Posts Tagged visual impairment
The Blind Buzz on Guide Dogs
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on November 10, 2010
[Video] Dennis Meech Local 1951 Training with his new Guide Dog Partner – IAMBuildingCommunity – Dennis is introduced to the dog and starts training.
Dr Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats
Getting Some Groceries – Dog’s Eye View
RSS Feed
[Video] Guide Dog GUGP – Week 38 – Dog Park – puppy walker deals with a dog distraction issue.
Guide Dogs Chief Executive interviewed by The Guardian — Guide dog puppy blog
Guide Dogs Seek Wider Acceptance — ZooToo Pet News – "No dogs allowed" signlas from ignorant store workers not uncommon.
[Video] Guide dogs turned away – discrimination in western Australia.
High Seas Adventure – No Bones About It: Guide Dogs’ Blog – guide dog and owner go on a sea cruise.
Long Work Route – Dog’s Eye View – introducing a new guide dog to the workplace.
Meeting Canine Friends – Dog’s Eye View – the social side of being a guide dog.
[Audio] One Man and his Guide Dog – Episode 24 – MAIDEN VOYAGE! – Mike Brace describes hhis first solo voyage without a white stick for 50 years, as he and Izzy visit the gym.
Page with all episodes – episode 30 is probably the last one.
Restaurant snubs man with guide dog (From Salisbury Journal)
Rudy’s life… as a guide dog in training – from th epoint of view of the dog.
RSS Feed
The Guide Dog Interviews | scaryideas.com – Guide Dogs NSW/ACT – would you be up to the job?
[Book] Tom and Bear: The Training of a Guide Dog Team – Amazon.com: – a broad look at a newly blind man and his partnership with a guide dog, including coming to terms with his blindness.
Understanding Labrador Retrievers – Why a Lab May Not Be For You | Fido’s Features – explains what a lab was bred to do and how this may or may not fit in with your life-style.
Youngsters Taste Guide Dog Freedom | Able Magazine – the UK Guide Dogs for the Blind Association recently held a 48-hour camp for kids in Loughborough.
The Blind Buzz on Photography
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on April 17, 2010
APH InSights 2010 – Dog’s Eye View – while the Lighthouse exhibition, Insights Art Exhibition, is taking a break this year, the author will enter the APH exhibition, innovatively called Insights 2010.
Art That Reveals Our Need for Grace – Her.meneutics – comments on some films about disabled photographers, including ‘
Dark Light‘, which features Pete Eckert and Bruce Hall.
ArtFirst! promotes artists with disabilities, welcomes hospital visitors and raises money for the new facility – ArtFirst! at the University Medical Center at Princeton.
[Video] Blind Photography Documentary – "Out of Darkness" — Kickstarter – a project in Mexico in 2006 to teach photography to a group of blind people. The photography may be of bvalue in its own right, but it was used as a confidence builder to enable participants to take their place more firmly in society. Funds needed to improve the quality of the finished film. Spanish language with English subtitles.
"Dunnville’s blind musician" – Dunnville Chronicle – Ontario, CA – obituary to Wilson Amos Brooks, who was not only a dedicated musician but also for many years owned a photo studio and took photographs for weddings and the local paper.
Legally blind photographer sees the world differently | www.beaumontenterprise.com – Local – for Ralf Mims, the best part of a trip is looking at the photos on a large computer monitor when he gets home. He has retinal dystrophy, which has similar effects to macular degeneration.
New Digital Lifestyle – information about Lisa Murphy, a photographer with a CNIB certificate in tactile graphics, who has published a book called ‘Tactile Mind’, erotica for blind people with raised graphics.
One man’s journey of sight loss | Action for Blind People Blog – among Toby Davey’s achievements in life, he has a degree in photography.
Online Photography Courses Roundup » Photography Bay | Digital Camera Reviews, News and Resources
Sight of Emotion introductory video – the aims of this project, which operates in Mexico (soundtrack in English). Also visit
Sight of Emotion Web Site
Turn your iPhone into a camera for iPad | iPad Application Developer – a very expensive way of adding a 3-megapixel camera to your iPad.
