A meme featuring two characters from Toy Story. With his arm around a terrified Woody, Buzz Lightyear points off in the distance. Text reads, "Inaccessible memes are everywhere."

Memes Still Aren’t Accessible to People Who Are Blind. What’s Being Done About It?

BY RACHEL E. GREENSPAN (VIA TIME) A meme featuring two characters from Toy Story. With his arm around a terrified Woody, Buzz Lightyear points off in the distance. Text reads, "Inaccessible memes are everywhere." If you’ve spent a lot of time on the internet in the last decade, you might immediately recognize this description: a [...]

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A side-profile close-up of deafblind lawyer and activist, Haben Girma.

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 [...]

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A graphic depicting the Braille alphabet.

We Must Continue to Invest in Braille

BY GREGORY J. DONNELLY (VIA COMMONWEALTH MAGAZINE)   Only 1 in 5 visually impaired school children read using Braille. IN A WORLD where technology is rapidly opening new doors for people with vision loss, most notably in the case of the smartphone and its applications that greatly aid navigation, shopping, and other activities, one might think [...]

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Arlene Anderson, center, now legally blind, receives recognition after completing a class at the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton.

For the Blind in Massachusetts, a High-Tech Boost

BY JILL GAMBON (VIA AARP MASSACHUSETTS) Arlene Anderson, 81, was born nearsighted and always wore glasses. Over time her sight deteriorated, and she gave up driving 20 years ago. Now legally blind, Anderson faces many challenges in accomplishing routine tasks such as preparing meals and getting dressed. In 2018, she enrolled in a class on essential [...]

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A hand rests on a sheet of braille.

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 [...]

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From left to right; Gregory J. Donnelly, President and CEO of the Carroll Center for the Blind; Maura Mazzocca, Personal Management Instructor at the Carroll Center for the Blind; Alex Iliades, Owner of Farm Grill & Rotisserie.

‘Blind Tasting to Benefit’ event held to support The Carroll Center for the Blind

VIA THE NEWTON TAB The “Blind Tasting to Benefit” fundraiser to support The Carroll Center for the Blind, 770 Centre St. in Newton, was held Oct. 27 at the Farm Grill and Rotisserie, located at 40 Needham St. in Newton, a unique multi-sensory experience to taste, touch and smell the aromas of authentic Greek cuisine. [...]

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Bob McGillivray and Kerry MacDonald, sit in front of an audience at a South Shore Collaborative Low Vision Support Group session. They each hold microphones with the TIC Network logo on them.

Carroll Center’s Robert McGillivray Featured Speaker at South Shore Collaborative Low Vision Support Group

BY ROBERT MCGILLIVRAY (VIA TICNETWORK) If you or a loved one have recently been diagnosed with an eye condition, joining a support group may be the most important thing you will ever do. The Marshfield Council on Aging, Duxbury Senior Center, Kingston Council on Aging, the Plymouth Center for Active Living, and the Talking Information [...]

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A collage of five photos; many contain various assistive technology devices that were donated.

Authentic Inclusion: Assistive Technology to Transform the Lives of Low Vision & Blind People Islandwide

BY ANTIGUA COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY (VIA ACT BLOG) In a study by WHO, about 15% of the world’s population lives with some form of a disability. The estimated number of visually impaired people in the world is 285 million, 39 million blind and 246 million with low vision; 65 % of visually impaired people and 82% of all those who are blind are 50 [...]

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Two diners wear occluders (blindfolds) at the Farm Grill's blind food and wine tasting to benefit the carroll center. A man explores his surroundings while seated at a table.

Blind Food & Wine Tasting to Benefit the Carroll Center for the Blind

"Dining in the Dark" provided diners a deeper undestand of vision loss at Farm Grill & Rotisserie's first-ever Blind Tasting to Benefit the Carroll Center for the Blind. FILMED BY ETHAN PLOTKIN (VIA NEWTV) On Sunday, October 27th, local-area food lovers and members of the community joined us at Farm Grill & Rotisserie's first-ever blind wine [...]

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Pauline Dowell steers a sailboat.

‘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. [...]

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