Eye Saving Tips for the Visually-Impaired

If you are presently suffering from diminished vision or have in the past, you need to be aware of a host of eyesight saving services that allow you to go about your business with as little interruption as possible.

For example. No need to tote around heavy phone directories and strain eyes while looking for out-of-date directory listings. A whole host of companies are now turning to voice identification. One of my favorites is 1-800-tell-me. This free information provider bills itself as voice-powered internet. By using a phone with large digits and this voice powered provider, you can access such features as weather, top news headlines, horoscopes and more. It costs no more than a normal phone call and can be a lifesaver when you need, "Just the facts, mam."

If all you need is movie listings, you may want to access the venerable movie time provider 777-film. Merely call (your area code) 777-film and you can listen to theater times and movies for throughout the country.

Another life-saver is Free411: (800) 373-3411. This advertiser-powered service is a godsend in that it saves a fortune in costly directory assistance charges and can be used to provide detailed street finding information for lost travelers. I have this one in my cellphone's memory at all times.

What can a bookworm do when vision starts to fade? Well, there are now tons of books on tape and even down-loadable books that you can read on your computer screen with the point sizes set extra high.
In New York City, the New York Public Library, NYPL features a host of specialized services for the visually disabled including:

Andrew Heiskell Braille & Talking Book Library
40 West 20th St.
New York, New York 10011-4211
(212) 206-5400
(212) 206-5458 (TTY)

This library serves readers in both New York City and Long Island and includes both recorded books and braille. They can be borrowed using postage free envelopes.

Please consult the sources list for the complete array of NYPL services for the visually-impaired and for all other disabled individuals. Likewise the Queensborough Public Library and Brooklyn Public libraries have similar services and I have included listings for them as well. For the profoundly disabled, books are available in Braille and volunteer readers may also be arranged.

What about using a computer when your eyes are acting up?

You may want to set your default fonts to a higher size such as 14 or 16 point fonts. Word also has a scaling command that allows you to adjust written type, margins and overall page appearance with one or two keystrokes. Select Control A to highlight the page, and then press Shift> to scale up automatically or Shift < to scale down automatically

If you are reading text on the internet and want to scale it up quickly for easy reading select Control and the + key. To reduce the size down use, Control and the - key to the immediate left of the + key. This works in both Firefox browsers and in Internet Explorer. These allow you to toggle back and forth quickly to find the most comfortable size for you.

The scaling commands are excellent fixes when you are on another's machine and want to be able to write or review written material without altering the other person's settings permanently.

If you are working with your own equipment, you may want to explore the modifications that you can access by going into the control panel of your computer and selecting one of the three main options. These will allow you to choose a more readable, high contrast text, or access the Accessibility Wizard that will help you choose and implement an array of easy fixes such large windows and titles and/or a magnifier.

Your computer is also a gateway to a host of down-loadable books, many free, at sights such as: Project Guttenberg: www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page. Download a few and use your handy Control + key to kick the type up to whatever size you wish and Control - to bring it back down to size.

Just because your eyes are acting up doesn't mean you can't access the information that you need to stay abreast of the latest news, books and entertainment.

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Sources:
www.nypl.org/branch/services/disabilities.html
www.queenslibrary.org/index.aspx
blindreaders.info/index.html