[Video] Understanding pictures in vision and touch | Lecturecasts [flexibility, accessibility, diversity] | Centre for Teaching and Learning | UTSC – Understanding pictures in vision and touch: Lines, perspectives and metaphors from cave art to the present.
The Blind Buzz on Glaucoma
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on April 9, 2010
No real blog entry today, as I’ve been busy on a new page for my website, dealing with glaucoma.
Hope readers find it useful.
The Blind Buzz on Photography
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on April 3, 2010
[Video] Authors @ Google: Tony Deifell -the author of "Seeing Beyond Sight" catches up with his old students who inspired the book. He also has a lot to say about different ways of seeing.
[PDF] Behind the Camera, Children With Visual Impairments Make an Impression, by Lisa Ellsworth, BA, Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2008. Children and young people in the San Francisco Bay area contributed to a travelling exhibition called Open Shutter.
Beyond Sight: Blind Photography in China | GlobalGiving – for more information about this project, please visit the
PhotoVoice Sights Unseen page.
Flickr: Blind Photographers Group – "Blind Photographers is a group for blind and otherwise visually-impaired photographers. How does having a different visual experience affect our photography?"
Flickr: Visually-impaired photographers in the UK – "If you live in the UK and you’re a visually impaired photographer, then please do join us."
CNET Asia Photo Academy – free online beginner’s course in photography.
Seeing beauty without sight – mySouTex.com – Elbert “Buz” Brown is developing more vision as a photographer as his sight diminishes.
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on April 3, 2010
Accessible Pages Aren’t Automatically Ugly
Check My Colours – Analyse the color contrast of your web pages
Create text-to-speech (TTS) podcast from RSS feed for iPod, iPhone, MP3 player and mobile phone
Google Announces Gmail For iPad « AccessTech News
Happy April Fools Day from Blind Bargains
iPad Launches! Round-up of Major Reviews | Blog | ZiggyTek
iPhone Human Interface Guidelines for developers.
Nocturne Download – Softpedia – test your web site for contrast in varying lighting conditions.
OASES –-Assess your Library Accessibility and Inclusion Provision « Chrissie’s Muses – JISC TechDis have now launched the OASES which is the Online Accessibility Self Evaluation Service.
Go to OASES
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on April 3, 2010
CSUN 2010 Audio
Blind Bargains: Audio Content Index includes several items related to CSUN
CSUN 2010 – 27 interviews conducted on March 25, 2010, in the exhibit hall of the San Diego California Manchester Grand Hyatt.
Hands On with Accessible Canon Copiers
MagniLink Go Reads, but also Magnifies
New Magnification Upgrades from Enhanced Vision
Serotalk – SeroTek at CSUN 2010
Tech Chat 56 – CSUN Highlights, and XP Mode Under Windows 7 « SeroTalk
The Summit of I.D. Mates
Other CSUN 2010 items
Adaptech Research Network Presentations
Adventures From My First Day at CSUN 2010 – Perspectives from a Blind Point of View
More Adventures from CSUN 2010 – Perspectives from a Blind Point of View
CSUN 2010 recap – Marco’s Accessibility Blog
Olympus DM-4 And DM-2 Digital Audio Devices Are At Your Command To Deliver Super High-quality Recording And Simple Playback
Slides from CSUN 2010 Talks – Adobe Accessibility
Two New Seika’s Coming to the U.S. – new Braille displays
10 Insanely Great iPad Apps We Can’t Wait to Use « AccessTech News
[Video] 2007 Faculty Development Award Winner: Access E-Learning – Georgia Tech tutorial on many aspects of accessibility.
A Brief Guide to WordPress and Web Accessibility
ABBYY Invites iPhone Users to Try Its Business Card Reader for Free
Accessible JavaScript: Beyond the Mouse
Accessible World Tek Talk Presents Make It Work, Computer Consultants March 29, 2010 by Mr. Daniel Kevorkian – general computer discussion
Accessibility tips for the casual coder – hope: Nerdy PSA – Why you should use em and strong tags for italics and bold.
ai squared – making accessibility simple – ZoomText, Victor reader Stream, Pebble, SenseView Duo and more.
