AFB Blog

The American Foundation for the Blind is very pleased to announce the upcoming launch of its newly redesigned, Drupal 8 format website, which has been optimized for use on tablets and mobile phones. Due to the new, easier to navigate website, AFB will be discontinuing support for the AccessWorld app. We sincerely appreciate your downloading and using the app in past years, and we believe you will have an even smoother experience using the new web version. Please visit AccessWorld on AFB’s…

We hope you found the 2019 AFB Leadership Conference to be inspiring, invigorating, and informative and that you left feeling better prepared to LEAD: Learn, Engage, Advance, and Deliver. We had 40 distinct opportunities to LEAD at the conference. The National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision (NRTC) at Mississippi State University hosted an all-day Older Individuals Who are Blind Program managers meeting on Wednesday, that attracted nearly 60 participants. The three…

Education track sessions emphasize collaboration, research, and personnel preparation. Orientation and mobility readiness standards, preparing teachers to work with children who have neurological visual impairments, funding university programs, and encouraging research are just some of the topics addressed. Register for the AFB Leadership Conference Thursday, February 28 10:15 AM ED13: Orientation and Mobility Career, College, and Community Readiness Standards 11:30 AM ED23: Using…

Join us as we celebrate this year's award recipients at AFB Leadership Conference. Migel Medal Awards The Migel Medal is the highest honor in the blindness field. The 2019 Migel Medal recipients are Glinda Foster Hill and Dr. Elton Moore. Glinda Foster Hill is an Education Program Specialist at the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Division of Research to Practice. At the OSEP, Glinda is responsible for the development and management of programs…

Don't miss out: The early bird rate for conference registrations ends this Friday, so register today! We are also running low on hotel rooms at the group rate, so please book soon. Our group rate for hotel rooms expires on February 4. 2019 AFB Leadership Conference Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, VA February 28-March 1 Older Individuals Who Are Blind Program Managers Meeting - February 27 (Open to all conference attendees, but seating is limited) Early-bird rate until February 1: $…

The National Research and Training Center (NRTC) on Blindness and Low Vision at Mississippi State University will hold a State of the Science (SOS) research conference on employment throughout the AFB Leadership Conference. Sessions are sponsored by the NRTC, through funding from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (grant #90RT5040). The SOS Conference is an excellent opportunity for professionals to learn about the latest research and…

*Special Note: Have you booked your hotel room yet? Rooms are going fast! Our room block expires on February 4 or whenever rooms sell out, so book soon to avoid disappointment: online reservations or call 888-236-2427 and reference our conference to get the group rate. Experts predict that by 2030, rates of vision loss will double along with the United States' aging population. Join us for the Aging and Vision Loss track to learn more about the unique needs and issues facing the older blind…

Thanks to generous support from Hewlett Packard Enterprise, the 2019 AFBLC Leadership Track will provide attendees with fresh perspectives and the opportunity to learn new tactics for successful leadership from top speakers. The full program is now available online. Thursday LS15: Network Leadership by Jane Wei-Skillern, Senior Fellow, Center for Social Sector Leadership, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. This session introduces a set of four counterintuitive…

As a means of consuming literature, learning, and communicating, braille has remained the biggest game changer in the history of inventions for people who are blind. It is only fitting then, that we celebrate the United Nations' recent resolution designating January 4 of every year as World Braille Day. As a braille user myself, I can say firsthand that those tiny tactile dots represent so much more than the sum of their parts—they are a gateway to independence for people who are blind or…