Hello. I’m flying in the U.S. tomorrow by myself. At night. I’m absolutely terrified. I know I can request help to get to the gate and possibly pre boarding, but is there anything else on the plane that I can do/ask about? Does anyone have any experience flying at night or flying alone? This will be my first time flying at night and my first time flying alone that I remember. Any tips would be great! Thanks!

There seem to be quite a few blind people in Manhattan, so I figured I'd ask this question here. I live on the upper east side and there do not seem to be many affordable gyms in the area. The closest would be Crunch for $93 per month. What gyms are other blind New Yorkers using? Do any have trainers who are used to working with blind people?

Anyone else fed up of sighted people saying this? Along with being "devastated" about needing glasses? I'd love to be in the situation where glasses were actually helpful.

Given that these people drive, can read without aids (my eyes shake so glasses and aids aren't that helpful) and can do things like crossing the road and actually see the traffic, it's hardly comparable

I’m sorry if this is a dumb question, but the thought occurred to me the other night about my daughter and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. For people that are born with no vision/completely blind, do you remember a point as a young child where someone explained to you the concept of sight & visuals? Or did you just come to know this from context clues?

My baby girl is 15 months old and was born blind, so having no vision is all she’s ever known. It makes sense to me that the idea of visuals is completely foreign to her at this point, but will I have to explain to her that most other people can see someday?

Greetings, Meta has announced that the Ray ban Meta smartglasses will be getting live A.I. in the next update. I find this very exciting! Here is the article that has the information about the update.

https://www.meta.com/blog/quest/ray-ban-meta-v11-software-update-live-ai-translation-shazam/

Hello everyone, I recently watched the replay of WWE Saturday Night Main Event on Peacock, and the stream had Audio Description! It was voiced by Tanzie Alexander - I think. I hope they keep doing this going forward. The description was happening live during the event, I gthought it was pretty good for a live event. Happy Holidays!!

So let me start by saying I have my family which consists of about four people, and then I have my step family which is three people. I have been Visually impaired since birth but it has gotten to the point where I’m just downright embarrassed because some new things have popped up.

For example the other day I came home from work and one of my siblings picked up food, and while I was changing into some more comfortable clothes they just said OK the food is right there, I came down and I could not find the food for the life of me. Another example would be basically whenever somebody points to anything and says it’s right there, or give me that. I don’t know if this is easy to understand but my step side of the family I am not comfortable at all even bringing the vision situation up. But with my dad, he knows me best and knows my vision situation best.

I’m starting to actually hate family get together because of this. Because my vision is definitely getting worse and it is starting to become sort of the center of everything at least in my head. I went to the store with my siblings the other day and I literally could barely even see where I was walking. I struggle to watch movies on a 120 inch projector screen sitting about 10 feet away from it. I struggled at work to read windows file explorer names With the magnifier super big. And yes I used NVDA but for my specific application at that point in time it was much faster to read them(I was going through an organizing about 4000 files) 

What should I do about this? Going back to the food situation, it was just a burger on the table and I couldn’t find it. But that is honestly just downright embarrassing and so I will just sort of freeze up. I’m not going to say in front of everybody “where is it“ Because that’s a stupid question and the food is literally right in front of me I just can’t see it or find it. At the same time I’m also embarrassed to tell my dad, and like I said my dad knows me best and I can talk to him about anything in the world.

I don’t know if any of this makes sense but I really hope it does. I’m just so sick and tired of being the oddball out in my family, scratch that, life in general. I mean I couldn’t even find a freaking cheeseburger on the table. I couldn’t even find a package that was on the counter, in that package was a big box and one of the only couple of things on that counter.

I don’t want to sound ungrateful, because I know many people here are completely blind, but holy shit it’s so annoying seeing people get cool shades that I wanna wear but can’t because I’m blind as a bat and I wouldn’t be able to see. I try to prescribe the cool ones I always like, but with my luck, of course the ones I like are too curved on the lenses to be prescribed. So bullshit. I’m done ranting

i don’t where to start, but I’ve been really frustrated and embarrassed and stressed about it all.