Ajax Accessibility and ARIA – Ajaxian
Apple iPad Helps Businesses Meet Needs of Disabled Employees – Yahoo! News
Bank of America Installs Talking ATMs by Bank Systems & Technology
Best Buy Adds Tactile Keypads to Improve Checkout Experience for Customers with Visual Impairments – USA story.
Blind Bargains to Begin Charging for Access on April 15
Blind-friendly ipad – Latest Technology News
Browser Zoom Comparison | AlastairC – several ways of changing the size of things on screen in several browsers.
Choosing To Use A Cane – Fred’s Head
Cinemas apply for exemption to the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992 « AccessTech News – cinemas in Australia are asking for a delay in the demand for audio description and captioning.
Contributor Robert Kingette – Accessible PDF with WebbIE – Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind – first-hand experience of Accessible PDF from webbie.org.uk, which on the whole is very good.
Council on e-accessibility « Sköne Oke – standards are inconsistent across ~European countries.
Costa Rica Zip line Tour at Turu Ba Ri park is almost for any body | Costa Rica Turubari Park – Canopy Tours – elderly blind woman enjoys the tour.
Digital Talking Book Internet Service Delivers One Millionth Download « AccessTech News this is the NLS BARD Service in the USA.
eBooks page on the RNIB web site. On the same subject, you may like to visit
The tale of the accessible eBook – BBC Ouch!
eClipseWriter Student-Teacher – talking word processor with adjustable fonts and "Save as DAISY" facility.
FAE: Run FAE – functional accessibility evaluation. Enter a web address for an assessment of the page’s accessibility.
Free AVG Rescue CD Helps Get Unbootable PCs Working
Freedom Scientific Lease-to-Own Petition – sign the petition if you agree that FS should let people pay by instalments instead of needing the whole purchase price of JAWS up-front.
GNOME 2.30 released – with excellent accessibility support – Peter Korn’s Weblog
Google funds new research to help blind web surfers | Bioscience Technology Online – work at Manchester University to be supported by a £50,000 grant from Google.
Google Services Optimized for iPad: Gmail, YouTube, Maps and More « AccessTech News
GrabText – the idea is to take a picture of the whole screen and pick out the text from it using OCR
[GSoC Proposal] N900 as an Accessibility device – maemo.org – Talk
How Perceptual Blindness Works – Simple test shows how Humans (yes, even you) sometimes completely miss things that are in plain sight – Try the test – The Blogs at HowStuffWorks – Mozilla Firefox – even if you have some sight, you can miss something that’s right in front of your face. Here’s why.
How to Use Bump Dots to Maximize Accessibility – Fred’s Head – raised dots have uses on keyboards, ATMs and keypads. there are other uses for them in your life.
iPhone HD or iPhone 4G release? – rumours, no doubt carefully orchestrated by Apple, of the new iPhone release in the summer of 2010.
Is it possible to develop an accessible dynamic menu? – AccessIT
Issues in improving accessibility « H809 Learnings by SkillKick – some of the barriers.
IVONA Text-To-Speech Makes Mobile Applications More Accessible – free trial and book available on the site.
Juicy Studio: Image Analyser – This service examines all images found on a web page to check for any accessibility issues. The width, height, alt, and longdesc attributes are examined for appropriate values.
Kit support scent – Kit Cosmetics want to support Guide Dogs Australia. They have even sent scented Braille letters to blind people making them aware of their support and their product.
Support Scent Video Commercial
KPR – Koester Performance Research – ‘ …enhances the usability and accessibility of information and assistive technologies through research, development, and education. We research the “fit” between users and their technology. We develop software to assess user needs and to enhance computer interfaces. We also consult on usability and research desig’.
Learning the way – Donna Jodhan – how are you going to find your way about when you can’t see landmarks?
LookTell, Mobile Applications For The Blind – Technology Blog – mobile application for object recognition.
