#RNIB

[gingerylangylang1979]

This is so cool. Making thirst traps accessible.

[hozion]

[diversityinkidsbooks]

Braille Books By The RNIB

Designed especially for visually-impaired pre-school children and their parents, this touch-and-feel book takes readers through a collection of cut-out shapes with high-gloss and embossed tactile finishes. It is accompanied by rhyming text, printed in both braille and clear printed text to suit the needs of every child and parent.

Designed especially for visually impaired pre-school children and their parents, this touch-and-feel book takes readers through a collection of tactile objects made in all sorts of exciting textures, including silky flowers, crackly leaves, and sticky worms.

Enables you to discover the amazing world of animals. Designed especially for the young braille reader, this book features over 30 pages of entries on a selection of creatures, from bears and big cats to birds and bugs.

Designed especially for young braille readers, this tactile reference book features over 30 pages of entries on a fascinating selection of vehicles, from boats and submarines to heavy duty vehicles like cranes and JCBs - there's even a page on monster trucks.

[insidecroydon]

High Court ruling is a huge stride for fairer treatment by DWP

Failed in their duty: the DWP failed to provide a blind man with accessible information A Croydon man has won his High Court case against the Department for Work and Pensions which asserted that they failed to provide blind people with accessible communications about their benefits – the Government department sending him more than 20 hard-copy letters that were either delayed or simply…

[the-delta-quadrant]

pro tip for disabled book lovers in the UK!

the royal national institute for blind people (RNIB) has a library service for not only blind people, but also other "print-disabled" people to get free audio or braille books. they say if you have any disability that limits or prevents you from reading standard print, you qualify for their service. you don't have to submit any proof of your disability.

you can either get downloadable audio books through an online registration, or you can have them send you audiobooks on CD or a USB stick in the mail (you will have to return them once you are done)

[blindbeta]

idk how much you know about lord of the rings but i was planning a fic where pippin was born blind and gandalf is going blind (from old age ostensibly; i was considering something like severe cataracts or glaucoma for an unofficial diagnosis) and they bond etc. the problem i ran into was that there's a bit where pippin looks into a palantir and sees some of sauron's plans. i wanted to check a) if it was too much of the blind seer trope and b) how much pippin would actually be able to tell what was going on. like if he's never seen a tree would he know that that's a tree?? anyway sorry for the weirdly long and detailed ask; i've been reading a lot of your blog and it's been super useful and interesting!! hope you're having a good day <33

I’m loving the multiple ways of portraying blindness, the spectrum of blindness, different causes of blindness via unofficial diagnosis, and the characters having a blind community. Maybe there are other blind characters around the shire who are mentioned.

As for the blind seer trope, you have the right idea in considering how to avoid it or make it better. You questioned how Pippin would know what a tree looks like if he has never seen one. My response to this is to question why he can see in the vision of the future at all. Also, while a tree might be more easily identifiable due to recognizable features, such as height, the inability to interpret visual stimuli has less to do with visual recognition and more to do with the way our brains process information. His brain would not have the ability to process what he is seeing at all, similar to a CVI. He might be confused, overstimulated, or experience eye or head pain. Instead of being able to discern what is happening in the vision, his brain probably wouldn’t be able to comprehend it at all.

Onto my main concerns with the blind seer trope as they apply here. One is that the character is often totally blind and sees through visions. This can be portrayed either as constant visions of the future allowing them to see or only being to see in visions even if they cannot otherwise. For example, a blind seer not needing a cane because they know where all the curbs, uneven ground, and stairs are.

What you are describing doesn’t sound like as big of a problem and only seems to occur once. This certainly helps. However, instead of being able to see only in the context of the future vision, could he instead use his other senses as he normally would?

If the goal is to have him see Sauron’s plans, you can still have him get a glimpse of the future, getting the same information through sound, or, depending on what you want the palantir afford him, smell or tactile sensations.

Alternatively, if Pippin was born blind, I’m wondering if he can have some remaining vision? After all, most blind people have some residual vision even if they were born blind, as you can read about in this first, second, and third post I made on the topic. Here is a page on the CNIB website which explains examples of blindness, ways it manifests, and information about legal or registered blindness. Here is another page on the RNIB website which states about 93% of blind people can see something. Depending on the source, anywhere from 10% to 15% of people are totally blind. This leaves about 85% to 90% of blind people with residual vision.

