We learn so much from each other about living with vision loss. Let’s get together and share our best finds. We’ve got lots to offer, and you’ll get to give one tip and take many.
Please RSVP for this as seating is limited.
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Like everything else it does, Amazon’s commitment to accessibility is big! Join us for a complete run-down on all features and services that make their products friendlier for people with vision loss.
Please RSVP for this as seating is limited.
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Vision loss has a way of making all art appear a little too abstract. It changes the way you perceive color and detail. Sometimes it’s just impossible to figure out what it is exactly, that you are looking at.
For all of those reasons, the verbal description and touch tours offered at many museums have a profound way of giving us back the vivid detail we feared was forever lost. If you have had the pleasure of this experience, you’re nodding in agreement right now. If you haven’t, well then it’s time to book yourself a tour right away!
Let this list of museum access programs, in NYC, be your inspiration. Enjoy the amazing experience whenever you can, in New York, or find out what’s happening in your town.And we’ll keep updating this list as we discover more programs.
American Folk Art Museum
2 Lincoln Square (Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets) New York, NY 10023
Large Print labels are available in all galleries. Verbal imaging and touch tours are offered with one-month advance scheduling, and the museum participated in Art Beyond Sight events.
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West at 79th Street New York, NY 10024
Monthly Science Sense Tours highlight specific themes and exhibits, engaging participants through extensive verbal descriptions and touchable objects. Advance registration is required for individuals and groups.
Dynamic verbal description + sensory tours are offered monthly at Cooper Hewitt. Join a Cooper Hewitt educator, curator, or staff member in conversation and explore a selection of objects through detailed narration and touch.
Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Ave (at East 88th Street) New York, NY 10128
Monthly Mind’s Eye tours and workshops for visitors who are blind or have low vision are conducted by arts and education professionals through verbal description, conversation, sensory experiences, and creative practice. Mind’s Eye tours are free with an RSVP required one week before the program date.
Metropolitan Museum of Art gallery showing sculptures by Auguste Rodin.
The Met offers Touch Collection, Verbal Imaging Tours and Guided Touch Tours, to enhance the experience for people with vision loss, available upon request to individuals and groups. Picture This! workshops explore works of art through detailed description and touch.
Seeing Through Drawing workshops enable the artist in you to create your own work with the inspiration of the museum’s collection, verbal imaging, experimentation with techniques and materials.
Touch Tours are a very special experience, particularly at MoMA where you’ll get to touch a work of art by Picasso, Matisse or Rodin. Art InSight tours are scheduled monthly, offering exploration of the museum’s entire collection through vivid, detailed descriptions. Both tours are also offered by request.
Accessible audio guides with verbal description are available on the MoMA app and on MoMA.org. The museum will soon make audio description available for its movie screenings.
The Rubin Museum offers verbal description and sensory tours for visitors who are blind or partially sighted. These free tours, which include Museum admission, take visitors on a journey that weaves together the culture, history, religion, and art of the Himalayas.
Tenement Museum
108 Orchard Street (at Delancey Street) New York, NY 10002
To experience the life of a 19th-century immigrant living in a tenement on New York’s Lower East Side, tours that combine verbal description and touch can be arranged for groups of 5 or more.
The Whitney’s verbal description tours provide an opportunity to enjoy the twentieth- and twenty-first-century American art exhibitions with a museum educator trained to provide vivid, detailed verbal description of the works on display, while experiencing a selection of objects through touch. These free, 90-minute tours take place when the galleries are closed to the general public. Tours are held monthly as well as by request with three weeks advance notice.
Resistance to change is a naturally occurring phenomenon among humans. So don’t be too hard on yourself if you’ve been putting off that upgrade to an iPhone X.
The newest design, which does not have a home button, presents a minor learning curve, but given the fact that you already learned how to get around your iPhone with just one button, learning a few new gestures is really nothing to get worked up over. Don’t forget, there was a time not long ago, when conventional wisdom said, people with vision loss must have phones with big tactile buttons. Apple Accessibility busted that myth more than a decade ago.