[Video] LookTel demo shows how Looktel system recognises objects, including food cans, newspaper items, shop signs, currency notes (at least, American currency notes).
Mouse by Keyboard « AccessTech News – Mac tip
Mozilla Thunderbird 3.0.4 Final « AccessTech News
Mozilla Thunderbird, Portable Edition 3.0.4 Released « AccessTech News
Multiple form labels and screen readers | 456 Berea Street – using an extra label to carry text for users to read seems like a good idea until you try it with a screen reader…..
New Design Opens Door To Full Screen Displays For The Blind – page display rather than line-by-line.
News Bytes – latest on Linux.
Nuance Announces TALKS 5.0 for Touchscreen Phones | Business Wire
Nuance Talks web site.
Nuance announces T9 Trace « AccessTech News – it’s not clear whether Nuance Talks will support this text entry system.
OverDrive Announces New Program for Visually Impaired Readers « ResourceShelf – download up to 20 ebooks per month.
Podcast: 30 Mar 2010 Software Walk-Through Resco News S60 – Blind Mind News – Unrestricted Access – RSS reader for symbian 3rd and 5th generation phones.
ReadPal -Free download to read faster with no stress or glare. – read documents in easy formats.
Set default zoom level in Safari using a CSS file – Mac OS X Hints
Sharp’s New 3D Touch Displays Eliminate Need for Glasses | Blog | ZiggyTek
Software @ ColorJack – products include a free Sketchpad program, Color Galaxy for color visualization and Color Sphere, which lets you choose color schemes, including colorblind simulators.
Sources of Research Articles on Cognitive Web Accessibility « Clear Helper
[Audio] The very first look at a touch screen phone with Talks 5. | Listen and Learn Recordings
The Web Isn’t for Everyone … Yet but lessons here try to help web authors make the most of it.
Virtual Ability, Inc. – offers techniques and training to enable disabled people to enjoy virtual worlds, such as Second Life.
VisionZone Initiates Eye Heath Awareness and Low Vision Community Connectivity -online arm of Optelec promises education on eye health and support for visually impaired people and their allies across the USA.
What to do with a Guide Dog when entering a Mosque? – www.TurnToIslam.com
Whenever you use :hover, also use :focus | 456 Berea Street – applying :focus to the CSS state of links.
WinPenPack Gathers Hundreds of Portable Apps in One Package [Downloads] « AccessTech News
YouTube accessible interface alternative now available « AccessTech News
Full story
Accessible Interface to YouTube
The Bklind Buzz on Rod Cone Dystrophy
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on March 9, 2010
I hope anyone concerned with rod cone dystrophy will find these references useful. Needless to say, I hope, that nothing listed here constitutes medical advice, and you should seek, as soon as possible, a qualified medical opinion.
[PDF] CONE DYSTROPHY – SHEFFIELD CHILDREN’S NHS FOUNDATION TRUST – advice leaflet.
Cone dystrophy – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[PDF] Cone rod dystrophies by Dr Christian Hamel. Also visit
Cone rod dystrophies by Dr Hamel (open access article)
Cone-rod dystrophy Information on Healthline
Cone Rod Dystrophy – information provided by Macular Degeneration Support.
Cone rod dystrophy Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatments and Causes – WrongDiagnosis.com
cone_rod_dystrophy : Cone Rod Dystrophy Group – Yahoo! Groups
Natural Treatment for rod cone dystrophy (Lebers)
Rod-Cone Dystrophy – Scottish Sensory Centr
Rod-Cone Dystrophy – V.I.Scotland
Rod-cone Dystrophy – California School for the Blind.
rod cone dystrophy – Message Boards – American Foundation for the Blind
Vitreous fluorophotometry in patients with cone-rod dystrophy
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on January 10, 2010
A very happy new year to our reader!
I’m sorry I’ve started the year so quietly, but I have to put this down to some local technical difficulties, hopefully resolved for the time being.
For anyone who’s new here, I gather together news headlines on blindness, technology and, occasionally, environmental topics and complementary therapies. The main thrust, though, is towards accessibility, as that forms the most compelling content of all those news feeds that feed me!
