Published: Sunday, 26 July 2009
When I was very young, a friend of mine told me her sister was beginning to learn Braille. I instantly thought, “Oh, she is blind too.” But it turned out that her sister had developed wet macular degeneration and at the time I didn’t know anything about the process or the stigmatism people with this disease face because they are considered blind, but in fact have quite a bit of usable vision. I was able to learn a great deal about it when I recently attended a seminar on the topic.
Published: Friday, 24 July 2009
Everyone makes plans for their journey through time. As a toddler, you’re greatest concern is being available at a certain time to watch Sesame Street. But as time goes by, things get more and more complicated. When you’re old enough to enter the world of public education, you are forced to sacrifice leisure time in the pursuit of those A’s and B’s that keep you out of hot water with your parents.
Published: Sunday, 19 July 2009
There has always been something fascinating to me about pioneers, the people who were willing to cross borders no one else would. Traditionally, I think, we see pioneers as synonymous with crossing geographic borders because of the westward migration in America in the mid to late 1800’s with which the word is so often associated. But pioneers can be people who cross far more than physical borders. They can cross social borders of expectations, and sometime to me, a pioneer is someone who crosses their own border of fear.
Published: Friday, 17 July 2009
In 1994, Hanna Clark had been waiting for so long to receive a heart transplant that time was running out for her, so doctors in Britain took a gamble. They grafted a donor heart atop her own, rationalizing that if they could allow Clark’s heart enough time, it might be able to regenerate itself. Ten years later, Clark developed cancer and the subsequent therapies needed to cure it caused her body to reject the donor heart. But when the doctors removed the heart, they found that Clark’s original heart was functioning perfectly—apparently having healed itself.
Published: Monday, 13 July 2009
I first realized Jodi Picoult was a writer of surprising power and depth when I read her novel Nineteen Minutes, which chronicles a school shooting, both from the point of view of the school shooter and those around him who are affected by the tragedy. Her crafting of authentic voices for the myriad of characters and her tackling of a topic as controversial as violence in schools would have put her on my “to be watched” list, but she went further and explored the events that motivated a young man to commit such a heinous crime.
Published: Friday, 10 July 2009
There have been some truly fantastic breakthroughs in the accessibility market over the last few months; the most notable occurring in relation to cellular phones. First, there was Apple making the long unattainable iPhone accessible with the addition of VoiceOver. Now, Humanware, a company specializing in assistive technology for the blind, has created a screen reader specially designed for the Blackberry smart phones—Orator.
Published: Sunday, 5 July 2009
I am always interested in new pieces of technology, especially technology that is incredibly versatile. Recently, a new device called the Booksense caught my attention. It’s a device that plays everything from audio books to iTunes music to text documents.
Published: Friday, 3 July 2009
The Fourth of July symbolizes many things to many people, but the common thread that runs through them all is independence. Whether people rejoice because they have freedom of speech, freedom of religion or freedom to dwell in any neighborhood which is within their means, rather than being segregated by race or class, freedom is being celebrated. It always puzzled me as to why the NFB held their national convention around July 4th every year, until I realized what a poignant day it was for the disability movement as a whole.
Published: Sunday, 28 June 2009
I have just decided what my schedule of classes will be throughout my senior year.
Published: Friday, 26 June 2009
Recently, I had the great good fortune to catch the recording of an incredibly enlightening seminar. The seminar focused on a comparison of the numerous accessible GPS systems available for the use of the blind. It is not often that I realize my knowledge concerning a subject is woefully inadequate, but listening to this recording and gaining an idea of the substantive differences between the available systems and the complex history of GPS, it was definitely one of them.
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