Big changes in hardware and software tend to trigger our techno-insecurity, but the impending doom is often quickly replaced by a rather pleasant surprise. Remember when you heard Apple was removing the headphone jack from the iPhone? We were up in arms…it was unthinkable! How could there be no place to plug in our buds? That was actually much ado about nothing, because Apple now includes a set of wired buds that plug into the same Lightning port that charges the phone.
iPhone has taught me there is no good reason to cling to the past. Software updates automatically without hesitation, as do the apps. I upgraded to iPhone X early on.During personal setup of the new phone at the Apple Store, they also reviewed and helped me practice the new gestures.This is why you need not worry, it literally takes about 20 minutes to start life without a home button.
Apple iPhone X on white background.
Here’s how it works without the home button. Many of the new gestures are the same with VoiceOver, the few that differ are noted by * symbol.
Wake – press the power button or raise to wake and let Face ID unlock
Siri – long press on the power button (right side) or set for “Hey Siri”
Accessibility Shortcut – triple click on power button
Shut Down – press power button on right with (either up or down) volume button, then slide power off
* With VoiceOver – same, but last step needs a double tap to power off
Return to Home Screen – slide 1 finger up from bottom edge to the top of screen
* With VoiceOver – slide 1 finger up from bottom edge to first vibration and lift
App Switcher – slide 1 finger up to center of screen
* With VoiceOver – slide 1 finger up past center of screen to second vibration; slide up with 3 fingers to close app
Control Center – slide 1 finger down from top right edge
*With VoiceOver – slide 1 finger down from top right edge to first vibration and lift
Notifications – slide 1 finger down from top left edge
* With VoiceOver – slide 1 finger down from top right edge to second vibration and lift
Apple Pay – double click on the power button
Screen Shot – click power button and volume up button together
We love the iFocus tutorials from Hadley, a great way to learn iPhone X VoiceOver Gestures.
Living with vision loss does not mean giving up the enjoyment of movies, museums, theater, or TV.There has never been a better time for access and inclusion in art and entertainment, for everyone. You just need to know it’s there for the asking.
It’s all been covered on the pages of OE Patients and we think it’s well worth repeating.Take advantage of these opportunities to elevate your accessibility awareness, and then pass the information along to a friend.
Close up portrait of woman smiling while wearing headphones.
Movies
All movie theaters, in the U.S., now make audio descriptive devices readily available to everyone. The descriptive track, embedded into all widely released movies, automatically syncs with the film and describes the details you may have otherwise missed. The descriptive narration is slipped into the quiet places of the film, so it does not interfere with the soundtrack.
Times Square’s animated colorful LED lights and Broadway theaters in New York City.
Theater
You can count on Broadway for audio description as well. Descriptive devices are available, for the asking, at every live performance beginning 4 weeks from opening night. Borrow a device in the theater’s lobby kiosk, or use the GalaPro app on your own mobile phone. And when purchasing theater tickets, don’t forget to ask about access seating closer to the stage. Staff is always on hand to help you get set to fully enjoy the show. These accommodations may also be available at a theater, off-Broadway, and near you, so go ahead and ask!
Visitors In Botticelli Hall Of Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
Museums
Art is more accessible than ever. More often than not, museums offer programs that include touch tours, verbal imaging tours, and audio description, available by appointment, or just for the asking.Explore the opportunities and you’ll discover there are many ways to ‘see’ art.
Woman using tablet to help navigate settings on TV.
Television
Viewing and navigating a TV is definitely a challenge with vision loss. Thanks to the 21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act, your cable provider must offer a voice-enabled TV guide. This too is available for the asking and at no extra cost. Today many cable providers are adding features, like channel selection, that can be controlled by voice.
A visit to any doctor’s office can include some degree of difficulty for people with uncorrectable vision loss. The same challenges can even exist in the office of the ophthalmologist.Good patient care is not just measured by the exam and treatment, it is also measured by the patient experience.
