AFB Blog

Helen Keller in the garden of her home, Forest Hills, New York, circa 1920 “I have great joy in the tulips and lilacs which make my garden ‘look like the waking of Creation.’ O the potent witchery of smell! Leaves opening delicately on tree and rambler and rose-bush tell me God has passed this way, and I forget the disturbing nearness of the city in the eternal miracle of a tiny garden great with wonders.” —Letter to Waldo Mac Eagar of the British Empire Society of the Blind May 13, 1933…

Closeup of Apple Watch displaying enlarged text The AFB Leadership Conference agenda included a session titled Apple Connected. What participants didn’t know until they arrived in the meeting room was that the Apple representative would be unveiling and demonstrating the accessibility features of the Apple Watch for the first time anywhere. There was an audible gasp of delight. I'm happy to report that the Watch includes a full complement of accessibility features, including VoiceOver,…

Russell Shaffer, Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs, Walmart, Joe Strechay, AFB CareerConnect Program Manager, and Chris Downey, Architect, talking about success and vision loss We just closed up our 2015 AFB Leadership Conference, and I would love to share some highlights. It was a fast-and-furious conference with no reference to the current Furious 7 film. The conference was jam-packed with unique and informative content from experts from around the United States and abroad. Our final head…

Big news from Netflix this week: the internet television network announced that it is adding audio description to its platform as a setting. This is huge news for those of us with vision loss. When I read and started talking to people about this announcement, I literally got chills. We all have our outlets for entertainment, relaxation, and even stress relief. Netflix is one of mine; it’s something I truly enjoy. I view it via my Apple TV or my iPhone. And up until today, unless my wife or a…

Anne Sullivan Macy (1866-1936) was a woman whose brilliance, passion, and tenacity enabled her to overcome a traumatic past. She became a model for others disadvantaged by their physical bodies, as well as by gender or class. Anne was born on this day, April 14, in 1866—the eldest daughter of poor, illiterate, and unskilled Irish immigrants. She grew up to become a pioneer in the field of education. Her work with Helen Keller became the blueprint for education of children who were blind,…

It's been a great conference in Phoenix, AZ, so far. Day 2 of our Leadership Conference is well underway! This annual conference, which kicked off yesterday and runs through Saturday, covers the most pressing and relevant topics in the field of blindness and offers many opportunities to learn from the best and brightest minds, make new connections, and reunite with old friends. So far, we've taken a deep dive into research with our public policy team, gotten our tech on with AccessWorld…

Helen Keller reveled in nature. Her enjoyment of physical exercise and her love of the outdoors is beautifully captured in an article written 80 years ago this month and published in "The Guardian," a magazine "For Leaders of Camp Fire Girls." Read the transcription below and become inspired to stretch those limbs and enjoy the spring! Introduction: Among our hundreds of thousands of joyous Camp Fire Girls there are some who are blind, some who are deaf and some who are otherwise handicapped…

Last night, we got a wonderful shout out from Charlie Cox during his interview with Seth Meyers. I had the pleasure of helping Charlie prepare for his new role as Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer-by-day who fights crime at night, on the upcoming Netflix television show, Marvel's Daredevil. All I can say is that I was truly lucky to work with such a great person and dedicated actor. I was extremely impressed with the care and effort that Charlie put into preparing for his role. In my job at the…

BLINK Act on Fast Track for Congressional Action! In a surprise move early this morning, key leaders in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have reached bipartisan agreement on brand new landmark legislation requiring all sighted students across America to exclusively learn and use braille. The bill, entitled the Braille Literacy Is Necessary Knowledge (BLINK) Act, was only introduced late last evening in an attempt by the bill’s champions to thwart mobilized opposition by…