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Different Assistive Technologies for the Visually Impaired People

May 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Assistive technologies are the useful tool for the impaired people and they can use it to improve their functionality. This technology is very useful for students especially in their classroom as if offers freedom for them. These assistive tools often have electronic devices, physical equipment, and computer software. There are different types of devices available to help the visually impaired people such as Braille technology, magnifiers, optical character recognition, and speech systems.

Imprimante-braille

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Braille technology is implemented in different equipment so that visually impaired people can use it in their routine work. This Braille technology can show more than 80 characters on the screen and it refreshes automatically. There are also Braille printers that transfer the information from system to paper. Another useful Braille device is the Braille note taker that comes with keyboard. The information from the note taker can be retrieved using speech synthesizer or transferred to laptop.

Magnifying technology includes all programs that are specially designed for computers and also video magnifiers. This magnifier can be used along with computer screen, television, and even with the video monitor. The programs for magnifier are loaded in the computer using specific software. Optical character recognition is one of the popular technologies used by the blind people. This technology scans words and characters from the document and saves in the PC or OCR’s memory. The stored information can be accessed using magnifiers or Braille technology.

Speech system is another technology that converts the words from the document into spoken language. This technology comes along with screen reader.

 

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All About Braille

March 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Most people have heard of Braille, but unless you have a blind family member of friend you probably do not know that many details about Braille.

What is Braille?

It is important to remember that Braille is not its own language.  Braille is an alternative way to read languages that already exist.  The dots people associate in Braille are arranged in different combinations to represent different letters. There are different combinations of dots of each language.  A person reading in English in Braille and a person reading in French in Braille would not be using the same letter codes.

Where did Braille Come From?

Braille was invented by a teenage boy named Louis Braille who lived in the early 1800s.  Louis was born with full sight, but injured one of his eyes during a childhood accident.  Feeling left out in school, Louis used his creative and scientific talents to come up with a way that he could read and write.  While studying, Louis learned about a dot system initially used by the French army.  Louis put his own spin on the idea and soon after Braille was born.  Louis even published the first Braille.  Although Braille benefited him, it was not originally accepted by teachers and doctors of his day.  But like many great inventors, after his death, Braille eventually caught on and helps millions of blind people everywhere to this day.

Modern Braille

Braille has come a long way since days of Louis Braille and so has technology.  Braille can be found everywhere these days.  Braille is often found on ATM machines, so that visually impaired individuals can access their bank accounts with out assistance.  Braille can also be put on cell phones and computers so that blind people can be independent workers.  Braille is popular in elevators to help blind people who live in apartment complexes or stay in hotels while on vacation.

Filed Under: Blindness, Braille Tagged With: , ,

Raising a Blind Teen

February 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment

If you are a parent raising a blind teen, you know that it can be a challenging time.  Blind teenagers, like all teenagers, will be going through a lot of physical and emotional changes.  Consider the following tips when parenting your blind teen.

Don’t Over Parent

Your blind teen is getting older and may be eager to do more things on their own.  When your child was younger, she may have wanted you to brush her hair or button her clothes.  As blind teens seek more independence just like their non-visually impaired peers, they may want to start doing more for themselves.

Don’t Be Afraid to Punish Your Blind Teen

A blind teen is still a teen and needs to be treated like one.  If you are raising multiple teens and tweens the same rules should apply for all of them.  If your blind teen tries cigarettes, listens to inappropriate music you have banned from the house or  breaks any other family rule it is important for you to give your blind child the same punishment that you would give to any of your other kids.

Support Groups

Although it is good for your blind teen to interact with all types of teenagers, it can be helpful for your son or daughter to have some blind friends as well.  Take your teen to a blind support group or youth conference where they can make new friends.  Having someone who can relate to their situation can help a teen get through rough times with dating, school work and other youth issues.

Encourage

Encourage your blind teen to join after school activities.  These can be activities designated for handicapped students or mainstream activities that your child feels comfortable doing.  Becoming good at a hobby can lead to making new friends and finding interests that your teen may want to pursue in college.  Being in a club or sport can also raise your blind teen’s self-esteem.

Filed Under: Blindness Tagged With: ,

Resources for Parents of Blind Child

February 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Being the parent of a blind child can be a challenge.  Although daily life can be difficult, it is important to remember that you are not alone.

Online Forums

Joining online forums for parents of blind children or children with other disabilities can help you to find support and make new friends going through a similar situation. If your real life friends don’t seem to completely understand your situation, you can vent to other mothers and fathers walking in your shoes.  You do not need to be embarrassed or nervous about revealing your identity as you can post under a made up screen name.

Real Time Support Groups

Contact a local hospital or church to see if there are any in person support groups in your area.  Venting to other local parents of blind children can help you to get through the week and have someone to talk to.  If you find another parent that you connect with, you can also set up a play date for your two children.

National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments

The NAPVI is a United States based organization looking to help blind children and their parents.  Parents can attend conferences where they can meet with top doctors and other parents.  The organization has seven different chapters through out the country based on region so that during the year people can participate in local charity events. Members can also subscribe to newsletters to keep up with trends in education for blind children and medical advancements.

Filed Under: Blindness Tagged With: , , ,

Games and Activities for Blind Children

February 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment

It is important for blind children to play games and enjoy forms of entertainment. Simple adaptations can be made so that blind children can participate in fun activities.

