Access Technology Creates Opportunities for Individuals

Pennsylvania Association for the Blind

555 Gettysburg Pike, Suite A300
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055

717-766-2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Katie Schock
Ditector of Public Relations
(717) 766-2020

As part of our year-long Blindness Awareness Program, the Pennsylvania Association for the Blind wants you to know how Access Technology creates opportunities for individuals who are blind or have vision impairment.

People who are blind or who have significant vision impairment benefit from technologies designed to assist them in accessing print or visually displayed information. Access to this kind of information can be provided by a wide range of devices, from screen readers which can convert information on a computer screen to speech, to video magnifiers (commonly called closed circuit televisions or “CCTV”) used to magnify print pages. Other devices include portable handheld magnifiers and white canes which are used to travel independently and safely. Also, access to information from at-home medical tests or prescription medication labels is crucial for individuals to maintain their health. For instance, voice-output blood glucose meters allows people with diabetes, a condition which can lead to severe vision loss, to perform the functions necessary to conduct the test, read the results and treat themselves.

Here are common functions of access technology available today:

Magnify print materials for easy reading with a closed circuit TV system

Enlarge computer screen content using magnifying software

Convert printed text to synthesized speech and digital formats

Hear computer screen content using a screen-reading computer program with synthesized speech

Access computer screen content using a refreshable Braille display

Video Magnifiers and CCTV’s magnify print pages and can be used in the home, school, work, and the community where access to printed or visually displayed information is critical to independent functioning. For instance, utilizing CCTV, individuals with vision impairments are able to self-monitor their chronic conditions, read their prescriptions, pay their bills, and perform other fundamental tasks of independent living. The most popular version of CCTV is a desktop system with a movable table for reading and either a video monitor or a television screen. These devices are particularly useful for older individuals because they generally feature simple controls.

In order to gain full and independent access to information obtained through a personal computer (PC) a blind person must have a special program installed on the PC. The screen access program provides spoken, synthesized speech output, using the PC's loudspeakers or headphones. As the user enters data on the keyboard, the screen access program announces the text that is displayed on the screen. In addition to reading the literal text, the program provides important contextual information, which is necessary to navigate. For example, pressing the "Start" key will result in "Start, Menu" spoken by the screen access program. Blind students and adults are able to access the internet and obtain information, perform research, apply for assistance, and other essential tasks that are now commonplace online tasks.

Perhaps no single piece of specialized technology intended for use by blind students attracts more attention than notetakers, also called Braille notetakers. First introduced in the mid-1980’s these easy-to-use personal organizers allow a person knowledgeable in Braille to create documents, read text, and enter addresses and appointments.

Access technology has created personal and professional opportunities for blind people that did not exist two decades ago.

For more information on how access technology help, please contact the PAB at 717-766-2020 or visit our website at www.pablind.org to locate your local member agency.

About the Pennsylvania Association for the Blind (PAB)
The PAB is a private, nonprofit, charitable organization comprised of 28 member agencies and founded in 1910 for the purpose of helping Pennsylvanians prevent, prepare for, and manage vision loss. PAB is funded, in part, by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services, Office of Vocation Rehabilitation, in the Department of Labor & Industry.

The PAB is a private, nonprofit, charitable organization comprised of 28 member agencies and founded in 1910 for the purpose of helping Pennsylvanians prevent, prepare for, and manage vision loss. PAB is funded, in part, by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services, Office of Vocation Rehabilitation, in the Department of Labor & Industry.