I hate asking for help because I know a lot of people are struggling right now, but I'm at a point where things are getting scary.
If you have a dollar or anything to donate I'd be extremely grateful. If you haven't anything to spare I hope all of our situations improve in the near future.
I also have a cashapp — I can send Screenshots of where funds are going if that helps? My cashtag is $PrinceElliotG
Much love,
- Wizard
I'm in-between jobs at the moment, and haven't found anything yet. My spouse … Elliot Graham needs your support for Low-vision, Unemployed a
Screen Readers Users: Which site’s are the most accessible?
Hey folks!
If you are a screen reader user, would you be so kind as to recommend sites that you feel are the most accessible for you (and could you also list what screen reader you use)?
I’m reworking my website based on two bits of data:
Nearly 70% of my traffic comes from mobile users
Accessibility on the web is important to me and I want blind / low vision users to be comfortable using my site
I make websites for a living so that first bit is fairly straight forward. However, #2 is tough because a lot of the rules and recommendations around screen readers are contradictory or out of date given how fast technology advances. That coupled with the fact that it’s really hard to get a hold of screen reader tech (NVDA is windows-only and JAWS doesn’t have a free license) makes it really hard to test and debug screen reader accessibility for my site.
If folks share with me the sites that do it right, there’s a better chance that I can make my site just as easy to use.
Shout-out to people with disabilities that impact your reading:
Screen readers and TTS isn't just for blind people!! You can use it too!
Apps/software/websites I recommend: Dolphin Easy Reader, Bookshare, NVDA
Dolphin easy reader is free and it'll read any epub or other text file. If you want to pay a few dollars every month it can also do PDFs.
Bookshare is a website that has TONS of accessible books. This one is only free if you're a student! Otherwise, there's an annual fee to use it. If you have the money to spare, it's absolutely worth it imo.
NVDA is a free, open source screen reader. It takes some getting used to and there are a lot of commands, but you can turn them on and off or change them to suit your needs.
I hope this helps someone! If there's an accessible tool that could help you but it wasn't made with your needs in mind, just use it! Accessibility is for EVERYONE!!!
When attending Pre-Service Orientation (PSO), members in the AmeriCorps VISTA program learn about poverty. They learn about situational poverty, about generational poverty, about urban and rural poverty, and so forth. During this training, facilitators ask their groups to form a circle to discuss what poverty means to them. They’re asked: what does poverty look like to you?
The answers would no doubt surprise you, and would undoubtedly provoke the conscience to consider unknown situations. As a new AmeriCorps VISTA, when I was asked this question of what poverty looks like, the realization arrived that it was the situation in which I’d been living, though it might not look like the poverty you’re picturing.
They’re asked: what does poverty look like to you?
The answers would no doubt surprise you.
I have a low-vision blindness disability that I developed at the age of 19. I’m a white, middle-class male. A Boy Scout who has always done well in school. Well enough even to earn two English degrees while adapting to a newly acquired low-vision disability.
After graduating from Rutgers University in Camden, NJ with an MFA in Creative Writing, I began a job search. I searched. I searched some more. I had many interviews. Some, I was unqualified for, while others, I was more than qualified for. On occasion, I was dismissed because I had to disclose my disability. Yes, it’s illegal, but you know what? They gave me the run-around anyway. Why? Because like with many people who experience poverty on one level or another, I didn’t have the resources to do anything about it.
I began looking for simpler work so that I could pay for my bills, but I realized that wasn’t an easier task because many jobs that require low skill-sets require good vision capabilities. Imagine for a moment, what it might be like to count money without sight, to mop a dirty floor without sight, to operate a ride-sharing service without sight. The jobs that many take for granted and even turn their nose up toward can be entirely out of reach for persons with certain disabilities. Time and time again, I’d heard the word “no” and “disability” and eventually started to believe that I was unable, that I really couldn’t do, that it didn’t matter how much education I had because no one seemed to believe that I had the ability to do the work I thought I could do.
The jobs that many take for granted and even turn their nose up toward can be entirely out of reach for persons with certain disabilities.
With all of these forces working against me, I began thinking of other options, which ultimately lead to the AmeriCorps VISTA program. There, I could gain valuable professional experience without fear of rejection based on discrimination, and I’d be helping others in the community gain their own footing as well.
NeighborWorks Western Pennsylvania was looking for an AmeriCorps VISTA member to evaluate and redevelop their program delivery model by holding internal interviews, creating client-facing surveys, developing new education and training materials, and implementing a client triage system that would improve the capacity for ensuring client success.
