AFB Blog

Today, March 3rd, we salute 3 titans of American history: Alexander Graham Bell, Anne Sullivan Macy and Helen Keller. Alexander Graham Bell was born on this day in 1847. Famous for his pioneering work with the telephone, Bell was also very influential in the field of education for the deaf. In 1886 Helen Keller’s parents Captain Arthur Keller and Kate Adams Keller contacted Bell seeking assistance for their deaf and blind daughter. Bell put them in touch with the Perkins School for the Blind…

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of vision loss for people aged 60 and older in the United States. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), 10-15 million individuals have AMD and about 10% of those affected have the "wet" type of age-related macular degeneration. If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration, here is just a small sampling of resources from the American Foundation for the Blind to help you cope…

Sixty years ago, Helen Keller was given an honorary Oscar as inspiration for the movie Helen Keller in Her Story a documentary by Nancy Hamilton about her life; she turned 75 that year and had spent 6 decades fighting for those with vision loss. Decades earlier, in 1916 she delivered an address on the Midland Chautauqua Circuit in which she said: I, for one, love strength, daring, fortitude. I do not want people to kill the fight in them; I want them to fight for right things. And that…

"Only people count. Only people who think and feel and work together make civilization. Only governments that keep every door of opportunity wide open are civilized governments...Civilization means a fair chance to live. It means an equitable share of the resources of the earth for every one. It means health and freedom and education for all men." Helen Keller, draft of speech, June 1918 When Helen Keller was 6 years old she met President Grover Cleveland. Cleveland was the first…

On the eve of her 80th birthday in June 1960, Helen Keller gave an interview looking back on her life. She spoke with Ann Carnahan, a journalist, about her "secrets of joyous living." Question: What is the greatest virtue a person may have or cultivate? Answer: Love. Cultivate love for love is the light that gives the eye to see great and noble things. Love is true joy. Question: I notice, Miss Keller, that you use joy very often. Why? Answer: It is almost my favorite word…

As an orientation and mobility specialist, I’ve worked with visually impaired individuals of all ages and backgrounds, many of whom speak Spanish as their primary language. Let’s face it, if your Spanish is as limited as mine is, you need an interpreter, but sometimes there are none to be found. Here are some short-term strategies I’ve used when my back was to the wall: Hit up your bilingual friends or co-workers. Bribe them with whatever you’ve got. Food usually works, but sometimes they…

Transcript of the video, "Weaving a Web for All: Online Accessibility for People with Vision Loss" AFB is rolling out a new embedded video player. That's the type where you don't need to use extra software, you just click it and it plays in your browser. Why did we create our own HTML5 embedded video player? And what is HTML5, anyway? Technology just keeps getting better. But video-playing technology on the web is still pretty fraught with show-stopping problems. One category of…

Upcoming Opportunities to Learn More! As we begin 2015, the AFB Policy Center has jumped feet-first into the wide (and deep!) world of demographics and data. Hopefully you saw the latest edition of the Research Navigator, “Just how many blind folks are there anyway?,” where we tackled seemingly simple (but actually very complicated) questions about population and demographic statistics for adults who are blind or visually impaired. We have been in touch with the Centers for Disease Control…

"What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes a part of us." -Helen Keller With Valentine's Day right around the corner, there's still time to share the love with beautiful Helen Keller-themed jewelry that helps support the American Foundation for the Blind and its programs. You can choose from a sterling silver ribbon-heart necklace inscribed with Helen Keller's quote "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or…