AFB Staff

In her October 28 Arizona Daily Star op-ed “I have impaired vision. COVID has made daily life much tougher,” AFB’s Director of Research Dr. L. Penny Rosenblum shares her experiences navigating daily life since the COVID-19 pandemic, and shares findings from AFB’s Flatten Inaccessibility report, which examined the impact of COVID-19 on adults with visual impairments in the United States early in the outbreak. Dr. Rosenblum writes: “As a low-vision person, COVID-19 has impacted my life in the…

Thank you so much to everyone who was able to join the first AFB Town Hall on the impact of COVID-19 on access to healthcare, transportation, and voting for Americans who are blind or have low vision. A complete archive will be available soon, for anyone who missed the live conversation. As promised, here are some of the resources shared by the presenter and attendees: Aira announced support for voting in the upcoming election. Another visual assistance option is the BeMyEyes app, which is…

In this special edition of AFB's Inform & Connect podcast, Dr. L. Penny Rosenblum discussed the Flatten Inaccessibility research report, the culmination of survey findings from 1,921 U.S. participants who are blind (65%) or have low vision (35%). The survey investigated the experiences of these participants during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to determine how they were affected in areas including access to transportation, healthcare, access to food and supplies, employment, education…

On October 14, Texas Governor Greg Abbott appointed ten individuals to the Task Force on Disaster Issues Affecting Persons who are Elderly and Persons with Disabilities; among its members is AFB’s National Aging and Vision Loss Specialist Neva Fairchild. The Task Force on Disaster Issues Affecting Persons Who Are Elderly and Persons Who Are Disabled will study methods to more effectively accommodate persons who are elderly and persons with disabilities before, during, and after a disaster or…

The Flatten Inaccessibility report examined the impact of COVID-19 on 1,921 adults with visual impairments and the Access and Engagement survey examined the impact of COVID-19 on the education of 455 children and 1,028 teachers of students with visual impairments and orientation and mobility specialists. These reports contain a wealth of information on timely topics important to those with visual impairments, family members, educators, employers, policymakers, and anyone else who is invested…

At AFB we are committed to supporting job seekers who are blind or have low vision. We know that for job seekers who are visually impaired, there are often technology obstacles along their path to employment but the perception barriers can be an even bigger hurdle. So in honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we offer these 10 specific ways you can combat ableism in the workplace. 1. Hire blind people: Actively recruit, refer, and recommend blind and low vision candidates…

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the nation several months ago, staying on top of the news can be a daunting task. One of AFB’s main goals is to keep people who are blind or who have low vision and their families up to date on the policy issues that affect us all. With this in mind, here are a few recent news stories we found particularly interesting. The Washington Post: Virginia agrees to make mail-in voting accessible to blind voters who sued September 1, 2020 Just as we’ve been…

Women's Equality Day is celebrated on August 26 in the United States to commemorate the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. The amendment prohibits state and the federal governments from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. It was first celebrated in 1972, designated by Congress in 1973, and is proclaimed each year by the United States President. Below is an excerpt from Helen Keller's speech to delegates of the new…

AFB’s Director of Research Dr. L. Penny Rosenblum recently joined the Blind Abilities podcast to talk about the two recent surveys, Flatten Inaccessibility and Access and Engagement to Education. Dr. Rosenblum discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting educational services for children birth to 21 years of age and their families, how TVIs and O&M instructors are meeting students’ educational needs, and how adults who are blind or low vision were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in…