Tools That Help The Blind Today

I can't outline every tool available for the blind today. However, I promised I'd write about the tools that make my life easier, so here goes.

Low-Tech stuff: I try not to adapt more than necessary, but I do need some things accessible. I wrap a bread tie around the handle of the gallon jug of tea or fruit drink. Adhesive "bump dots" mark several things, not least of which are the "home row" on my ergonomic keyboard and my kitchen appliances. These dots are available in different sizes, colors and shapes, but I stick with one shape (round), one color (clear), and two sizes (large and small). I abide by the KISS - Keep It Simple, Silly - rule, lol!

My Tactile Marker: This marker is like a cross between good old Elmer's glue and puff paint for hard surfaces. That's what marks the controls for my oven touchpad, my multi-function printer and several other things. A sighted person has to do the initial work, of course. I'd smear it "looking" at freshly-made marks. We recently had a new furnace installed. When I politely explained I couldn't use a touchpad thermostat, the tech located a dial thermostat with large, tactile numbers and simple controls. Now I know exactly how my thermostat is set, yay!

My Telephone: You've probably never noticed, but all telephones now have a small bump built into the #5. That helps me orient my "dialing thumb" and press the right numbers. The one thing I did to adapt my cordless phones was to ask my younger daughter to mark the numbers 1 and 2 on the back. Now I know which one has been off the charger longer.

The Kitchen: I mostly use standard tools in the kitchen. I do, however, prefer my two-sided spatula over hubby's regular spatula. The one truly "blind-centric" tool I have is a set of "tactile and Braille" measuring cups. The "tactile" marks aren't very tactile, but I have learned the Braille for 1, 2 and C, lol! The rest I count - hubby read them to me once.

My Book Machines: I have two book machines, both on permanent loan from the Cleveland Talking Books library. My cassette machine plays regular and Talking Book (half-speed) tapes. It has built-in tactile controls and is about the size and weight of a small suitcase or briefcase. My Digital Talking Book Machine's (DTBM's) tactile controls are sleeker- not to mention quieter. I'm told my DTBM is a "beginner" but that's fine.

It's half the size of the cassette machine, roughly the size and twice the weight of a standard paperback book. The biggest difference between my two machines is, obviously, sound quality - like between any cassette and digital player (think iPod). My DTBM also has a USB port on the side. I can download a book, copy it to my "flash drive," and plug it into my DTBM. Cool, huh?

My Talking Products: Since I'm Braille illiterate, several of my tools "talk" to me. My favorite is my Tell-timer brand talking watch. It has four buttons: time announcement, hourly "chime," announcement on and off, alarm choice/off toggle, and "set" mode. My Voxcom audio labeler is a little bigger than a deck of playing cards. It has reusable digital recording cards, each about the size of a standard playing card with an "eyehole" in one corner.

I use rubber bands for attaching cards to objects (cans, etc.) Each card records about 10 seconds of information. When it isn't randomly erasing my labels, it's okay, but I'm open to ideas on other ways to label things.

My Land-Line telephone: My phone "speaks" the numbers I dial if the handset is on the hook. It also has a built-in "talking" caller ID feature. I enjoy freaking people out by addressing them by name when I answer, lol!

My Tadi brand "talking electronic organizer": My talking electronic organizer is designed for multiple functions, but mostly gets use as a portable talking phone book and digital note taker. I quickly learned the "alarm" isn't loud enough to be audible through the case and my purse. I simply never had time to learn the rest of the features, like the calculator. Besides, I have a separate "talking" calculator I like better.

My "Talking" Computer: My highest-tech tool is my computer. It's equipped with a program called JAWS (Job Access With Speech.) It's the best screen-reading software I know of, and I've used it for 5.5 years now. I have it set to "echo" my every keystroke, and with it, I can do a lot of things. For example, I'm typing this using MS Word. I'm also fairly functional in MS Excel, although MS Publisher is too graphically based now, and the rest of the Office programs were always beyond my abilities.

Obviously I can get online, lol! Website designers and other folks are being made more aware of blind folks who use programs like JAWS, so more websites these days are screen-reader accessible. Others have a simpler version originally designed for mobile devices. I use the mobile site for Facebook, for example, due to the graphics issue.

JAWS can't translate graphics unless they're well-labeled. And I do a little online shopping, especially if I have a gift certificate. You might shop at walmart.com and sears.com, but MaxiAids.com and IndependentLivingAids.com are my "wish-book" sites these days. :D

These are only a few of the tools that make a blind person's life easier these days. I'd probably have a lot more gadgets if I had money, lol!

By Lelia Jo Cordell from Springfield, OH