Why Reddit Has Become A Favorite Social Media Platform for Many Blind and Visually Impaired People
BY RACHEL E. GREENSPAN (VIA INSIDER) The Reddit logo, featuring a smiling alien with a single antennae on his head, is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. [Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images]Samuel Proulx, a 32-year-old blind man living in Ottawa, Ontario, isn't that interested in using traditional social media. Proulx doesn't find Instagram and [...]
LEGO System Helps People Who Are Visually Impaired Reach New Heights at Rock Climbing Gym
BY DANA JACOBSON (VIA CBS NEWS) An aerial view from above Matthew Shifrin as he scales a rock climbing wall at an indoor climbing gym. BOSTON (CBS) – A 22-year-old blind entrepreneur is working to make rock climbing more accessible to the visually impaired. For its “Pushing The Limits” series, CBS This Morning profiled Matthew [...]
Lyft is Offering Free Rides to Voters Who Need Them This Election Season
BY SYEDA KHAULA SAAD (VIA BUSTLE) Photo Credit: Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty Images In the 2016 general election, it's estimated that about 40% of American voters didn't cast a ballot. And according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, about 15 million of those people didn't make it out to the polls because of transportation [...]
Haben Girma: My Disability Has Been an Opportunity for Innovation
BY DANNY LEE (VIA THE GUARDIAN) A side profile close-up of deafblind lawyer and activist, Haben Girma. The cafeteria menu was only available in print when 19-year-old Haben Girma started at Lewis & Clark college in Portland, Oregon. “I asked the cafeteria manager to provide something that I as a deafblind student could access,” she [...]
How to Fix Higher Ed’s Accessibility Problem
BY CAITLIN R. WEINER (VIA MODUS) If a college education should be available to all, higher ed websites should be accessible to everyone. An Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit was recently issued to 50 colleges and universities by a blind prospective student who felt the schools’ websites were not accessible. Not just tiny schools, either — big [...]
‘A whole new world of freedom’: Sailors with Disabilities Compete at an Elite Level
On the water, it's a level playing field for sailors of all abilities to compete. BY WILL LINENDOLL (VIA GOOD MORNING AMERICA) Pauline Dowell may never be able to drive a car, but she can sail a boat around the world. Pauline Dowell. a sailor who is visually impaired, competes in competitions around the world. [...]
Fostering Independence in Students with Visual Impairments
Educators can leverage sophisticated advancements in technology to help students with visual impairments develop new skills. BY CHARLES F.D. WARREN (VIA eSCHOOL NEWS) Technological innovation provides students with visual impairments new tools to support independent living. The significant rise in the sophistication and popularity of smartphones and tablets creates opportunities to enhance learning and increase [...]
Cape Conversations: Empowering People with Vision Loss
If you're dealing with vision loss, there are many resources available to you. We joined Melissa Gallant of Sandwich Community Television's Cape Conversations to chat about what you can do. BY SANDWICH COMMUNITY TELEVISION Vision loss can be challenging. But there are many resources available that can help including services provided by the Carroll Center [...]
Researchers Are Making Memes Accessible to the Blind
Everyone loves a good meme. If you're blind or visually impaired though, most internet memes are not accessible. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are trying to change that. BY CHRIS STOKEL-WALKER (VIA ONEZERO) For the 1 million Americans who are legally blind, an increasingly large part of the internet is cut off to them. A young [...]
‘To feel the wind’: Blind sailors take the helm in Boston Harbor
Limits were made for breaking – just ask sailors with vision loss. “There is a stereotype that if you’re blind, you can’t do anything,” says Katherine Kern, who has raced in world championships. BY NOAH ROBERTSON (VIA THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR) Katherine Kern, who first learned to sail in the SailBlind program, smiles on a [...]
