left column could mean the letter ‘B’, the number ’2′, and the word ‘but’. A single dot can mean a capital letter is next, and A backwards L of dots means that the next set of cells is a number, and etc.

What’s also amazing about Braille is that it also uses sounds to communicate in the same way it uses letters. Just like texting today, you can make illegible sets of characters that don’t make any sense unless sounded out. Like ‘ur’ for texting, meaning ‘your’, you can spell out ‘cd’ in Braille to mean ‘could. Or ‘abv’ to mean ‘above’. While Braille was never meant to be a secret code of sorts, it helps the blind read quicker, as Braille sentences and paragraphs are much larger than ones in traditional text.

Filed Under: Blindness, General, Support, Technology Tagged With: Braille, Health, Louis Braille

Vision Loss in a Loved One: How You Can Help

November 1, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Watching a friend or loved one who is suffering from vision loss can be a tough thing to do. It is hard to watch them have to deal with the daily struggles of their life by not being able to see as properly as they used to. While it might feel as if there isn’t anything that you can do for them during this time of need, there are actually many things that you can do for them.

One of the most important ways of helping those with vision impairedness is to help them with their daily life. This can be as simple as helping them out when they ask for it to running errands such as grocery shopping or picking up prescriptions to taking them to the doctor’s appointment.

The key to helping a loved one through this type of ordeal is to make sure that you are stable and supportive. It might be a good idea to contact the local center for the legally blind and see what type of resources that program may offer. Many local programs have various devices and helpful hints that can help your loved one and yourself. Sometimes these places even offer occasional help when a person needs to be relieved of care giving duties.

Other resources that might be available to you and your loved one include government aid for vision devices that can help out to government aid for financial help with doctor’s visits, prescriptions, surgeries and other items that a legally blind person may need.

It won’t always be easy but as long as your loved one has a supportive and caring care taker by their side they should be able to deal with the vision loss in a respectful and decent way. Just remember to make sure that you are getting support for yourself just as much as you are for your loved one.

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: Blindness, Health, Vision loss