AFB Blog

Helen Keller was a voracious reader. She describes her love of reading in her second autobiography entitled Midstream, published in 1929. "More than at any other time, when I hold a beloved book in my hand my limitations fall from me, my spirit is free. Books are my compensation for the harms of fate. They give me a world for a lost world, and for mortals who have disappointed me they give me gods. I cannot take space to name here all the books that have enriched my life, but there…

Get into the swing of things and play some beep baseball! Beep baseball is an adapted form of the traditional sport. It consists of a ball that is larger than a softball, which beeps consistently so players are able to hit it when pitched, and find it in the field. There are two bases rigged with a buzzing sound that are triggered when the ball is hit, so the runner knows which way to go. Beep baseball is a great opportunity for people who are blind or visually impaired to run without a cane…

Take a Hike! It's a great time of year to get outdoors and get moving, so AFB is talking about hiking as a recreational activity for people who are blind or visually impaired. VisionAware's Ashley Nemeth shares her love of hiking and offers helpful tips on hiking with a cane and with a guide dog. FamilyConnect blogger Emily Coleman shares a parent's perspective on hiking with her son who is blind, and the things they learned on the trail. Then, get inspired by Randy Pierce and his guide…

Lots of websites have a real and urgent need to keep bots and spammers off their sites. One partial solution is the CAPTCHA. What Is a CAPTCHA, and Can It Be Accessible? Really, a CAPTCHA is any technique that can be used to tell a computer (bot) from a human. But the most common technique is to put a fuzzy bunch of characters on the page and ask the user to type them into an edit field. A human, theoretically, can decipher the fuzzy characters, but a bot cannot. This has some obvious flaws…

At a conference recently, I received a free money identifier. What is this? How did it happen? The saga is long and complicated. And, your real questions might be: How do I get in on this? But wait, what happened to the accessible money? If you are reading this from another civilized country, you might be puzzled. Accessible money? What is inaccessible about money? In the United States, the bills are all the same size and have no (OK, don't quibble, no practical) tactually discernable…

Come on in; the water's fine! AFB continues our summer recreation series with a look at swimming. Swimming can be an excellent activity for people who are blind or visually impaired. Whether you are looking to swim some serious laps, get a great workout, or just cool off on a sweltering day, get the latest on the quintessential summertime activity. Before you head to the beach or the pool, read up on VisionAware's Tips for Swimmers Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired. Children or beginning…

Helen Keller loved the ocean, but her first swimming trip as a young girl took her by surprise... "My most vivid recollection of that summer is the ocean. I had always lived far inland and had never had so much as a whiff of salt air; but I had read in a big book called Our World a description of the ocean which filled me with wonder and an intense longing to touch the mighty sea and feel it roar. So my little heart leaped high with eager excitement when I knew that my wish ...was at last to…

AFB is kicking off our summer recreation series. Throughout the summer, we'll highlight our favorite recreational activities, along with great resources for making the most of the season. First up: We're heading off to summer camp! Audrey Demmitt, struggling with her own vision loss, spent a summer working as a nurse at a camp for the blind and was forever changed by the experience: "The growth and learning that takes place in a camp setting is invaluable and cannot be replicated. There is…

I recently learned that John DeWitt passed away. He was the founder of DeWitt & Associates, an organization that provided technology assessment and training in New Jersey for persons who are blind or visually impaired. He also worked for the American Foundation for the Blind from 1978 to 1989 as a resource specialist. John's passing was a great loss to New Jersey, the blindness community, his family, and all of the people he touched through his work and volunteering. I grew up in New…