[stylist] Magnification and screenreaders

Tue Mar 27 23:23:46 UTC 2012

Hi bridgit and Lisdt
I agree with you Bridgit regarding using a screen reader like Window 
Eyes even with remaining vision.  My state rehab agency did not give me 
that choice.  They never asked how well I could read print and the 
computer screen.  Since I could see they decided I needed zoomText or 
magic.  Magic was provided because I got the blue screen of death with 
ZT.  However, I got the same thing with Magic.  After being told to go 
into my registry by Freedom Scientific and not being willing to do so I 
parted ways with my rehab agency.  I knew I had problems reading the 
screen.  I spoke with a wonderful man from ME Enterprises (no longer in 
business due to retirement).  Mike asked me the tough question - 'how 
much did I really see and read?'  He helped me to realize that although 
I could read some, it would probably be better to use a screen reader.  
When I first purchased Window Eyes I could see enough to read if I 
really wanted to.  This helped me transition and really trust my screen 
reader and develop some strategies for doing medical transcription.  Now 
I totally rely on Window Eyes.  I can see my screen, and there is 
something comforting about looking at it, but even with my scope glasses 
all I can see is where to position the mouse to read what is there in an 
emergency.  I find it so freeing to be able to sit up like a normal 
person and not eat the screen and not move my head back and forth or 
fiddling with the mouse trying to read.

As for having a choice with your rehab agency - yah, in a perfect 
world.  I had to discover things for myself as they tend to force people 
with remaining vision to rely on it and not learn adaptive strategies 
used by people who are blind.  This is why I am learning Braille now 
instead of in school as a child.  Then there is the negative feedback 
from people who don't think I need Braille or a white cane or a screen 
reader because i can see.  I consider myself very fortunate to have 
figured things out.  Other partials have a much rougher road and are not 
so fortunate as I was.

Brenda

On 3/27/2012 6:04 PM, Bridgit Pollpeter wrote:
> Jackie,
>
> Beating dead horses seems what we seem to do best around here, grin.
>
> FYI, first, especially for those in training or thinking about it, your
> rehab agency should provide you with the opportunity to work with
> whatever computer program you want. As a consumer, you have the right to
> request to view and play with various screenreaders and magnification
> programs, and they should not be able to deny you the program you decide
> upon regardless of their personal inclinations.
>
> I know written communication can sometimes be confusing in terms of
> presentation and meaning, so I want to say up-front that this is not a
> judgment on anyone or meant to be personal; despite what some think, I
> tend to go into situations with an open mind, and especially where
> blindness is concerned, I know, and accept, we all have our particular
> ways of doing things. I prefer one way, and you may prefer another, and
> this is okay. The only thing I ever care about is efficiency and
> challenging one another to truly try.
>
> Having said all that, I now say this, smile.
>
> Keeping in mind that my background initially was as a fully sighted
> person for 22 years, then experiencing partial vision for a time before
> losing most of that vision, I wish to pose a question. Regardless of the
> level of "useable" vision anyone has, if it does not allow one to read
> print well even with magnification, does not it fit one's best interest
> to just learn and use a screenreader, whether it be JAWS, Window Eyes or
> something else?
>
> In my own personal experience, observations and opinion, a screenreader
> is useable by anyone- fully sighted, partially sighted or no longer able
> to use vision at all. Instead of struggling to find the right
> magnification program, and then still dealing with not being able to use
> it all of the time, or use that sight well, does not it seem to make
> more sense to use a screenreader only?
>
> For my husband and I, switching to JAWS only allowed us greater
> efficiency and speed when using a computer. We no longer strained what
> vision we had (or have, in Ross's case, grin) we were not slowed by the
> process of double checking what we just read or wrote; we didn't have to
> bother with switching between magnification and text-to-speech. It just
> made life easier.
>
> Yes, we have to learn how to operate and manipulate screenreading
> programs, but like most things in life, the more you use and practice
> something, usually the better we become.
>
> As I often say, if technology or science develops a "cure" for my
> blindness, and I choose to do it, I think I would continue to use JAWS
> at times just because, even if fully sighted, vision can be distracting
> especially when roaming the internet. This is why society finds it
> difficult to believe that a person could live with few limitations when
> blind because we live in such a visually oriented society. We have
> constant visual distractions that lead most to believe life just
> wouldn't be livable without that sight.
>
> So for those unsure of what magnification program to use, and those
> finding it still not reliable and/or tedious when using vision, why not
> just use a screenreading program? And if you have to switch between the
> two already, again, why not just use the screenreader? Use sight to view
> pictures or graphics, if possible, but when it comes to reading and
> writing, it seems simpler to just use a screenreader. And once again, I
> also speak from personal experience.
>
> So there it is. I have nothing against magnification, and if still
> possible, of course I would use my vision when convenient, but it seems
> to make more sense, and seems easier, to rely on a screenreader for
> reading and writing, regardless of length. I mean, if you're legally
> blind, there's a reason you are diagnosed as so, and I see no reason to
> not use nonvisual tools in order to not strain vision and find more
> efficiency when working on a computer. When I switched to JAWS only, I
> feel like things opened up for me, and I found myself able to work
> longer and quicker, not to mention more efficiently most of the time,
> when on the computer.
>
> While re-reading this before sending, I realized how many times I
> switched POV, but I'm too lazy today to fix it, LOL!
>
> Sincerely,
> Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
> Read my blog at:
> http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
>
> "History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
> The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:00:42 -0700
> From: "Jacqueline Williams"<jackieleepoet at cox.net>
> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'"<stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Zoom Text comes from AISquared RE: Does anyone
> 	use	MAGIC or have experience with it?
> Message-ID:<B4EB243266304F028F408FDEC167AED0 at JackiLeePoet>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"
>
> Robert and all,
> I might as well join in on beating a dead horse.
> When I went to the Tucson Center for Blind Veterans, I was given lessons
> in JAWS and Zoomtext. They recommended this highly and did not teach
> Magic.
> When I returned to Mesa, and was assigned a home teacher, she
> recommended I get Magic instead. In fact, Voc Rehab ordered it for me,
> and she confirmed that it was made by Freedom Scientific and thus was in
> all ways compatible. A year or so ago, when I got my update of JAWS,
> Magic was included with it. As to a preference, with either I have to
> make the magnification so great that I see only a tiny fraction of the
> material. My mind does not process it. It can be useful for checking one
> character, however, though installed, I choose to do without. If the
> transition back and forth was a bit smoother with the voice and other
> features, and habitual use, it might be valuable.
> Jackie
>
>
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