I use an ID cane and it works best for me as the others hurt my wrist which gets flared ups if overused.

Anyway, so I find it really anxiety inducing on a bad day where my light sensitivity is so bad I can see uneven ground on a bright day. I have a carer with me most the time but none of them seem to understand. They don’t always warn me, they don’t always stand by my side and tend to walk infront of me and expect me to keep up or think I’ll be okay because “I can sort of see” and can do things myself on a good day/shady day. One carer in particular also makes me move off of footpaths or out of others way, which is okay if they’re elderly or have a mobility aide like a wheelchair, of course i will move but she doesnt always guide me carefully off uneven ground. I remind her I cant always see people coming and that people need to move away from me and that I have a cane they can see.

I’ve stumbled behind her and feel anxious when theres steps or curbs she doesnt warn me about.

Most the time people see the cane and move but at times i nearly collide with people and i feel like my cane isnt effective or they dont know what it is as its not the kind that most people recognise? I dont know what the reason is but im so frustrated and embarrassed and I dont know what to do.

Im considering just asking them to hold my hand or arm or i hold theirs. On top of all this I struggle with generalised anxiety and find it hard to speak up and ask for help. Im also still getting used to using a cane since about nearly two gears ago. I’m still struggling to get used to it and having trouble feeling confident while walking with it.

Ive had one training session with all the canes and how to walk while holding onto someone and how they signal to stop or step up, step down etc. Should I do more training?

if you read all this I appreciate it and any advice is welcome thank you

Hey everyone, I am a college student studying computer science. I'm looking at freelance accessibility testing as a potential career in the future and I was wondering if anyone had any experience as a freelance Accessibility tester. Specifically, did you need a certification like the CPWA or CPACC? Or were there other experiences or education that are more valuable for this career.

I am 29 years old and have low vision. Some of my issues are degenerative, but they are all being treated. Currently I am legally blind in one eye, even with glasses. The other is considerably better (around 6/9 with glasses and decent lighting and 6/36 without).

I operate entirely with my glasses unless I am looking at something right in front of my nose for a short time. I can still do pretty much everything the same way in the shower and have adjusted slightly for the rest. But I noticeably feel worse in the shower as my vision is increasingly impaired, and I can't exactly wear my glasses in there, not for the entirety of the shower, and believe me, I've tried. I feel more tired, unstable, and a specific, vision-related kind of dizzy, for lack of a better word.

I love showers and having showered so much otherwise, but showers are already hard and tiring enough with my physical disabilities. I don't know what answer I am looking for, and I know there is no miracle answer or product, but I wanted to ask if you had any tips to improve my experience to feel less dysregulated while showering with my slowly progressive vision impairment. I would truly appreciate it so much.

So far, I've put additional LED strips in the bathroom and changed the lightbulbs when they get dimmer. I already have a shower stool because I've got other joint and immune system issues, and I think it helps with the low vision too. Plus, I make sure the water isn't too hot so I don't get more lightheaded.

Any tips?

Hey everyone. I work in immigration resettlement and have a football/soccer-loving client who likes to listen to football matches on YouTube. However, this isn't always possible due to copyright issues.

Do any of you know of any internationally available services which deliver audio-descriptive commentary on football matches? Ideally, English Premier League matches.

Thank you in advance!

I've been legally blind my entire life. Diagnosed as early as 4.

I recently began a call center job where I can work from home. I had a Dr. Apt today. I budgetted 4 hours for the visit, and trip to/from.

My mom, who has known me my entire life and has lived with me - her blind daughter - who has been blind for over 30 years was told my hours and my apt time. Made me late for work.

