AFB Blog

I am still applauding Stevie Wonder’s call for accessibility at last night’s Grammys; it was fabulous. First, he made everyone laugh when he teased the audience with a “na na nana na…y’all can’t read this huh?” referring to the fact that the Song of the Year winner was written in braille. And then right before he announced “Thinking Out Loud” as Song of the Year, he said, "We need to make every single thing accessible to every single person with a disability." And in the seconds after that,…

On President’s Day we honor two giants of American history – Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a giant among politicians and Helen Keller a global leader for those with disabilities. Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) and Helen Keller had a great admiration for each other. As early as 1929, Helen Keller instinctively knew that FDR was to become a great leader, and on behalf of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) she solicited the then New York Governor to become an honorary member of AFB. The…

As our special Valentine to you, we’re giving you an extension on the Early Bird Rate! Now you can register for the 2016 AFB Leadership Conference at the lower rate until February 16—but after that, rates are going up, so don’t delay! If your agency is sending three or more people, please contact Scott Truax about a group registration discount. Also note that hotel rooms at the group rate are going fast—make your reservation before 6 p.m., Monday, February 15, in order to get the…

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, there's still time to share the love with beautiful Helen Keller-themed gifts that help support the American Foundation for the Blind and its programs. Plus, all jewelry is on sale for a limited time. 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 even touched, they must be felt with the heart" or a striking silver cuff bracelet…

It is with a heavy heart that I share that Phil Hatlen, AFB trustee emeritus and a preeminent leader in the blindness field, passed away earlier this week after an extended illness. Phil was an incredible mentor and dear friend to many, including myself. He was loved and admired by this field. A true visionary, Phil is widely recognized as the person who coined the phrase, “expanded core curriculum” and detailed its importance to the education of the blind and visually impaired. Because of…

“At the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), we have worked for nearly a century to break down societal barriers and eliminate discrimination by achieving equal access to the world of copyrighted works. But for all the promise of technology to provide equal access to copyrighted works, the copyright laws that protect those works have sometimes served to impede that technology.” Mark Richert, Esq., Director of Public Policy, was part of an expert panel at a free Public Knowledge luncheon…

Paul Schroeder at the MagicaVision booth On the second day of the official CES, John Lilly and I spent most of the day among the home, health, and fitness area of the show. At Whirlpool we learned that a line of “connected” kitchen appliances will soon be launched in the US. As with the connected washer and dryer, these are toward the top of the line, so they won’t be cheap, but the Whirlpool app does seem to work reasonably well with VoiceOver and they are interested in continuing to improve…

CES 2016 officially opened on Wednesday January 6, and as Lyle Lovett might say, CES is not large, it's huge. Encompassing over 2.6 million square feet of exhibit and presentation space, there is just no way to convey the absolute awesomeness of the size of this thing. Read the full report on day 3 of CES in AccessWorld®, including our impressions of Casio's new "2.5D" printer, a system for producing tactile graphics and braille. We also took a look at Vuzix's iWear headset and M300 Smart…

Editor's note: We weren't too surprised to read the following question in the most recent installment of "Dear Prudence" on Slate: Q. Blindness: I am blind, and I wear dark glasses and use a cane. My problem is that everywhere I go, strangers will come up and grab me to help me walk and yell at me as if I am deaf. I know they mean well, but it throws off my balance when they grab me and it’s scary. I get a headache from people yelling at me. I can hear quite well so what can I do? Being…