If you want examples of different types of residual vision, you can explore this helpful list of YouTube channels created by @accessibleaesthetics

My final concern with blind prophet / blind seer trope is one I mentioned in more detail in this post which is also about the blind prophet trope. In this trope, the blind character usually has this power constantly and is the only one able to use it. That doesn’t sound like the case in your story, as character looks into something that gives him a vision rather than seeing visions of the future as a power. It also helps that he isn’t the only blind character.

[alexseanchai]

The tactile fabric of the doll’s pink satin T-shirt and purple tulle skirt was chosen after testing the doll with blind and low-vision children, Mattel said in its statement. The doll was sculpted with elbow articulations to make sure that Barbie can comfortably move around her cane, has an elasticated waistband on her skirt to make playing dress-up easier, and the box in which the doll comes says “Barbie” in Braille, the company added.

Mattel also consulted the Royal National Institute of Blind People in Britain while developing the doll.

“It’s wonderful to think that children with a vision impairment can now play with a Barbie that looks like them,” Debbie Miller, an RNIB spokeswoman, was quoted as saying in the news release shared by Mattel. “It’s an acknowledgment that not everyone can see well, which means a lot to the blind and partially sighted community. This is a positive step forward.”

[razzek]

Top 5 MOST useful tools for blind people just starting out

Top 5 most fave tools for the blind overall

Top 5 least useful

Top 5 fucking weirdest and/or funniest

This is a big ask and I will do my best to answer, with the caveat that I am just a single blind person with memory issues who doesn't remember everything my blind friends have told me. XD I am counting other people as tools in this list because a person with eyes sometimes is a handy tool for us. XD

Top 5 MOST useful tools for blind people just starting out 1. White cane 2. Blindness skills training through centers, government programs like Vocational Rehabilitation, Orientation & Mobility specialists, and anywhere you can find it 3. Membership with the National Talking Book Library aka NLS in your state (US); I think the UK is RNIB and Canada has one, not sure about other countries 4. Supportive family and friends and other blind people if you can find them 5. Screen reader (NVDA is free for Windows, iPhone has VoiceOver, Android uses TalkBack)

Top 5 most fave tools for the blind overall 1. White cane and/or guide dog 2. Text to speech, screen readers, audio books, audio described movies and tv 3. Accessible smart phones (often iPhone but Android is catching up) 4. Bump dots (stick-on tactile dots you put around your home) 5. Braille and refreshable braille displays/notetakers

Top 5 least useful 1. Sighted people inventing crap without talking to any blind people ("smart" canes, "smart" shoes, dangerous devices you hold in your only free hand that claim to tell you what's in front of you but actually don't, screen reader breaking "accessibility" overlays, etc...) 2. That ring which only shows one braille cell at a time (that's not how anyone reads) 3. Strangers giving/yelling vague directions ("It's right over there!", "Oh my god watch out for the stairs (that you are halfway down)!", giving directions to the guide dog who doesn't speak English or any language because they are a dog...) 4. Hot liquid measuring devices (always broken, the noise they make is so fucking loud it's caused me a lot more injury than just sticking my finger in the hot liquid, will wake up the neighbors) 5. All but one use case of AI claiming to be for the blind, at least as far as I've seen

Top 5 fucking weirdest and/or funniest 1. Ping pong balls (good for measuring hot liquids) 2. Funnels (really helpful for pouring liquids) 3. The lanyard strap that sticks to the back of your phone so you can wear it around your neck (looks silly, is incredibly useful) 4. White cane holster (yes it's a thing, I have at least three XD) 5. Things being organized Very Specifically (close your eyes and YOU try to find the remote after someone put it in a random place! XD)

[aboutyoutoo]

so some charity collectors came to our door from the RNIB and I hadn't heard of it so when they left i googled them and. not to sound crazy but.

I think this is some kind of sign. sign for what i don't know. maybe I should watch the terror agai-

[raccooninapartyhat]

RNIB now stocks the all terrain cane and despite owning three canes I really want the all terrain cane now for hiking and outdoors purposes

[grandmaster-anne]

5 April 2004 Princess Anne opening a new RNIB Scotland employment and learning centre, Edinburgh, Scotland

[gadgetsboy]

