Vision Impairments

My family has been affected by vision loss. My husband and son are both legally blind. My daughter also has an eye disease. I will be discussing vision loss and resources available. (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-45372774-1', 'tumblr.com'); ga('send', 'pageview');

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Have Santa send your blind/visually blind child a letter. B

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Angel Ayala has never been a big fan of museums. Blind since birth, the high school student says the exhibits are so sight-dependent that he can't enjoy them.

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. The vision-impaired gaming community is organized, and eager to help

When we made the decision to make FREEQ accessible, we knew we were in over our heads.  We were not vision-impaired, and we didn’t know anyone who was, so we were bound to miss a lot of things.  However, we DID have the contact info of a small, passionate group of people who both knew about the game and wanted to make it accessible—the folks who’d complained to us in the first place.  We reached out to them, telling them that we were willing but only maybe able, and asked for their help.

The response was immediate, and enthusiastic.  Within a day or two of sending out feeler emails, we had assembled a core group of players who were willing to assist in any way they could.  They provided feedback on our proposed usability retrofit, helped with bug testing, and got the word out to their friends that the game was coming.

As release day drew near, our testers told us about AppleVis, an online forum dedicated to reviewing iOS and Mac applications’ accessibility.  We created an account and started poking around, and sure enough, there was a review of FREEQ, with a big old “NOT EVEN REMOTELY ACCESSIBLE” grade on it.  We knew that if we were going to get the word out that FREEQ was accessible and available, this was the place to do it.  So we responded in the bad review’s comments, apologizing for our ignorance and promising a fix.

As with our testing inquiries, we got an almost immediate and eager response. Forum members responded with their excitement, their questions, and promises to download the game when it came out. An AppleVis editor came to us, asking if we would mind if he ran a contest to drum up interest, with a handful of FREEQ download codes as the prize.  The response to the contest was entirely positive.  When the game did go live, members were online within hours to rewrite our poor review into a glowing endorsement.

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Caltrain Audible Ticket Vending Machine (by vistacenteruser)

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Blind parents raising sighted twins

WILMINGTON, Del. -- Eight-year-old Kelly Pizzolo has been known to stand in the middle of a room, completely still and silent, while her parents, Kris Heist and Gary Pizzolo, repeatedly ask where she is. Or

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Blind Dog And His Guide Dog On 'Good Day'

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Even though it’s not Thursday, a pair of really special dogs came on Good Day.

Blind dog and his guide dog :)

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So sweet!

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Jeffrey Meisner, technet.com

The Microsoft Accessibility Blog has a story highlighting a new contest from Nokia called the Do Good Mission that calls for the creation of apps that will enhance the lives and mobile experiences of visually impaired people.The Do Good Mission is…

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Blind Dog And His Guide Dog On 'Good Day'

Even though it's not Thursday, a pair of really special dogs came on Good Day.

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Braille necklace

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Driving with Vision Disorders

Learn how macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma can affect driving.

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I have never heard of that before seeing your blog. I would have to check in NC. I would really be more involved in blind culture as I stand. For now I want to spread learning Braille since it is something that should be more welcomed. Plus the clear lack of braille books going on (at least where I live) SMH. I'm surprised you followed me right now.

Here is the information for the North Carolina Braille Challenge. Maybe if it's not too far, you could volunteer to help.

Northern North Carolina RegionalsNorth Carolina Regional Braille ChallengeGovernor Morehead School for the Blind OutreachRaleigh, North CarolinaFebruary 13, 2014Contact: Debbie Jackson [email protected][phone]orContact: Michelle [email protected][phone]

Western North CarolinaCatawba Rosenwald Educational CenterCatawba, North CarolinaFebruary 20, 2014Contact: Angela [email protected][phone]    

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instagram.com

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verizon.com

I have been a fan of FiOS television in the past, but never more so now that Verizon has launched a service that makes television viewing for persons who are blind, or who have vision loss, that much more enjoyable.Verizon’s decision to include vi…

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Barcham, the-riotact.com

Shane Rattenbury today launched some new Bus Hailing Kits designed to help vision impaired passengers catch the right bus. They seem ingenious in that perfect simple way that these things need to be. “Following a successful trial, bus hailing kits…