Follow these guidelines to establish policies and procedures that help create an accessible office environment that is better for everyone.
Make Sure Signage is Easy to Read
Signs throughout the office should be in large print, using legible, highly contrasted easy to read font styles. Never use print on a patterned background, or gold letters on a beige wall. Positioning signs close to eye level makes them easier for everyone to see.
Utilize Color Contrast
Use contrast in the office design. Paint doors or frames a color that stands out from walls. Use dark seating against a light carpet color. Steps should always have contrasted edges and handrails. Avoid glass doors and walls entirely, they are hazardous to people with low vision and also those with dilated eyes.
Use Good Verbal Communication
Always address patients directly by name, as they may not be able to see that you are speaking to them, or make eye contact. When you greet a patient, identify yourself by name, don’t assume they will recognize you or know your voice. Generally, it is not necessary to speak loudly to people with vision loss, unless you know their hearing is also impaired.
Ask the patient if they need your assistance. Don’t make assumptions about their abilities or their needs.
Don’t point or say, “over there,” when giving directions. Orient to the person’s direction by saying, “Walk to the end of this hall and turn left, the exit is the first door on your right.”
Provide Accessible Information
Obviously, it is incorrect to assume all patients are able to complete paper forms. If your office is still using clipboards to collect information, there should be alternatives offered. Better options for everyone include online forms or having a staff member directly input all necessary information, provided by phone, pre-appointment.
Make sure written communications are accessible. Any printed or digital information given to patients should use text at least 18 pt., or larger and bolder when possible. Always use a clean, easy reading, sans-serif font style like: Arial, Helvetica, or Verdana. Be sure the content on copied documents is clearly legible.
For many patients, particularly those who cannot easily read print, digital documents are the best alternative, as they can be adjusted to the reading preference of each individual.
Remember, small changes can make a big difference in the way patients feel when they visit your office.
There was a time when a patient diagnosed with Age-Related Macular Degeneration was told, “You are going blind, and there is nothing we can do.” Today we are much better informed, and we know that AMD causes impairment of the central vision (not total blindness).We also know, there is plenty we can do to make the adjustments that enable us to continue productive lives.
Currently, there are treatments for about 10% of all AMD cases, as outlined in our recent article Hope For AMD. For all patients, there are many ways to compensate for the changes in vision, while protecting and maximizing remaining sight.Today’s AMD patient is active and engaged in solutions that include technology, accessibility, and wellness.
A willingness to make small changes is the key to successfully overcoming the adversity caused by any degree of vision loss. Like all things achieved in life, this too requires effort.
Here are 5 ways you can live better with AMD.
Daily Nutrition: Studies show, good nutrition has the power to prevent or slow the development of Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Do not delay, start today, form your own anti-AMD game plan. Read OE’s Anti-AMD Diet.
Perspective: Focus on the vision you have, do not dwell on the loss. Take a moment each day to look around and take in your surroundings, appreciate all that you can see. This will literally Improve Your Outlook.
Magnification: Make magnifiers your number one accessory. Create your own collection of magnifiers for your daily tasks and keep them easy to access: one in your coat pocket, one in the kitchen, one on your desk, etc. Explore the low and high tech options available in our article, Magnifiers Are A Must.
Technology: The power of accessible technology cannot be underestimated or overlooked. There is practically no limit to the compensatory value of mobile devices and computers that possess the ability to give you the visual or audible features that provide full access for everyone, regardless of acuity. Browse OE Patients: Accessibility & Technology section.Or go straight to a favorite on iPhone Accessibility.
Preserve Your Sight: No smoking and always wearing sunglasses outdoors, are good habits that will help protect your eyes, from these damaging causes, for the long term. Read more on Sight Saving Habits.
The ability to remain flexible and to keep making adjustments will empower you to continue doing the things you want to do.
There are many elements to contemplate when shopping for a new home, especially when you have a visual impairment. Although it is always possible to fall in love with a person, or a place, or a job that will move you from a comfort zone into the unknown. Don’t let that hold you back. Move forward and live life, just approach your selection with intelligence, while considering the factors you require for independence.
