Low Vision Tech Gift Guide

Here are some terrific books and other holiday gift suggestions:

The following 3 books are available at no cost through the National Library Service Talking Books Program and Bookshre.

Andrew Leland, In the Country of the Blind, describes the author’s journey with his own vision loss. Here is the author, Andrew Leland, in a recent interview during Sight Tach Global:

In the Country of the Blind is also available on Bookshare as well.

Hannah Fairbaern’s super resource,
When You Can’t Believe Your Eyes is packed full of tips on alternative ways to do most anything, if you jave a vision loss. Fairbaern shares her decades of experience at te Carroll Center, and as an author who also has low vision. Check out Fairbaern’s blog, Vision Loss and Personal Recovery and her interview with Hadley’s Ricky Enger.on Managing Social Gatherings with a Vision Loss.

When You Can’t Believe Your Eyes is also available for download from Bookshare.

And speaking of the Carroll Center, Rachel Rosenbaum assembles and writes,
Caution Blind Priest Driving, the Story of Father Thomas J. Carroll, based on the many letters and documents she found during her tenure th the Carroll Center that told the story of Father Carroll and the critical role he played in promoting standards of excellence for vision rehabilitation and orientation and mobility. One of the other fascinating stories in her book is Father Carroll’s involvement in the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s.

American Printing House for the Blind Museum Director Michael Hudson reads highlights from Father Carroll’s annual presentations to the Blinded Veteran’s Association (BVA).

For More Holiday Gift Ideas

  1. Low Vision Tablet Stand from Blue Vista Creations of Vermont. For a review, see the post on VisionAware.

2. National Library Service (NLS) Talking Book Player and subscription to Talking Books (Free). Website:  Phone: 1-888-NLS-READ (1-888-657-7323)
In Canada this is through CELA (Centre for Equitable Library Access) 1-855-655-2273.

3. Free registration at Hadley.edu.  Phone: 1-800-323-4238. Workshops related to vision loss available online,  in audio format on Talking Book Cartridges or USB drive; in large print or braille (shipped to registered learners at no cost). Here’s a suggestion—Adjusting to Vision Loss Workshop Series available online, audio on Talking Book Cartridge, large print or braille.

4. Blank NLS Cartridge ($12) with USB cable ($3) from Howell Mobility. Phone: (586) 558-8308. Creative Gift idea: download several podcasts, books, or magazines to the cartridge before giving it as a gift! Download A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens from the Internet Archive.

5. Personal Power; iOS Edition by Michael Feir (free download). Digital edition is available in Word. epub, braille and DAISY (for NLS Talking Book Cartridge). Very comprehensive book on using iPhone or iPad with VoiceOver.

6. Seeing AI app for iOS or Lookout by Google app for Android. Both apps are free, and do a great job of reading text and documents, currency, barcodes, and more. See Hadley’s

7. Amazon Echo from Amazon.com. Echo Dot starts at $24.99 and full-size Amazon Echo 4th generation starts at $54.99.

8. Keys-U-See large print keyboard black letters on yellow keys or large print white letters on black keys (either $35). Website: https://www.ablenetinc.com

9. Apple iPod Touch ($199) is the least expensive way to get a new Apple device with VoiceOver (remember the iPod Touch is not a cell phone!) Website: https://www.apple.com. Tip: Apple sells certified Apple refurbished items at https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished.

10. Victor Reader Stream 2 ($425) media player and recorder from Humanware. Website: https://store.humanware.com. Wi-Fi enabled and will play Talking Books and a wide variety of file types. Victor Reader Trek is $795 from MaxiAids.

11. Husky 300 Lumen LED Flip Light, $19.95 rechargeable, magnetic base. 3 light settings and is perfect for keyboarding or when you need a portable task light. If you need a filter just get some acetate wrap in the color you need like yellow and wrap over the light!

 

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