It is those that live with visual impairments/blindness that tend to discover what is missing on the market and develop what they need. Over time some very common, low/medium/high tech, options have been discovered to help those with visual impairments with every day tasks. Some examples are as follows:
1. Sewing thread of different thicknesses (thick string vs. thin, one line on the tag for light clothes, two for medium, and three for dark navy or black, etc.) onto the tags of shirts and pants to denote colours so the person can match the colour of their top to their bottom. Safety pins placed vertically or horizontally to denote tops or bottom with stripes, or even safety pins with beads to match tops and bottoms that go together. Here is a video with more ideas on how to match clothes:
2. Now that you are dressed for the day, and are matching, it is time to make your way to the kitchen. A low tech device that can be very useful here is tactile label. Tactile dots are raised dots, usually clear, that you adhere to surfaces to indicate places you want to remember or places that are frequently used. For example putting a tactile dot at the 350 degree mark on the stove so you know how far to turn the dial, or on a button on the microwave that is used most often- for example the "one minute" button The placement of these is personal to the individual and as many or as few as they like can be placed on surfaces. The tactile dots typically come in packages of 36 for just under $5. *I am sure there are similar products at the Dollar Store that could be substituted.
3. The kitchen can also be a place to utilise more high tech devices such as talking labels. Having a cupboard full of your favourite canned goods can be difficult to sort through if you are using touch alone, or have very little vision. Talking labels are small dots that can be placed on any item, not just canned goods, with the person's voice is recording a word/message (for up to 20 seconds on most devices) identifying what the object is. With the use of a label reader, the label is read allowed so the person knows what the item is. The most commonly used seems to be the PenFriend. Seen here it is priced at $149.95 CAD. It comes with 127 labels and approximately 70 hours of recording time. Click on the picture to be taken to a web page explaining it in greater detail.
When researching the PenFriend I came across another, far less expensive option, an app for Android phones called Talking Tags. This works in a similar was as a label reader only it is conveniently located on your phone so there is no need to be dragging around another device. You need to purchase Near Field Communication (NFC) tags, which cost approximately $80 for 100, but the app is free. Everyone who has rated the app has given it five stars and there are many comments about how much money it has saved them.
- Watches that talk the time: these are reasonably priced ($50-$90), fairly stylish watches that others would never know talked- until you push the button.
- Visual Aides/Magnifiers: There are a variety of magnifiers and the one that is most useful to you depends on your vision impairment and the desired. There are sheet magnifiers that go over a computer screens and pages in a book to significantly enhance the images/text, bookmark magnifiers, magnifying glasses, the traditional magnifying glass, and illuminators for those who need more light.
- Writing Aides: Besides apps that provide speech to text, there are also writing aides that can assist those who are blind/visually impaired. The majority of people know about Braille-the writing system of raised reading bumps that represent letters, you can buy dark lined paper of various spaces for $5.50/ 100 pieces (or make your own on white paper and photocopy it), letter/signature writing guides (which we could all use when trying to write on white paper!), as well as keyboards with high contrasting colours to make the letters more visible.
5. When performing any monetary transactions, there is high tech assistive technology devices that would grant the user independence. The YouTube video below provides a demonstration of how to use the app LookTel Money Reader. All you have to do is point your iPhone camera at the bill and it will read it. The camera will pick up any portion of the bill and recognize the amount. This app recognizes several currencies (Canadian, American, Australian, etc.) This app allows people who are blind or have visual impairments to easily identify bills.
Maureen, Nancy, Tarah and Tiffany Thank you so much for the wonderfully informative and useful information that you posted. ~20 years ago (in her late 70's) my husband's grandmother slowly began to lose her eyesight due to dry macular degeneration. She eventually used a lighted magnifier and a TV screen magnifier; she still wanted to go out on her own. I wish the LookTel Money Reader app had been available. Thank you for sharing this app; I often wondered if she or other persons with vision disabilities are being taken advantage of and this is a perfect AT to help maintain independence and security.
ReplyDeleteHello ladies. I trully enjoyed reading your blog. I was born in a family that has a lot of eye problems. It is nice to know that there are simple ways to make one see better in different settings. I like the magnifier that goes over the computer screen (prevents straining of the eyes). I am mostly interested about finding out where I can purchase the writing guides. Some of my students cannot write on regular loose leaf. I wonder if they can see the lines or not. This is why I went and purchase paper with wider/darker lines. Hope it help improve their writing. Great blog!
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