Amazing Navigation and Accessibility Devices #1
Evelity is a fantastic app enabling folks who have a visual impairment to find their way around in indoor, complex venues like museums, malls, and universities. The app functions similarly to GPS.
Evelity is compatible with VoiceOver and TalkBack, so it offers audio instructions to blind and visually impaired people to guide them step by step to where they need to go. Users may easily find key locations such as a reception desk or bathroom even if they are unfamiliar with the environment.
Evelity
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Clew is an outstanding free app for blind and visually impaired people, enabling them to retrace their path and return to any location. Users can choose to return to a location via voice directions, sound effects, or haptic feedback.
BlindSquare is an incredible app for blind and visually impaired users. It works in conjunction with 3rd party navigation apps, BlindSquare has voice functionality which articulates points of interest, intersections, and more, both indoors and outdoors.
Echobatix is an incredible app which enables blind and visually impaired users to do 2 main things:
OrCam has two incredible accessibility products which allow blind and visually impaired people to read and see.
Helen Keller, the most famous and revered deafblind person in history, received an Academy Award for the 1955 documentary about her life called “Helen Keller in Her Story.”
Here are some of the most important statistics relating to blindness and visual impairment in the U.S., according to the CDC:
Join us in celebrating Kevin's incredible journey of resilience and personal growth! Kevin's story is an inspiration to us all, as he continues to overcome challenges and embrace new opportunities at San Diego Center for the Blind.
Interestingly, animals become blind for reasons similar to those which cause humans to become blind. Also, humans fall near the middle of the visual spectrum of animals, meaning that about as many species see better than we do as see worse than we do.
Here are ten great associations which provide help for blind and visually impaired people throughout the U.S.:
Here are 8 of the best fiction and non-fiction books about blindness and visual impairment. Most are available as audiobooks.
A study by Mass. Eye and Ear concludes that those who are blind at birth or before age 3 have new connections made in their brains which significantly enhance their other senses - hearing, touch, taste, and smell, as well as cognitive functions such as memory and language.
When someone is told, usually by a doctor, that they are losing their vision and perhaps may go blind, it is natural that a range of emotions follows. These emotions may pertain to the person themselves, their friends, family, and colleagues. They may relate to the practical aspects of how their life will change, including dependence upon others. Most importantly, these emotions can get to the heart of not just how the person thinks about their vision loss, but how they feel.
The 2.2 billion visually impaired people in the world can benefit immeasurably from each of these five amazing technologies:
Melanie Barratt became the first blind person to swim across Lake Geneva, the largest lake in Switzerland. Together with her relay teammates, who alternated swimming one hour at a time, they traversed the 44 mile lake in 27 hours, 36 minutes and 19 seconds.
Oscar winning British actress Dame Judi Dench is no longer able to see on movie sets. At 88 years old, Dench has age-related macular degeneration. She also cannot read her scripts, instead relying on friends to help her read and rehearse. Fortunately she has a good memory.
Condition: Glaucoma and cataracts which led to the loss of sight in her left eye.
If you are blind or visually impaired, you are probably aware of at least some of the amazing apps and technology to help you "see" what's in your environment. Your phone has a magnifier to you can more easily read small font and see small objects. It also has text-to-speech and reverse capabilities.
For those who have diabetes, it can be sight-threatening. Diabetic retinopathy is a significant complication resulting from diabetes, both Type I and Type II. It can cause vision loss and blindness. Estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) show that of the 37 million cases of blindness globally, diabetic retinopathy is responsible for 4.8%.
Guide dogs provide "eyes" for folks who are blind or visually impaired
Here are some hints on what to do and what not to do when you see a person with a guide dog or service dog:
Tony Addison, who is blind, has experienced several instances of discrimination because of his blindness. Here are some notable examples:
If you've enjoyed Wimbledon the last two weeks, you might be wondering if there's a variation of tennis for blind or visually impaired folks. Actually, there is!
Here are 15 great movies that depict main characters who are blind or visually impaired - and are amazing to watch:
If your vision isn't 20/20, or you are even visually impaired, it's natural to wonder if your vision will worsen. But can your vision actually improve, reversing vision loss? There actually are some types of vision loss that can improve naturally.
Here are some general guidelines on helping blind and visually impaired people :
Here are some tips on helping blind and visually impaired people navigate narrow spaces or single file:
Here are some tips on helping blind and visually impaired people navigate doors:
Here are some tips on helping blind and visually impaired people navigate steps:
Here are some tips on helping blind and visually impaired people navigate curbs and roads:
Here are some tips on helping blind and visually impaired people while finding a seat:
Here are some tips on helping blind and visually impaired people while travelling:
Here are some broad categories of products that can be useful for visually impaired seniors, and others. If you are looking for a gift for a visually impaired friend or loved one, this is a good place to start.
A study shows that a lack of vitamin D, an antioxidant, is associated with a significantly greater risk of cataract, which is the loss of transparency of the eye's lens. This is especially true in young adults. More than 1 billion people worldwide are estimated to have vitamin D deficiency, often to to lack of exposure to sunlight.
If you are blind or visually impaired, here are 8 hints to make cooking enjoyable, safe, and yummy:
21-year-old Kaiya Armstrong dreams of being a pilot. To turn that dream into reality, she is adapting a plane so she can fly from Phoenix to Washington. These adaptations include:
The U.S. has over 100,000 ATMs that are accessible to the blind and visually impaired, plus many more internationally. This is required by law - the ADA to be specific. There are two primary ways to use the accessibility features of these ATMs:
According to the CDC, 1 million Americans are blind and 7 million have vision loss. Additionally, 93 million are at risk of significant vision loss. Of course, blindness and vision loss affect ones sight, physical health, and quality of life. But they also can have a big impact on these mental health issues:
Almost everyone loves to swim. But swimming as a blind or visually impaired person can carry an added measure of anxiety. How do I swim straight? How to I know when I'm reaching the end of the pool? How do I not drown?!
Last season, David Mermelstein was seated in the outfield bleachers. When the inning ended, Angels outfielder Juan Lagares threw the ball into the stands, intending it as a souvenir for a lucky fan. However, he threw the ball hard, and it hit Mermelstein in the eye socket while he was eating peanuts. As a result, he was blinded.
Here are 5 tips from the Cleveland Clinic that can help explain vision loss to a loved one:
If you suspect your baby or toddler might have vision issues or even be blind, of course the most important thing to do is to get them an eye exam. Here are the most important early signs to look for which might indicate vision impairment or blindness:
A study (in Iran) analyzed the impact that blindness (80% of study participants) and visual impairment (20%) have on one's quality of life (QOL). Here is a summary of the findings:
38 million people globally are blind. A further 110 million are visually impaired, with many of those at great risk for becoming blind. Here are the main causes of blindness:
May, this month, is Healthy Vision Month. So, if you haven't had an eye exam in a while, this would be an excellent time to schedule one.
Here are the 5 diseases which most often lead to vision loss or blindness:
More than half of vision impairment cases can be prevented. Here are seven things you can do to prevent blindness:
Traditional cataract surgery replaces your cataract with synthetic lenses which are monofocal or bifocal. More recently, trifocal lenses have been introduced. However, there are issues with these lenses, including insufficient light and image quality.
