Blindness

Orientation and mobility (O & M) specialists work with individuals with visual impairments to help them learn how to safely navigate their environment. On a postsecondary campus, an O & M specialist could help an individual plan campus routes, apply techniques for safe indoor and outdoor mobility, and analyze intersections and traffic patterns. These services are typically available through state agencies that coordinate services for people who are blind.

Yes. Screen readers are computer applications that read aloud text, menus, and dialogues that appear on a computer screen. They are commonly used by students who are blind. A related application the text reader is commonly used by students with learning disabilities and other non-visual print disabilities. However, they do not provide the same level of access to items like menus and dialogues that screen readers do.

The National Center for Blind Youth in Science (NCBYS) web portal is designed to provide educators, parents and students (who are themselves blind or otherwise visually impaired) the tools and knowledge they need to overcome barriers related to accessing science curriculum and labs. Created by the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the goals of the NCBYS are comprised of the following items:

DAISY, which stands for Digital Accessible Information System, is a standard markup language used in creating accessible digital talking books. The standard allows users with print disabilities to efficiently navigate and access book content.

Yes. MathML is the guideline adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for the presentation of math content on the web. MathML was specifically created as a universally designed format for mathematical expressions, and it is supported by many assistive technology applications, such as screen readers.

Although people who are blind use speech output systems to read aloud electronic documents, tactile formats are often most effective in highly technical disciplines such as mathematics, physics, computer science, and engineering. Braille translation software translates electronic documents into braille code. From these files, a refreshable braille display can present tactile braille or a braille embosser can produce a hard-copy on special paper.

Tactile graphics, sometimes referred to as the haptic sensory modality, deliver information through touch. They often accompany Braille textbooks to convey content in maps, charts, building layouts, schematic diagrams, and images of geometric figures. Tactile graphics are often handmade by Braille transcribers as part of Braille textbook production. In some cases, the creation of tactile graphics is facilitated by automated processes using various software applications. Some methods used to create tactile graphics are described below.

Since 2005, Professor Richard Ladner from the University of Washington in Seattle has introduced tactile graphics to his undergraduate computer vision students. Traditional computer vision classes introduce students to image analysis and interpretation of three-dimensional information from two-dimensional image data. Traditional topics also include image segmentation, motion estimation, object recognition, and image retrieval. Dr.