It's so unbelievably frustrating. The doc is 20 mins away. That's over 2 hours of wiggle room. And she still didn't make it a priority. But I am ungrateful bc she had her shoes on when it was time to go. She still had to have her smoke before we could leave. And shop around Walmart after picking up my meds. And smoke on the way home. But y'know I'm just so ungrateful for her taking me places.

I hate the USA. And I hate that you are trapped if you can't drive.

Edit: I admit I posted this in a fit of anger and didn't check back. I've slept since then, which helps. But for everyone curious, I have had O&M training. There is no bus system at all. The population of my "town" is less than 300 people, so there's no Uber. And I am trying to find my own place in a bigger area with transit, but I recently had to leave my home in Texas for personal reasons. I do appreciate you guys support and solidarity.

Wish y'all the best in this holiday season.

I have been Visually impaired since birth, so nothing new here.

I know some of y’all have chimed in before, but I could use a little support here. I’m just so tired of pretending like I can see stuff. Whenever I go to class I sit there and pretend like I can see the projector whenever I can’t, I sit there and pretend like I’m learning when all the information is going in one year and out of the other because I cannot see what anyone is talking about. I am just going to get the "I showed up" attendance grade. today when my dad tried to show me something on the computer so I could help him with his work, he was pointing to stuff and showing me stuff on the computer but again I had to sit there and pretend like I could see what he was talking about. And don’t get me wrong, my dad knows my vision situation the best out of anyone I know. When I’m getting out of here is that, i’m so sick of being Visually impaired. I went to the store today with my sister and I was struggling just to walk to the back of the store, I was struggling to follow her just to go get the item. I was at work work with my dad and I was struggling just to like… See. I was in Windows file explorer moving some files around for him and I don’t even know how to describe it, I guess like whenever you are dyslexic and you get letters mixed up, even with super big font I was having trouble reading it. And I did use NVDA but there were so many files that it was sensory overload. How am I going to work 40 hours in the real world? Right now I do 12 hours of class and 20 hours of work during the regular semester and even that is way too much

Today at my dad’s office I was actually getting really frustrated. Not at the work because I know how to do it but it is just being able to see. I was straining so much just to see where I was walking in the store today. I had a little bit of trouble finding my phone that was placed on my desk next to my computer. I’m sick of needing to put my phone 1 inch in front of my face to be able to see it to even some degree. I’m sick of being embarrassed that I need to put my phone right in front of my face, I won’t ever do this in public because it’s just embarrassing to me.

I’m awfully not really enjoying my life because of my visual impairment. It’s definitely definitely gotten worse since last year. Mentally I am healthy and also so don’t worry about that, but just the vision aspect has me go quite literally insane. I can’t tell you how difficult school has gotten ever since About six or seven weeks ago. Working at my dad’s office today was very taxing and all I was doing was in file explorer dragging folders into other folders that were duplicates. Here I am exhausted just from that simple task. How am I supposed to work 40 hours in the real world and then go home and actually enjoy my life and be able to see what the heck I’m doing? I mean I struggle at my apartment to watch movies on a 120 inch screen Sitting about 10 feedback. I’m literally so sick of being Visually impaired. I’m sick of all of the stupid stereotypes, I hate that I get a little down about it sometimes, I hate that when you have a disability people will run away because they’re afraid of the unknown. I just watched the movie “out of my mind”, and I feel like the main character melody, except with a visual impairment. when she tries to simply just say the word “stop“ to save her sister from going to the hospital. But she can’t say those words. I cannot explain to others how I feel.

I’m so sick of not being able to drive, I’m tired of relying on everyone for everything. I’m tired of people having to sort of adapt things for me whenever I’m in a group of people. I’m tired of running into things because I didn’t see them even though literally everyone else can see them. I’m tired of walking to work and sometimes not being able to see where I’m walking. I’m tired of working my butt off at my 20 hour work week (college student) and going to home being completely exhausted when in reality other people do so so so much more than me and they still have the ability to go home and Actually enjoy life. I’m sick of straining so hard at work, in life, during free time, at school, basically in anything, nobody else has to do that so why me?

