Leader Dogs for the Blind

Organizations No Responses »
Jun 242010
Leader Dog Guiding a Blind Individual

Leader Dog Guiding a Blind Individual

Leader Dogs for the Blind is an organization that focuses on providing dog guides to people who are blind and visually impaired to enhance their mobility, independence, and quality of life.  Leader Dogs for the Blind has expanded its services to provide other programs to enhance a person’s independence and quality of life in other ways.

The following programs and descriptions are some of the services that Leader Dogs for the Blind provides to individuals:

  • The Deaf-Blind Program- This program provides training in the use of a leader dog to individuals who are both hearing and visually impaired. The student is taught to utilize sign language and touch to communicate commands and praise to their dog.
  • The Accelerated Mobility Program- This program teaches advanced orientation and mobility skills to individuals who are visually impaired and use a cane to assist them in traveling.
  • The Extended Services Program- This program embraces the new technology that aids clients in attaining greater independence.
  • Trekker Training- This program utilizes global positioning system technology to teach users how to use a Trekker GPS unit to confidently travel in a community they have never experienced.
  • The Basic and Advanced Computer Training Programs- These programs teach the use of assistive technologies to enhance employment opportunities.
  • O & M Professional Seminars- These seminars broaden the reach of leader dogs and increase the resources available to students who may need post-graduation assistance.
  • The Youth Programs- These programs are designed for students at least 16 years of age to offer dog guide use, Trekker training, and computer training.

The Leader Dog Campus, located in Rochester, Michigan, is a training center where individuals can be trained in any of the programs.  The campus housing accommodates for 24 students in individual rooms, along with a kennel to accommodate for 310 large dogs.

The mission of the Leader Dogs for the Blind is to enhance the lives of people who are blind and visually impaired.

Visit the Leader Dogs website for more information.

Posted by jtutton at 11:49 am Tagged with: ,

Accessible CAPTCHAs

Accessibility Reviews 1 Response »
Jun 082010

You may recall a blog post we wrote a few months ago about audio CAPTCHAs and the problems they present.  We came to the conclusion that the audio CAPTCHAs option is usually too distorted for most people to interpret.  Since then we have discovered a few alternatives that may be more accessible.

Images

This type of CAPTCHA will typically ask users to select a specific picture from a series of images.  For example, there may be three pictures of animals and the test will ask you to pick the picture with ducks in it, which a spam bot could not do.  Confident CAPTCHA is one service that does this.  While this form of CAPTCHAs might make it easier for someone who has a print disability, these photographs don’t always have alt tags for screen readers.

Multiple Choice

CAPTCHAs sometimes take the form of an incomplete sentence in which users are to select an appropriate answer to fill in the blank (sound like English class?)  For example, you may be given the sentence “The _____ barks at cats that walk by.”  Choices might include “truck”, “yellow”, and “dog”.  This is purely text based, so a screen reader would be able to identify it like any other sentence on the screen.

Logic Puzzles

CAPTCHAs that use logic puzzles are similar to the multiple choice version in that they require you to answer a question correctly.  An example would be “The last letter in ‘happiness’ is?”  Another example would be a math puzzle, like “Six plus 10 is?”  Text CAPTCHA has over 150 million questions that are geared towards 7-year-old level.

There are several variations on the CAPTCHA tests mentioned above.  Although none of them are completely without issue, they certainly appear to be more accessible than the distorted images or audio clips.  We will continue to keep our ears to the ground and follow up on future developments.

Posted by SNorman at 10:07 am Tagged with: , ,

Ball State Student with Disabilities Wins National Debate Tournament

News 1 Response »
May 262010
Person using Braille display, photo credited to holisticmonkey on flickr

Person using Braille display, photo credited to holisticmonkey on flickr

R.J. Crace is the first student ever to win the President’s Award for outstanding contribution to public debate.  This award is typically given to teams or coaches, but this year Crace took home the prize for his hard-earned accomplishments.  Completely blind and hearing impaired, Crace went up against many challenges to help his team win 2010 NEDA tournament for Ball State University.  Congratulations!

Crace graduated with honors from Ball State University this Spring.  As a Communications major, he reported for the university’s television station and is fond of doing radio.  Watch a video interview with Crace on Fox 59.

Posted by SNorman at 12:56 pm Tagged with: , ,

Interview with American Council of the Blind of Indiana's President John Huffman

INDATA Projects, Organizations No Responses »
Apr 292010

BrailleNote mPower

Today we would like to introduce John Huffman, the current president of the American Council of the Blind of Indiana.  After earning his degree in Political Science at Indiana University and obtaining his Master’s in Labor and Industrial Relations from the University of Illinois, John worked for over 33 years in human resources or equal employment opportunity.  Besides Indiana, John has also lived in Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin.  He is married with one son.

INDATA: Are you an Indianapolis native?

John: I’m originally from nearby Lebanon, Indiana, but attended 12 years’ schooling in Indianapolis and have lived here approximately 16 years as an adult.

INDATA: How did you become involved with the American Council of the Blind?

John: I was invited to join ACB of Indiana at its formation in 1972.  Frequent relocations limited involvement; however, I was active with the Cleveland, Ohio ACB chapter (1987-91) before rejoining ACBI in 2000.

INDATA: What type of work does the ACB do?

