<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Opening doors<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>By<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Rosalie Rayburn / Journal Staff Writer<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sunday, October 1st, 2017 at 12:02am<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Photo: Fatima Portugal, assistive technology consultant for the New Mexico School for the<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Blind and Visually Impaired, shows how students with multiple impairments can tap<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>a Bluetooth-connected device to make selections on an iPad. (Rosalie Rayburn/Albuquerque<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Journal)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Technological innovations that have transformed the brick-like<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>cellphone of 20 years ago into a pocket-sized computer and all-purpose daily life<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>support system, have opened a whole new world to those who cannot see.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>New Mexico Commission for the Blind Executive Director Greg Trapp shows a 120-year-old<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>German-made slate. The stylus is used to write Braille by embossing the letters onto<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>a piece of paper. Modern versions of the slate are still used.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Smartphones and a host of other devices have made it possible for the millions of<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>people who are blind or visually impaired, to communicate, summon transportation,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>work with computers, obtain free audio entertainment, and myriad other things that<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>their sighted peers take for granted.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>For example, the iPhone, introduced barely 10 years ago, and the iPad, which Apple<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Inc. first brought out in 2010, now come with VoiceOver software that tells blind<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>users everything that’s happening on their screen. Another feature enables users<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>with low vision to magnify text and images. Phones with Android operating systems<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>also have accessibility features.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>For the workplace or school, keyboard-like devices are now available that display<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>the on-screen text in Braille, the raised dot form of printing that blind people<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>can read by touch. There are portable electronic Braille note-taking devices and<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>apps that allow blind students to download schoolbooks and complete homework assignments.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Still limitations<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Photo: Danielle Valdez, a teacher at the New Mexico Commission for the Blind, who has low<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>vision, uses a handheld video magnifier to read the text in a magazine advertisement.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“The amazing new world of technology has opened new windows,” said Greg Trapp, executive<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>director of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind, which provides vocational and<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>life skills training to enable blind people to live independently and gain employment.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Trapp, who is blind, said when he took his current position 18 years ago, he was<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>working on a DOS-based computer and cellphones were uncommon.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“Now, with my phone I can get places using Lyft or Uber faster than if I drove a<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>car,” Trapp said.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Photo: Greg Trapp, executive director of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind, uses a<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>computer equipped with Window-Eyes, an application that converts components of the<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Windows operating system into synthesized speech.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Tara Matzik, 29, president of the Albuquerque Chapter of the National Federation<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>of the Blind, appreciates the new technology she uses in her job at the U.S. Forest<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Service and in her personal life.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Born with some vision, she lost her sight when she was 3 years old and as a child<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>learned to read Braille. Matzik recalled how textbooks she used in high school that<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>were printed in Braille ran to multiple volumes. Now with her smartphone, she has<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>the ability to download audio-books. She can also use gestures like tapping and swiping<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>on her phone screen to get email, play games and keep up with friends on Facebook.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“I appreciate the use of technology,” she said. “But I still need my (sighted) husband<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>to read stuff to me. There are limitations where a human can help.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Curtis Chong, a technology expert with the National Federation of the Blind, said<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>technological advances have created new problems for the blind and visually impaired.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Photo: Kelly Burma, skills center coordinator at the New Mexico Commission for the Blind,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>uses a Braille display connected to a computer that enables her to read the information<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>displayed on the screen. (Rosalie Rayburn/Albuquerque Journal)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Routine tasks such as bill paying, banking, buying airline tickets and other activities<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>that used to involve a human interaction are now increasingly done online.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> “It’s unintentional, but when you are required to do things electronically, to pay<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>bills, get medical records or sign in, there’s a high probability that the tool will<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>not be accessible for the blind,” Chong said.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The federation is involved in lawsuits against Greyhound and the Social Security<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Administration claiming they are violating the Americans with Disability Act because<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>their services are not accessible to blind people.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Keeping pace<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>According to National Federation of the Blind estimates, there are up to 10 million<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>people in the United States who are blind or visually impaired. That figure is expected<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>to grow as baby boomers age and lose their vision due to macular degeneration, glaucoma<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>and diabetes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Photo: Curtis Chong<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Schools, the Commission for the Blind and the Veterans Administration are working<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>to help blind or low-vision children and adults keep pace with the swiftly moving<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>technological landscape.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Patricia Beecher, acting superintendent at the New Mexico School for the Blind and<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Visually Impaired, said the school uses iPads in all classrooms. The school has campuses<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>in Alamogordo and Albuquerque that cater to children ages 3 to 6 years old.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“The iPad has allowed us to have access to free or inexpensive communication systems,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>cause-and-effect apps, writing apps and much more. It allows us to customize the<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>colors, brightness, contrast, size, auditory output and even to make custom tactile<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>overlays for individual students according to their needs,” Beecher said.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The school’s assistive technology consultant, Fatima Portugal, said they teach the<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>children Braille letters and numbers to prepare them for elementary school. They<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>also use devices like the Braille display, which allows the user to read or hear<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>what is written on a computer screen.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Photo: Greg Trapp uses EyeNote, a free mobile device application, to identify denominations<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>of U.S. paper currency. EyeNote was developed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>as an aid for the blind or visually impaired.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>She said schools can download textbooks for blind and visually impaired students<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>from the online library Bookshare. The Read2Go app available for Apple devices enables<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>students to hear the text, magnify it or read it in Braille. There are several similar<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>systems and new technology is being developed all the time, Portugal said.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The New Mexico Commission for the Blind offers training services to adults to help<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>them use assistive technology for daily living and employment. It also provides assistive<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>technology such as Window-Eyes, JAWS (Job Access With Speech) and ZoomText for children<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>under age 18 who aren’t otherwise able to obtain it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Older users<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>For older people, many of whom find new technology baffling, those with visual problems<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>face additional hurdles.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Albuquerque resident Stan Bernhardt, 83, has macular degeneration that has left him<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>legally blind. He was able to get help through the VA’s Visual Impairment Services<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Team (VIST) which has services for veterans with low vision. It can arrange to send<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>blind veterans to the Southwestern Blind Rehabilitation Center in Tucson.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>During a typical four-week stay, the residential program gives comprehensive training<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>in daily living and computer skills to suit their needs, said VIST coordinator Trudi<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Valdez.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Nevertheless, Chong said, the creators of computer software and hardware could do<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>much more to ensure equal access to their products for blind people. In many workplaces<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>and educational institutions the software used isn’t accessible for a person who<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>uses speech or Braille technology. Moreover, the proliferation of technological devices<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>in everyday use makes it harder for blind people to keep up.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“When I went to school, all I had to learn was a typewriter, Braille writer and tape<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>recorder,” said Chong. “(Now) our need to use technology has expanded exponentially<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>and every piece of technology is designed for a sighted person.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>By the numbers<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• Up to 10 million people in the U.S. are blind or visually impaired. Of those,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>5.5 million are seniors.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• Each year, 75,000 people in the U.S. will become blind or visually impaired.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• Just 1 percent of the blind population is born without sight. The vast majority<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>of blind people lose vision later in life because of macular degeneration, glaucoma<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>and diabetes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• Studies show that over the next 30 years aging baby boomers will double the current<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>number of blind or visually impaired Americans.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Source: National Federation of the Blind<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>