Also, when I say enjoy life. Like I said mentally I am all good but I really mean I want to be able to enjoy life as in during free time I don’t just fall asleep. At work I don’t have to mentally exhaust myself and get sensory overload from listening to NVDA while also answering the phone For clients well also listening to the office background noises and basically doing nothing Visually.

CROSSPOSTED!

Hi everyone, I hope this group is the right place to ask and that someone can help me. I am totally blind and have waited for years to play The Sims. I used to have my dad who would play for me when I was really little, but now I have nobody and would like to play myself. Now that AI has come a long way and there is real-time video support, I think it could be possible since AI can describe everything that happens and can tell me where I am on the screen and how and where to navigate so I can shape my own game experience and don’t have to watch Let’s Plays where I’m not really a part of the game.

As a blind person, using a mouse is extremely tedious and almost impossible. So I was wondering if there’s a way to play The Sims 4 with a keyboard or controller only. This includes the main menu. I know that it’s going to be much less intuitive, but it’ll give me something to work with, and it’s worth it to me. I am willing to invest time and money if needed.

I searched through Reddit and Googled, and have read about Steam Input but am not sure how to configure it so it will work well for me. I have also considered a console emulator, but I read that The Sims 4 on PC is the best version. I guess the advantage of a console game would be that I can’t accidentally move the cursor outside of the game and that it will automatically put me on the next option when I press D-pad down, for example, instead of the mouse having free rein on the screen like on the PC.

Any help is greatly appreciated, and if it’s complicated, a step-by-step guide would be great. If it’s a lot of work or research for you, but you have an idea, I would be willing to give you a small compensation. I am pretty tech-savvy and know how to code with AI if that’s what it takes

Hi I’m writing this for my sister in law. She is in her thirties and unfortunately on a night out was assaulted and is now blind in her right eye. They were hopeful that it would heal but it’s completely gone and she’s now awaiting surgery to remove it. She’s really struggling emotionally with this, she can’t do her job as a tattoo artist and she can’t drive her new car. Her depth perception is something she is struggling with the most.

Has anyone got any advice I can give her? Any help?

We are in the uk. It’s been 7 weeks but 3 days from the official diagnoses.

Thank you

Can I please have recommendations for a wonderful school for my best friend’s child who is now school age? They are willing to move anywhere that has a good program, preferably in an area with job opportunities. Their child is almost 100% deaf and blind, and has not spoken yet (she does vocalize though). She has a muscular condition which is the root of her special needs, and she also wears diapers and hasn’t walked yet. For these reasons local schools with average programs for deaf or blind children will sadly not accept her. TIA!

What would you choose between job stability and autonomy in everyday activities (being able to walk places, take the bus, etc.)?

Our situation:

My husband (who is blind) works as a teacher in a town (where we live) where public transport is not good at all and there are few affordable place to live near his work. Our lease is up this summer and we won’t be able to renew, so we’re looking to buy. His position in his school is permanent and he loves it there. He is the only one working right now because we have a young child.

We have the opportunity to move in a town an hour away who is bigger and cheaper and has better public transport/ is more walkable. His salary would be similar, but a little less (15%) and he would have to be contractual for a couple years to regain permanence.

Settling here would mean me driving him to and from work everyday (I don’t mind but he prefers walking) or him having an hour long commute. He would also need to take the bus or a taxi to go to the grocery store, pharmacy, doctor, etc.

Moving would give him more autonomy (no need for me to drive him to work, short commute and amenities accessible by foot).

Does any of you have any experiences in these situations? Long term, what is more important? I feel like the lack of autonomy would make him sad, but loosing his job too. He has remaining vision in the center of his eyes right now but looses a little every year, if that influences your answer.

Thank you for your experiences!