1st computer and Internet center for the blind in Iraq : Aswat Al Iraq
Access awareness | The Fulcrum – Center for Students with Disabilities hosts Access Awareness Week events, Jan 11th-15th, 2010.
Accessible Ajax – some examples using WAI ARIA.
Accessibility: How Many Disabled Web Users Are There? | Practical eCommerce – some traders will tell you their sites aren’t used by people with disabilities, so they don’t need to provide for them. The truth is that they have no way of backing up such claims.
Accessibility Foundation – Accessibility of Internet, Software and Electronic Devices – site in Dutch and English.
Accessibility in Higher Ed – World Campus delivers courses on the Web, so web accessibility is vital.
Accessibility in Windows Vista
Almost 8m Adults Struggle To Access Websites Reveals New Research From Shaw Trust – eGov Monitor – UK research
An Accessible Set Top Box – promising exhibit by Ocean Blue at International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
AnyBrowser.COM – test how well your site comes across on browsers you haven’t tried. Online and desktop versions.
Apple Tablet: 10? Screen and Ready for Jan. 26th Annoucement? » ZiggyTek » Blog – could be that some of the rumours about Apple’s e-reader are true.
Aural Style Sheets – what is possible in present and future versions of CSS.
Breakthrough in Text to Speech Technology | Mobile Phones UK – Ivona has introduced two new British English voices, Brian and Amy. Try the
free Ivona Player using Ivona voices. Be wrned, however, that the half-gigabyte package takes a heck of a lot of downloading.
Cairo museum offers blind tours | Odd Spot | Telstra BigPond News – odd spot? hope the author comes a bit closer so I can see whether he/she has anything odd about him/her. If not, it can be arranged.
Calls for disabled-friendly infrastructure resonate – sounds as though there is a burgeoning disability movement in Zambia.
Create text-to-speech (TTS) podcast from RSS feed for iPod, iPhone, MP3 player and mobile phone
Firefox Accessibility Extension
FlameReader – text to speech software that can convert any text into spoken words. You can listen on your PC or portable devices such as iPods, PocketPCs, MP3 players and CD players.
Free copyright control to help blind students: Xavier’s Resource Centre – dnaindia.com – now that we have the technology for VI people to access the printed world, a change in copyright law is called for (India).
FSCast Episode 36, November 2009 – Research It functionality in JAWS 11, and the Braille Challenge.
Grant aims at science software for blind | jconline.com | Journal and Courier – development in co-operation with Idaho blind school.
How to Enable Windows 7 GodMode – get easier access to all those Windows settings that are usually scattered throughout the system. Also seems to work on Vista and Windows Server.
If you have a visual impairment, BSkyB – Sky Tv in the UK now provides 20% of its programmes with audio description. They have an accessible remote control on offer, and cater for other disabilities, by using subtitles and sign language.
KNFB EReader Appears as Blio, to Debut at CES Next Week – Blind Bargains – new format allows colour reproduction of books with text to speech accessibility. Now we have to hope that the publishers get on board.
Massive support for fund to boost disabled access at Scotland’s stations | Transport Scotland
New Release BrowseAloud… Making Websites Talk
PupilTube – How to videos, the best tutorial videos and instructional videos.
RSS Feed
Readability – if cluttered web pages drive you crazy, try this tool. Set your setting for the kind of page you want and drag the readability icon into yur bookmarks toolbar. You may not always be pleased with the results, but it’s an experiment.
Separate text-only version? No thanks! – the arguments for making main web sites accessible in the first place.
Test Center: Safari 4 preview ( – Software )
Text to Speech via HTML5 Audio – Ajaxian
The Serotek Story – Part 1, Only the Beginning! SeroTalk Podcast.
Tutorials now free on AccessWatch – previously paid-for tutorials by Jamie Pauls, including those on Rhapsody and Nero
Vlingo Unveils Top 10 Voice-powered Mobile Web Searches of 2009 – SmartBrief
WAI-ARIA finally added to HTML5 – having been implemented in some browsers, WAI ARIA is more likely now to end up in the HTML standards.
