Organizations & Resources Supporting the Visually Impaired (2023)

FAQs

What resources are available to blind people? ›

Answer: The most popular resource for visually challenged persons is Braille. Louis Braille developed this system and published it in 1821.

Living with sight loss

If you're affected by sight loss, we're here for you. Through our Sight Loss Advice Service, RNIB offers support to blind and partially sighted people across the UK. We can help you to find the right assistive technology, support you in education and work, access financial help and much more.

Screen Readers are a type of software program that allows people who are blind or visually impaired to be able to read text that is displayed on a computer screen. These days, even mobile devices and tablets can have screen readers installed on them.

Perhaps the most well known blind person was Helen Adams Keller (fig. 1), (June 27, 1880 - June 1, 1968), an American author, political activist, and lecturer. Helen Keller was the first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree.

There are many low-tech visual aids that can help older adults with visual impairment, such as magnifying glasses, a long cane, glasses, optoelectronic reading systems (i.e., video magnifier), large-print books, audiobooks, a touch watch, a phone with enlarged buttons, books in Braille, and walking aids.

What type of media can be used to help visually challenged individuals? ›

Screen Reading software and special talking and Braille devices allow those of us with no vision to use computers, cell phones and other electronic devices independently.

Assistive Technology Used by Blind People

For those who are blind, the main AT are screen readers, braille displays, and speech recognition software.

Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) - Local Offer. Services for children and young people in Northamptonshire (aged 0-25) with special educational needs and disabilities.

Blind Person's Allowance is an extra amount of tax-free allowance. It means you can earn more before you start paying Income Tax.

Everyone who is blind or partially sighted has their own unique experience, so we don't take a one‑size‑fits‑all approach. Our services include: Sight Loss Advice Service offering information, advice, practical and emotional support.

The National Library Service (NLS) for the Blind and Physically Handicapped is one of the largest resources for adapting printed material for use by people who are visually impaired or blind.

Provide high-contrast backgrounds so objects are more visible, for example, placing a dark-colored object on a yellow or white background. Foam sheets, which are inexpensive, washable, and available in a variety of colors, can be used to provide different color backgrounds.

Colour Blind Awareness Day – 6^th September every year!

The date for Colour Blind Awareness Day was chosen because it's the birthday of John Dalton. John Dalton was a scientist who was born on 6th September 1766. He was the first person known to realise colour blindness exists.

There's no cure, but special glasses and contact lenses can help. Most people who are color blind are able to adjust and don't have problems with everyday activities.

How do you raise awareness for color blindness? ›

You could end up becoming a role model for a young child who may be struggling to come to terms with his/her colour blindness. Sharing your story on social media or via word of mouth are two great ways to increase awareness of colour blindness and bring the community together.

Cell phones and tablets have revolutionized the way people who are blind or visually impaired interact and use technology. Screen reading and magnifying software – like that used in computers – allows us to use these devices independently.

Braille was created by Louis Braille in 1824 after he lost his vision at age 15. It is basically a code in which a sequence of dots represent each letter of the alphabet.

What is the difference between visual impairment and blindness? The definition of visual impairment is “a decrease in the ability to see to a certain degree that causes problems not fixable by usual means, such as glasses.” Blindness is “the state of being unable to see due to injury, disease or genetic condition.”

When Johnny Depp first swashbuckled across the screen as Captain Jack Sparrow in “Pirates of the Caribbean,” he had a secret – he's blind in one eye and near-sighted in the other. It wasn't until a 2013 interview in Rolling Stone magazine that he revealed his visual impairment. “I've never had proper vision,” he said.

Blind (the), visually impaired (the) Say "person who is blind", "person with vision impairment or low vision" Confined to a wheelchair, wheelchair-bound (a wheelchair provides mobility not restriction)

Affordable smartphone apps have empowered the blind and visually impaired. Now, artificial intelligence (AI) is taking those apps' capabilities to the next level. AI and machine learning technologies, specifically computer vision, have grown sufficiently robust to improve the lives of the blind and visually impaired.

How can social media be accessible for visually impaired? ›

Limiting emojis, adding captions, and using the hashtag #caption are simple ways to make your social media more accessible. Here are a few more things you can do: List alternative means of contact, such as your phone number or a “Contact Us” link, on your social media platforms.

Although there are solutions that can convert text into speech, Braille remains the closest thing to reading for blind persons. There already are devices capable of reproducing Braille characters in real time, but they are based on moving parts that go up and down to form points of symbols.

Low Vision Aids are devices designed to help people with poor vision to read and see more clearly. Examples include Electric Video Magnifiers, standing and hand-held magnifiers, strong magnifying reading glasses, loupes, and small telescopes.

People who are blind just have different ways of accessing these devices. Blind people use what's called assistive technology, including screen readers, refreshable braille displays, and digital screen magnification to interact with high-tech products.

Free distribution of Braille Kits

Every blind child irrespective of whether he/she is studying in special school or IE program must have access to a braille kit. A Braille kit contains basic educational devices needed by blind students for learning braille, arithmetic, geometry, etc.

Welcome to Blindness Support Services

We at Blindness Support Services are dedicated to teaching those who are blind or have visual impairments to become more independent and adapt to the challenges they have.

Through the National Library Service (NLS), every state provides braille and audio books for blind, visually impaired and print for disabled people. Users can download books, but you do not need a computer to use this service.

If your vision is 20/200, or legally blind, you may qualify for disability benefits. The Social Security Administration (SSA) considers “legal” or “statutory” blindness as a qualified disability.

Organization of Americans who are blind and visually impaired. Provides advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and self-confidence.

How do we help those people who Cannot see? ›

DO give a clear word picture when describing things to an individual with vision loss. Include details such as color, texture, shape and landmarks. DO touch them on the arm or use their name when addressing them. This lets them know you are speaking to them, and not someone else in the room.

Our Talking Books service is absolutely free. Giving you access to over 37,000 fiction and non fiction books for adults and children in accessible formats that suits you.

Braille is a system of raised dots that can be read with the fingers by people who are blind or who have low vision. Teachers, parents, and others who are not visually impaired ordinarily read braille with their eyes. Braille is not a language.

The RNIB Library is the largest of its kind in the UK, and it's completely free with over 60,000 items in the collection.

Now, there is nothing wrong with occupations that have been stereotyped as "jobs that blind people can do." There are blind people who are happy and satisfied as medical transcriptionists, piano tuners, social workers, packagers and piece workers, computer programers, and lawyers.

Particularly if lazy eye is detected early in life and promptly treated, reduced vision can be avoided. But if left untreated, lazy eye can cause severe visual disability in the affected eye, including legal blindness. It's estimated that about 2 to 3 percent of the U.S. population has some degree of amblyopia.

What is Blind Person's Allowance? The Blind Person's Allowance is added to your tax-free Personal Allowance and increases the amount of income you can have each year before you start paying tax. The Blind Person's Allowance for the tax year 2022-23 is £2,600, regardless of your age or income.

Good. This charity's score is 88.94, earning it a 3-Star rating. Donors can "Give with Confidence" to this charity.

The National Federation of the Blind was founded November 16, 1940, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

How many members are in the NFB? ›

Founded in 1940, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the nation's largest and most influential membership organization of blind persons. With fifty thousand members, the NFB has affiliates in all fifty states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, and over seven hundred local chapters.