John: The ACB, nationally and through state, local and special interest affiliates works in various ways to benefit the community of people who are blind or visually-impaired.  We advocate for both federal and state legislation to improve services for blind and visually impaired, protect civil rights of all persons with disabilities and improve access to our environment and to information technology.  We strive to educate the general public to both the capabilities and accommodation needs of people who are blind or visually impaired.  We work with service providers to improve rehabilitation and other services to blind consumers.  When necessary, we advocate on behalf of individuals to ensure that they receive goods and services needed to improve their productivity or access to goods that will increase their ability to participate in the larger society on terms of equality.

INDATA: What kinds of assistive technology devices do you use to read, travel, use the computer, etc?

John: I am a white cane user and generally feel comfortable when needing to work with sighted guides.  I use screen reading software and a Braille display for computer access.  I am a longtime Optacon user for direct access to printed/typed materials.  I also make extensive use of Braille or recorded materials when these are available.

INDATA: What activities do you enjoy in your free time?

John: I read extensively in a number of fiction and non-fiction genres.  I like music and have sung in choirs in every church of which I have been a member.  I keep and enjoy a large collection of music on LPs and compact discs.  I enjoy walking and swimming.

INDATA: What are some ways people can support the blind community?

John: Drivers could become more knowledgeable of “rules of the road,” especially as they relate to the safety of pedestrians.  Members of the general public could work to increase their use of public transportation and join in advocating for better-funded and expanded mass transit systems.  Employers could undertake to learn more about the potential of blind and visually-impaired people in their enterprises.  All people could strive for better understanding that those of us who are blind, like the rest of society, are people first, who happen to be blind.  We come in all shapes, sizes and colors, every faith and political stripe—including none at all, and we vary enormously in our interests and abilities.

Posted by SNorman at 1:40 pm Tagged with: , ,

CAPTCHA Treats Visually Impaired Like Robots

Accessibility Reviews 3 Responses »
Oct 152009

Sarah Norman is the new media intern for the Fall/Winter 09-10 year!  She will be blogging, tweeting and managing content for all of our social media outlets. If you are interested in guest blogging or have information on assistive technology to share, email Sarah at snorman@eastersealscrossroads.org.

Signing up for an account on Facebook or leaving a comment on someone’s blog may seem simple enough, but for the blind or visually impaired, CAPTCHAs can present a problem.  A CAPTCHA, which stands for Completely Automated Public Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart, is a device many social networking sites utilize to prevent spam and other harmful “bots” from entering.  In short, CAPTCHAs are tests that are meant only for humans to pass.  A typical CAPTCHA will ask the user to look at an image that contains distorted text and type the letters and/or numbers they see.  A blind operator would not be able to do this because screen readers cannot decipher the text in these images.

CAPTCHA with audio option, picture provided by Steven Vance on flickr

CAPTCHA with audio option, image credited to Steven Vance on flickr

More recently, popular websites provide an audio option for the CAPTCHAs.  Unfortunately, the audio version of a CAPTCHA is often so distorted that navigators can hardly make heads or tails of it!  I myself tested one of the audio CAPTCHAs, and after listening to it twice I still didn’t enter the correct text.  (Example of audio CAPTCHA)  I can only imagine how frustrating this would be for someone who is visually impaired.

There is hope.  New versions of CAPTCHAs are being developed at Towson University, a project they call HIPPU (Human Interaction Proof Universally Usable).  Instead of trying to read distorted text, users are asked to identify the object in an image or by the sound it makes.  For example, you might be given a picture of a car or a sound clip of a horn honking.  The leaders of this project claim that HIPPUs will be even more secure than CAPTCHAs because bots have a harder time recognizing graphics and sounds than text.  You can read more about HIPPUs here.

With any luck, more websites will realize that CAPTCHAs are shutting out a great deal of their audience, and should seek alternatives like HIPPU.  It’s important that these sites understand that while a visually impaired person could ask someone to help them type in a CAPTCHA, it limits their independence and treats them like spam.

Posted by SNorman at 1:08 pm Tagged with: , ,

White Cane Safety Day

Events 2 Responses »
Oct 142009

Ever wonder why people who are visually impaired will often use a white cane?  Why not black or brown?  According to the American Council of the Blind, the white cane originated in Europe when a fellow from Bristol was rendered blind after an accident in 1921.  James Briggs made history when he painted his walking stick white to alert motorists of his presence.

Woman using a white cane, image credited to Ed Yourdon on flickr

Woman using a white cane, image credited to Ed Yourdon on flickr

North America first utilized the white cane in 1930 when a member from the Lion’s Club witnessed a blind pedestrian crossing the street with a dark colored cane, which was barely visible to the surrounding traffic.  The following year, a national program was launched by Lion’s Club International that encouraged the use of white canes for better visibility.  White canes soon became a highly recognized symbol supporting the awareness of persons with visual impairment.

Illinois passed the first White Cane Ordinance in 1930, permitting those with white canes the right-of-way in traffic.  In 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson made October 15th White Cane Safety Day.  National Federation of the Blind founder Dr. Jacobus tenBroek came up with the Model White Cane Law in 1966, recognizing White Cane Safety Day as a designated holiday in which each state governor must publically take notice the significance of the white cane.

The law also states that the visually impaired are fully entitled access to any public place, have the right to be accompanied by a guide dog, and warns motorists to take every precaution possible to avoid causing injury to persons who are visually impaired.  Read more about the law here.

White Cane Safety Day is nationally recognized every year on October 15th, though celebration dates for marches and speeches vary.  You can request a FREE white cane through the National Federation for the Blind Program.

Posted by SNorman at 4:40 pm Tagged with: ,
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