I applied, interviewed, accepted an offer, and went off to AmeriCorps VISTA Pre-Service Orientation the week before starting my assignment. It was there that, suddenly, the challenges I’d been facing were described and placed into my hands. There, I trained for a full year of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA member who would help combat the many faces of poverty that threaten to degrade society and remove many from opportunity.
Now in the final stages of my AmeriCorps VISTA project, after working with staff members, attending training sessions and conferences, developing training manuals, workshop materials, client triage protocols, procedures, surveys, outreach materials, and gaining the trust and appreciation of NeighborWorks Western Pennsylvania staff, I can say this: I am able, I can do, I have done, and I will do more.
I am able, I can do, I have done, and I will do more.
In the face of an impoverished lifestyle of living on nothing but Social Security disability and SNAP benefits, I’ve shown myself and the world that the word “disability” is a word often reserved for nothing better than demotivating a differently-abled individual. Through AmeriCorps VISTA, I learned that individuals living with disabilities bring fresh perspectives, new ideas, new culture, and new levels of awareness. All of which aid in improving others and organizations.
As both an impoverished individual and an AmeriCorps VISTA working to reduce the effects of poverty in my community, I can say that the VISTA program is indispensable to those without opportunity who need a chance to show what they’re capable of. Without AmeriCorps VISTA, I may never have found the opportunity I needed to show myself and others that I have the potential for making a difference that can change the community and help those in need.
For more information on AmeriCorps VISTA opportunities throughout the country, go to americorps.gov/VISTA.
"FINDING DORY" Welcomes Low-Vision and Blind Audiences to the Movie Theater for Groundbreaking Experience.
As Disney•Pixar’s “Finding Dory” swims into theaters this week, low-vision and blind fans are invited to enjoy the film alongside family members in theaters, thanks to a breakthrough in independent moviegoing. Smart-syncing audio description, a new feature introduced to in-home audiences four months ago on the Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA) app, heads to theaters nationwide for the first time with the release of “Finding Dory.” Accessed via one’s own iPhone® or iPad® and a set of ear buds, the feature provides users with free audio description that elegantly narrates important on-screen action for those who can’t always follow along visually.
More than 21 million people in the United States are blind or visually impaired. While all feature films include a track for the blindness community, until now, these tracks have been accessible only by utilizing special gear provided by a limited number of individual theaters. The DMA app, downloaded via iTunes onto an iPhone® or iPad® running iOS 7 or above, accesses the mobile device’s microphone to “listen” to the big-screen presentation and syncs the audio descriptions accordingly so users can hear both the descriptive narrative and the film’s original audio. Pixar has invited members of the visually impaired community to focus group screenings for more than eight years in an effort to craft the narration in the most effective and enjoyable manner possible.
Earlier this week, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler included Disney Movies Anywhere among five winners of its Advancement in Accessibility Award, which recognizes achievements in communications technology for those with disabilities.
“Finding Dory” is the 17th Disney•Pixar film to feature the complimentary audio accessibility via the DMA app, which is currently only available in the U.S. Audio synchronization technology is provided by Audible Magic.
i want to try belly dancing. so bad. and the fact that you're visually impaired, as am i, it kind of inspires me more to do it. so, on that note, thanks for your inspiration to not let my vision hinder me (:
Aww! Why thank you! *beams* Do it dooo it! ^_^
Regardless of your visual acuity and/or ocular condition (and yes, even if one is blind), there are ways to adapt so you get the most out of a class. Just go to your teacher ahead of time, tell her about your ocular condition in relation to how it affects seeing small movements from a distance, and you should be able to work together so you get the most out of your bellydancing lessons. ^_^
Also (depending on your vision), she might ask if she can gently guide you using touch (say.. hands on hips, arms, shoulders or back) if your sight severely impairs your ability to absorb what's going on in class. If that's the case though, fear not! :) Just guide her through your comfort zones and y'all should be dancing in no time. ^_^ Furthermore, don't be afraid to ask (courteously) if she will describe the movements she's working through in class. I've found helps me a LOT. (And surprisingly, I've also learned that it can be helpful to the other students, too. ;D)
Lastly, (in case you're timid like me), never, EVER be too scared to ask the teacher for what you need, so you can participate fully in her classes. As long as your requests are reasonable and won't disturb the flow of the class (or the experiences of the other students) too much, a teacher should be fine w/helping you get the most out of your lessons. :) (For example: Asking to be in the front row so you can see better should be no big deal. ..On the other hand, demanding that the teacher be at one's side through the WHOLE course is not okay.) But all-in-all, REASONABLE accommodations should be just fine. :) (And if your teacher won't work w/you, don't hesitate to find another one. ;))
Good luck, and let me know how it goes! Or if you need help finding stuff in your area, drop me a line and I'll see what I magick up. ^_^