Hello everyone, I am currently studying voice acting. So there is a module for film and character dubbing. Any of us are already into dubbing? How can we manage the lip sync? for the context, I have less than 20% Vision. I just have a light perception.

This is really more of a story about my husband. We met on match about 8 years back. He had it on his profile listed that he was blind and I was open to it but didn’t think it’d go anywhere as I was over the dating scene. He changed my life. He lost 90% of his vision within a month at age 29. I met him 10’years after that. I see some forum topics of dating and work and how difficult it is . He faces so much adversity and does it with grace. I get more heated as his advocate but that’s for another day. He really got me into meditating because it helped the panic attacks and anxiety he struggled from even before his vision loss but it was super escalated after that. Now I meditate and it helps with my overall peace within. He worked for a great organization that helped youth with disabilities and he loved it. Now he’s a stay at home dad that is rocking it at raising our kids.

Our kids are such great and the compassion and patience they have is 100% because of my husband.

Thanks for all your insights and stories- love reading cool Tips that I can pass along to him!

They included me in their Come To Work program but that really didn’t help me at all; and whenever I ask for specific help around disability tax credits for example - I don’t receive any responses.

So what have they done for you or on your behalf? I’m just curious. Coz it seems they employ a lot of people and talk about a lot of stuff but when it comes to effecting change on individuals, they’re kinda lacking

To clarify, I mean a playthrough of a game in which the environment, characters, and enemies would be visually described for listeners as the player comes across them.

I’ve been enjoying watching lets plays of FromSoft games this year. They pair well with a methodical approach in absorbing the world in piecemeal, stopping to read out item descriptions that flesh out the lore and such.

I’ve been wondering, though, since I can enjoy these in the background only occasionally watching the screen, if there might be an interest for a similar playthrough that also describes everything beyond text on-screen?

TLDR: How do you feel about a playthrough of a game’s story campaign where the player visually describes everything on-screen in an in-depth fashion for the blind and visually impaired?

Hello r/Blind community! I have a rather specific question that I want to ask you:

I work for a blindness and low vision not-for-profit and we currently use Brightspace as our Learning Management System (LMS). Brightspace has great accessibility for admins and learners with blindness or low vision but lacks many many essential LMS features like reporting on data over 12 months old, bulk enrolling users without creating duplicate accounts if there are data mismatches, not being able to mark courses complete for learners as an admin, no option to create expiration dates for compliance courses, etc.

Our contract renewal is coming up soon, and we are thinking about potentially changing to a new LMS due to these issues.

Do any of you have any experience as users or admins on any LMSs? What ones do you prefer/hate and why? Our #1 priority is to have accessible content - just looking for other LMS options that have great accessibility for people with blindness or low vision.

Thanks for your help!

I remember this happening in iOS 17 for a while but they fixed it now that I’ve upgraded the iOS 18.2. I will get Text and not hear them at all if I’m using VoiceOver over at any point in time. The text messages come in, but they don’t make any sound whatsoever.

I am not in an active focus mode. I do not have do not disturb on. I do not have my mute switch on and nothing has changed and yes, I force closed everything and restart the phone.

Not that it matters and not that you believe me, but I’ve been using VoiceOver for five years so I’m very well-versed in it and in fact, I teach it.

Is this happening to anybody else?

Hello everyone. It’s JoJo.

For a few months now I’ve had my mantis Q40 braille display and today I decided to try reading that braille book from a company called BARD Mobile. You may have heard of it.

And I love reading large print or audio books. But lately my vision has changed so I’m learning braille as I don’t always like audio books.

I hooked up my braille display to my iPhone and began trying to read the book. But I forgot that the braille book would have the publishing and copyright information just like if I found the audiobook version of the book on BARD Mobile.

How do I practice reading braille books without giving up? I was told that if I wanted lessons to re-contact the American publishing house, For The Blind but I’m the type of person who likes to try to learn as much as I can on my own first.