Moving is a big deal for anyone, so it’s essential to keep practicality at the forefront of your selection process.
Don’t let a gorgeous living space trick you into thinking you can live in a place that is not generally accessible to you. We are talking about the basics for living well, for continuing to do the things you need, and love, to do. Good sidewalks, public transportation, and local shopping, can take on a new level of priority, when you don’t drive.
City locales are naturally favored over rural areas becausethey offer greater convenience in closer proximity. However, cities don’t guarantee comfort. New York City, for example, is a dream destination for many, but it can also feel overwhelmingly hectic for others. Within every city there are areas that offer higher degrees of favorability.
Do your due diligence in scouting the right location. You decide what is essential to your well-being. Here are some important things to look at.
Public Transportation: Look at the accessibility of railroads, buses, subways, etc.
Walking: Are there walkable sidewalks, and crosswalks, to the places you will be going?
Shopping: Is there a supermarket within walking distance? Is there a shopping center with a variety of stores? Dry cleaner? Hair salon?
Climate: Is the weather generally good for walking year-round? Is the area prone to extremes in temperature, storms, or flooding?
Fitness: Are you close to a gym, exercise studio, pool, or walking trails?
Healthcare: Can you get to a doctor or dentist in the local area?
Restaurants: It’s always nice to have good food nearby.
Culture & Entertainment: Can you access movies, theater, andmuseums?
Smarter cities are in the works, but urban planning and infrastructure overhauls are decades in the making. We look forward to transportation hubs with interior navigations systems. There are numerous apps in development as well, that hope to help us get wherever we want to go.
If your memory isn’t quite what it used to be, or you just have too many things on your mind, it’s time to get a little help from your technology. “Reminders” are the new age To Do list, and they’re available wherever you access your digital assistant. This is a great way to keep track of everything you want to recall, like errands, appointments, shopping lists, and projects you’re working on.
Telling your mobile phone or smart speaker to schedule a reminder, sounds like an accessibility feature tailor-made for people with vision loss, but the fact is, regardless of age or acuity, reminders are good for everyone!
Of course, you can set reminders the old-fashioned way, by tapping and typing, but we totally prefer talking. Here, for example, is what you can do on an Apple iOS device.
On iPhone, iPad, iPod touch
To call upon Siri, be sure Settings are turned on for: “Hey Siri” and “Voice Feedback” always.
To create a list:
Say: Create a new list called Shopping.
Say: Add milk to my Shopping list.
Say: Add eggs to my Shopping list.
Say: Delete milk from my Shopping list.
Say: What is on my Shopping list?
To schedule a reminder:
Say: Remind me to call Jack tomorrow.
Say: Remind me to email Jill about the meeting.
Say: Remind me to stop at the dry cleaner on my way home.
Say: Remind me on Monday that I have a dentist appointment on Tuesday at 8 am.
Say: Delete reminder to call Jack.
Say: Do I have any reminders for today?
It is relatively easy to use these voice commands, and enormously satisfying to get such cooperation from your assistant. Do your best to keep lists and reminders organized and under control. To get started, sit down with your iOS device and begin trying the voice commands listed above.
Should you want or need more detail, and don’t mind using the keyboard, here are more options for creating Reminders from Apple.
Reminders can also be set for Google Home and Amazon Alexa speakers. For guidance on that and for Accessibility Support on iOS, the best way to get yourself properly set up is by calling for expert assistance at the phone numbers below.
A new year is a good opportunity to think about how you can make life a little easier and live better with vision loss.
It really comes down to how you manage the things that matter. We never advise making lots of changes at once, but even selecting just one or two things you can improve over the course of a year, can have lasting impact on the quality of your life.
While we are indeed talking about ways to live better with vision loss, the changes suggested are not specific to vision impairment. The fact is…everybody’s doing these things, it’s all about inclusivity!
Man paying bills online with smartphone.