Ball Sports

Blind or visually impaired kids can still participate in sports where balls or used. For safety reasons, hard balls should be replaced with light weight balls such as blow up balls, beach balls and nerf balls. Blind children can learn to play volleyball with a teacher or assistant standing by their side. Blind children can also play catch safely with light weight balls.

Playground

Visually impaired children can enjoy swings and slides with the help of a parent or older sibling.  Obstacle course type play equipment can be beneficial for blind children as they can feel their way through tunnels.

Musical Toys

Some blind children adapt to have keen hearing.  Musical toys are a great way for blind children to express themselves.  If you can afford to give your blind child private piano lessons, with a little practice and proper training playing the piano may be an activity your child can enjoy and excel at.  Young children may enjoy dolls that they can squeeze and music and sounds will come out.

Play-Doh

Blind children can have a good time crafting with play-doh.  Play-doh has a nice texture that children will find it interesting to mold with.  Scented play-doh is also now available.  You can play a game with your child by teaching them to identify different colors of play-doh by using their sense of smell.

Filed Under: Blindness Tagged With: , , ,

Charities and Non-Profits that Fight Blindness

February 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment

There are many non-profit organizations and charities hard at work everyday to find a cure for blindness and make improvements in the lives of the visually impaired.

Fight for Sight

Fight for Sight has been doing vision research for over 65 years.  This institution continuously raises money to do research to make advancements in the visual impairment world.  They continue to do experimental treatments that have helped the visually impaired.

Prevent Blindness America

Prevent Blindness America is a charity that encourages annual eye exams and blindness prevention.  The agency educates the public about vision problems in adults and children.  They continue to be a voice for the blind in hopes of getting more government support in eye care protection and research.

Sight Savers

Sight Savers fights vision loss in third world countries. Their team members travel to Nigeria to do eye exams on people who desperately need medical attention but have no money or access to doctors.  Sight Savers have saved the lives of thousands of people by healing health issues that could have eventually caused blindness as a side effect if they were not diagnosed.  They have saved 21 million people from river blindness,  common cause of vision loss in poor nations.

The Seeing Eye

The Seeing Eye is a non-profit organization based in Morristown, New Jersey.  At the Seeing Eye they train canines to be seeing eye dogs.  In addition, they temporarily house blind individuals and train them to work well with a furry companion before sending the person and the dog home together.

Filed Under: Advancements, Blindness Tagged With: , , ,

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Braille

January 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

There are various advantages of using Braille by people to read. Braille is a form of language that is used by the blind people to read. As we know blind people will not be able to see the shape of size of the alphabets. To make even blind people to read, this system of Braille was started.

This is a method in which the book in Braille form has various dots that are raised. As the dots are present on the paper and also because the dots are raised, the person who is reading the book needs to run the hands over the book or paper and the raised dots will help the person to read the words in the book.

Any person thinking of Braille will think of the many advantages that it has. Though the system of Braille has a lot of advantages, there are also some disadvantages of Braille. We will look at some of the other advantages before going into the disadvantages.

Learning is possible for the person who is able to read Braille. Even a blind person can educate himself thorough Braille and this is the major advantage of using this system to read. The disadvantage of Braille is that the person who is using this kind of books to read will have to spend a lot of money to read. This is a very difficult proposition for many of the people who are not economically well off.

The high cost of the books that are in Braille is just one of the disadvantages. The other disadvantage is that the Braille is present in English and there are no other fully compatible systems in any other language. There are a lot of people trying to use other methods similar to Braille for various languages, but it has not been as successful. This is a disadvantage because people who do not know English and have become blind will find it difficult.

Filed Under: Braille Tagged With: , , , ,

Best Gifts for the Blind or Low Visual

December 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Your best friend is having a birthday, or perhaps you are wondering what to get him or her for Christmas or Valentine’s Day. Your friend is also blind and you want to get your friend something he or she will not only cherish but be able to use to make his or her life easier. Below is a best gift list to get you started:

The Braille and not so Braille

  • Books on CD are important to the blind or low visual, especially if the book in mind can’t be found in Braille. Just think about the last time you slipped a book related CD into your car and the fun you had listening as you drove. Music is also a fabulous gift.
  • Large print books for the low visual can be found at most bookstores or can be ordered if not in stock.
  • Slate and stylus sets are fairly inexpensive and help in the reading and writing for the blind. 100# weight paper is used with the above slate and stylus set.
  • Printed Braille calendars and daily planners can be located at Braille institutions and online stores and range in price from $7.50 to $20.
  • Braille fiction, non-fiction and children’s books can be obtained online or through a local blind institution or bookstore.
  • Screen reading software, Braille keyboard, or Braille appliance control panel overlays will help in the office and kitchen.
  • A Braille raised cordless telephone is always a hit; about $60.
  • Tactile board game; $10-$70.
  • Speaking clocks are all the rage. Between $10 and $40.
  • Sweet smelling bath supplies, cologne, or perfume. Or try something soft and cuddly.

Whatever you decide to do, keep your friend’s interests in mind, and be aware that he or she has distinguishing tastes just like your other friends you know and love. Keep the gift you choose focused on your friend and their individual talents.

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

What the Low Vision See and How you Can Help

December 16, 2010 by 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: , ,

Blind and Low Vision are not Limited in Work Opportunities

December 12, 2010 by 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: , , , ,
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