AFB Blog

A blind skier and his guide Hello everyone, Since it's Winter Olympics time again, I figured I would do a follow-up to my previous blog post that I had written about my skiing experiences as a blind person. I wanted to give you all an update, and share some more adaptations, ones that proved extremely useful during my recent ski trips. For example, I utilized my accessible GPS software's "breadcrumb" and "point of interest" features to map out the trails; I have used Mobile Geo and the…

Spoiler alert: this post provides details and description from the premiere episode of "Growing Up Fisher." Last night, I watched the premiere of the new network situational comedy television show, "Growing Up Fisher." I was pretty excited to watch this show for a few reasons: To see the portrayal of a father who is blind as a main character To check out how they depict the dog guide and its work The show has some really funny and talented people associated with it My Reaction I really…

We are so looking forward to welcoming you to the 2014 AFB Leadership Conference this week. While you're in Brooklyn, we encourage you to use our conference hashtag (#afblc) on Twitter and Facebook to share your experiences and findings. If you haven’t registered for the conference already, please do so as soon as possible: Register for the AFB Leadership Conference. After a last-minute bump in registrations, we are now expecting over 400 attendees. If you have any questions, please let me…

Perhaps AFB's most famous advocate said it best: "Cultivate love for love is the light that gives the eye to see great and noble things." With Valentine's Day right around the corner, Helen's wise words have never rung truer. In light of this upcoming special day, why not share the love with a Helen Keller eCard? Our Helen Keller eCards are high contrast and large-print, featuring beautiful photos, with quotes from Helen. These electronic cards are accessible for people who are blind or have…

Michelle Hackman As I write this, I am watching my two-year-old nephew Ethan while my sister-in-law takes my niece to an ice skating class. Mostly, my nephew spends his time emptying his Lego basket or smashing cars together, but every so often, he does something truly worth documenting. Just this afternoon, one of those notable moments came when, upon discovering my mother's walking cane, he seized it and began parading around the house, banging it on the ground like a royal scepter. I…

Editor's note: the following post is authored by Mary Bellard, Information Technology Services Manager at AFB. On January 14, GW Micro announced, with support from Microsoft, they will make their Window-Eyes screen reader product available at no additional cost to any user with a license to Microsoft Office 2010 or newer (including users with a Microsoft Office 365 subscription). The only stipulation for using the full version of this product is that Office 2010 or newer needs to be…

Last weekend, my wife and I went to go see Anchorman 2. We love going to the movies, and I love the experience even more now that we have a local theatre that provides video description (hat-tip to Cinemark. I hope the other theaters in my area follow their example). I was pretty excited, because I loved the first Anchorman. First, a little background: It is an outrageous and inappropriate comedy that is not meant for children. Will Ferrell plays Ron Burgandy, an anchorman who leads a team…

I've just wrapped up my second visit to the mega Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. There's been tons of coverage of all the exciting new products, especially wearable technology, health and body monitoring technologies, devices to enhance our autos and, of course, more and more 3-D printing. I want to again give a special thank you and shout-out to our friends at the Consumer Electronics Association (the trade association that hosting the conference), for inviting disability…

On Saturday, the New York Times published a stunning essay by Rosemary Mahoney, a teacher at a school for the blind, entitled "Why Do We Fear the Blind?" She opens with a quandary seemingly absurd on its face, but one that we unsighted people know all too well: A few years ago, when I mentioned to a woman I met at a party that I was teaching in a school for the blind, she seemed confused. "Can I just ask you one question?" she said. "How do you talk to your students?" I explained that…