Better Banking and Bill Paying
This is a change with many big, long term benefits. There is nothing extraordinary about banking and paying bills online, it is the new norm. So take the stress out of monthly check writing, checkbook balancing and envelope mailing. Going paperless is not only good for you, it’s good for the environment.
If you think this is a daunting task, take it one step at a time. The online set up is relatively uncomplicated, as long as you have your account numbers. An even easier way to get set up is to go into your bank and they will arrange it all for you. Bring in the bills you will be paying online, and your bank will set those up as well. Take advantage of the services the bank provides, it can lessen the angst.
Most companies also accept electronic bill paying by phone, which is a handy and efficient alternative for those who are not interested in banking online. The setup requires a checking or credit card account, and can be set up directly or with the help of customer service.
Here is something we can all practice, today and every day, to positively impact the long-term health of our eyes. It is particularly encouraging to note, the addition of several foods to your regular diet has shown to slow the progression of disease, or ward it off entirely.
Make sure you’re getting plenty of:
Leafy Greens like spinach, kale, collard greens, etc.
Whole Citrus Fruit has healing properties, add an orange a day (sorry juice doesn’t count)
Oily Fish including salmon, trout, tuna, mackerel, herring, and sardines are good for your eyes, your brain and your heart
Olive Oil can be used in abundance, so go ahead and dip your bread, dress your salad, and scramble your egg in it
iPad screen showing very large text.
Read Better
Reading is something that must be addressed actively with aging and with progressing degenerative eye disease. Both require a willingness to change. The goal is, always, continued access to print, and that may at some point become audible not visual.
Enlarge the text for newspapers and books on a tablet or eReader
It’s a good idea to find yourself a friend in IT and get some help exploring all the possibilities your computer has to offer. An adjustment to text size, screen magnification, brightness, color or contrast, can make a night and day difference to your screen reading, and keep you working productively.
Whether it’s Google, Alexa, or Siri, on mobile or in a speaker, your digital assistant is ready and willing to help with many tasks. Choose one and get to know it this year. Although they are not created equal, they all have similar, basic abilities in common, so go ahead and ask:
Check the time, weather, calendar, dictionary
Play music by song, artist, album, genre
Ask a question about sports, history, entertainment or trivia
Make a phone call
Set a timer, alarm, or reminder
Keep in mind, small frequent adjustments are key to changing a habit. If you want it, and commit to it, you will succeed. The gain is always greater than the pain.
Stick with us, we see a year ahead brimming with possibility!
Dorrie Rush, Chief Content Editor of OEPatients.org
2019 Is A Year of Possibilities for People with Vision Loss
It is true, I do love a fresh new year brimming with promise. My optimistic outlook continues to center on the factor most impacting life with vision loss today, and that is accessible and inclusive technology. In terms of progress, last year was no slouch either, and it set the pace for more good things to come!
The momentum in everyday accessible technology has been building for more than a decade now. It started with Apple’s delivery of the iPhone in 2009, accessible out-of-the-box for people with low or no vision. All products that followed from Apple included accessibility by design. The paradigm was shifting. These developments significantly changed the direction of my life, I no longer felt technology was leaving me behind.
Last year we were the beneficiaries of a few big surprises coming from somewhat unexpected places.
Microsoft created two new important accessibility apps. Seeing AI is a smart camera with 9 apps in 1, and Soundscape is a “3D map with sound.” This delightful surprise extends even further, both apps are free and they were built exclusively for Apple’s iPhone. A magnanimous gesture by Microsoft, perhaps more will be revealed about this in the coming year.
I enjoyed every one of our accessibility events last year and delighted in the lively, sophisticated and always curious audiences. I’d have to say the most fun was our session on smart speakers. They are entertaining and incredibly useful in daily life. Smart speakers are being adopted at a faster rate than smartphones were, and they are especially popular with people visually impaired or blind. This is a category we will continue to pay close attention to.
At another event we applauded the proliferation of audio description, now available on demand for Broadway shows and at the movies. I love the voice that speaks quietly in my ear and fills in the details, I might have otherwise missed.
So, it’s pretty obvious why we should be enthusiastic about the coming year for inclusivity. Apple doesn’t like to say much about their developing technology, but there are reports and rumors that lead us to believe we may be seeing some smart glasses and even clothing designed for accessibility. Actually, I would not be surprised to find many variations of smart glasses showing up, and would expect they’ll begin shrinking to a more normal, wearable size, from the rather heavy visor like devices we saw last year.
We can look forward to new developments in navigating airports and shopping centers.
There is Aira to watch, a service that teams technology with the eyes of a live agent for reading, identification, travel, etc. IBM says it is close to making the NavCog, indoor voice activated navigation app, available to the public. Toyota has been working on Project BLAID, an indoor navigation device, for some time, maybe this is the year we’ll try it. Google’s app “Lookout” for object recognition, is anticipated any day now.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is powering much of the progress. Our digital assistants and smart speakers will mature and become more intuitive and dependable.
As I write this letter, Google, Alexa, and Siri are all sitting on my desk, ready to assist whenever I ask. They’re excellent researchers, spellers, fact checkers, appointment schedulers, alarm setters, time tellers, and they have instant access to massive amounts of music. Like all assistants, these 3 were not created equal, they all possess their own individual strengths and weaknesses. We’ll definitely talk more about that as the year moves forward.
One thing is for sure, we have only just begun to tap the potential of what technology can do to empower people living and working with vision loss. Stay with us, as we report on an exciting year, packed with possibility!
2018 has been a significant year of development and inspiration at OE Patients. Thanks to your readership, support and feedback, we have advanced our mission to provide empowering and encouraging advice for people living with visual impairments.
Our online initiative, which encompasses all types of vision loss, is funded by the Association for Macular Diseases and presented in partnership with Ophthalmic Edge. We are here to answer the questions patients often have, that cannot be addressed in the physician’s office.
It is our strongest intention to carry the momentum into the new year, and with that on the horizon, let’s first take a look at our top activities and highlights of 2018.
1. We shared expert tips and advice on living well with vision loss.
OE Patients’ content is delivered with an inspiring voice by a team of contributors, experienced both personally and professionally. Refreshed weekly, our empowering spirit is conveyed consistently in topics on health, technology, accessibility and adjusting.
2. We explored the latest in accessibility and technology at our events.
Our accessibility events, hosted at Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital in NYC, give us the opportunity to dive into the most popular topics from the OE Patients website.
This year, we had an especially wonderful and diverse program, ranging from speakers representing NYC’s most well-known art museums at our Audio Description event, to an afternoon of demonstrations at the Electronic Glasses event.
3. We discovered inspiring stories featuring people living and thriving with vision loss.
We were delighted to find and share, on social media, numerous stories featuring people living full and successful lives with visual impairments. They are people of all ages, backgrounds and industries — artists, photographers, and more — proving that, ultimately, it is the persistent pursuit of one’s passion that keeps the light lit.
4. We witnessed and shared the latest news on the progress of inclusivity and technology.
Each year brings new developments in accessibility. Though progress always takes longer than we’d like, the change is nevertheless steady. In 2018, from the rise of Aira in the public eye to the expansion of mandated accessibility on Broadway, the needle moved us ever-closer to inclusivity as intentional foundation, rather than afterthought.
5. We gleaned valuable insights, thanks to your voices.
At events, through emails, or on social media, you spoke to us, expressing your heartfelt opinions, ideas, and suggestions. Your feedback guided the shape of our accessibility events, inspired new ideas for our editorial, and encouraged our sharing on social. Keep reaching out to us! We love hearing from you.
If you’d like to get involved, please visit our Support page, or email us about submitting an article featuring your perspective as someone living with vision loss, or expertise as a medical, accessibility or vision loss support expert. Your voice is much appreciated.
OE Patients would not be the same without your gracious readership and generous support, and for that, we would like to say a big thank you! We look forward to seeing you in 2019!