Canon's "World Unseen" Exhibit is a Unique Take on Photographic Experiences

While most people will know the Canon brand from its wide range of cameras, equipment and such, the veteran imaging company also sponsors a lot of events geared towards cultural enrichment, as well as collaborations with dedicated organizations and institues. With that in mind Canon recently announced the upcoming "World Unseen" photo exhibit, which will be held starting tomorrow. The event was organized in partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). As such, the exhibition is open to visitors – blind, partially sighted and sighted – and is designed with the experience of blind and partially sighted people in mind. The event features a series of photographs from world-renowned photographers, and are accompanied with elevated prints, audio descriptions, soundscapes and braille to help visitors connect with the images and the stories behind them. ‘Prayer to the Yanomami Goddess’ by Sebastião Salgado The exhibition will showcase works from several photographers and Canon ambassadors including multi-award-winning South African photojournalist Brent Stirton, Brazilian Photojournalist Sebastião Salgado, Nigerian photojournalist Yagazie Emezi, sports photographer Samo Vidic, fashion photographer Heidi Rondak and Pulitzer winning photojournalist Muhammed Muheisen. Speaking about the event, Pete Morris, Brand and Sponsorship Senior Manager at Canon EMEA states: “Photography is an incredibly powerful medium that can push the imagination and we want this experience to be accessible to everyone. This exhibition was created with blind and partially sighted people in mind to share imagery and the stories behind them in an entirely new way. With Canon’s elevated print technology, we hope all visitors will feel a deeper connection to the emotions and stories that imaging can bring to life." ‘Rhino Wars’ by Brent Stirton Canon adds that sighted people will also gain a better appreciation of the partially sighted experience - the images featured in the exhibit are obscured in different ways to convey different types of visual impairment, such as glaucoma to diabetic retinopathy. In addition to raising awareness of accessibility in arts and cultural spaces, it also shows how inclusive design can improve the experiences for everyone. Dave Williams, Inclusive Design Ambassador at RNIB, says: “The World Unseen exhibition opens up the world of photography and enables more blind and partially sighted people to experience the emotive stories, and physical touch, of these iconic images. As a braille user, it’s fantastic to be working with Canon to raise awareness of the possibilities of textured print and to see in action how technology can make art more accessible for people with sight loss.” The "World Unseen" photo exhibit runs from 5th to 7th of April, and will be held at the Somerset House. Read the full article

[the-delta-quadrant]

who does "blind" include?

genuinely i'm confused.

i see a lot of people, blind and sighted alike, draw a somewhat clear line between blindness and visual impairment (even though blindness is by definition already a vision impairment). even "blindness is a spectrum" somehow doesn't include me.

like it feels like i have too little vision to be sighted but too much vision to be blind.

i rely on magnification rather than screenreader and i use a symbol cane or nothing rather than a white cane. i'm mainly visual but very much not in a sighted way. the world wasn't built for me and it's obvious.

and yet most organisations, communities, advocacy projects etc are called blind, like the RNIB or the KAB who i'm registered with. they all deal with vision impairment as a whole.

like.. have i somehow encountered the worst and most exclusive parts of the blind community who use blind wrong? does blind include anyone who isn't sighted? or is there really a line between blindness and visual impairment?

and if there's such a difference, why do they not find a more inclusive term than blind for their communities etc?

like as someone who doesn't fit this weird blind vs sighted binary i feel so fckn invisible and like i don't belong anywhere and like an intruder to communities that i shouldn't be in because idfk if their name includes me or not. i'll forever not be confused by this shit.

[blindbeta]

opinion on a character losing one eye in a traumatic event, but not the other? is any sort of eye trauma ableist to depict, or is it fine as long as its only one eye?

I’m not sure I have the ability to answer this, personally, and so I will turn it over to those who lost one eye themselves. The key is that while losing one eye is difficult and can certainly impair your daily life, you may not be considered blind. This is because blindness is measured with your best eye with best correction.

This means that a character who loses one eye may or may not be considered blind. It depends on level of vision in their other eye. This means they could have 20/20 vision in their remaining eye. It can also mean that they have one remaining eye that is blind. For example, their remaining eye has blind spots, only color perception, or tunnel vision.

Not all people with monocular vision are blind, but some are.

The RNIB has a good section on the difference under the header ‘can I register as partially sighted / sight impaired?’

Jessica Kelgren-Fozard also shares about having one blind eye and one with 20/20 vision in this video. She personally does not identify as blind.

This is me trying explain that while I might feel uncomfortable blind character losing an eye in a traumatic accident or to someone else deliberately injuring their eye, depending on how the event and the aftermath was portrayed, I can’t really speak for people like the ones in your question.

Readers with one usable eye who aren’t blind, what do you think?

I hope you can get some good replies in the notes. I would love to help with other things, such as writing lack of depth perception, if needed. The RNIB page I referenced also has a good section on coping skills that might help.

[fashioneyesta]

Really excited to say that I have been named as one of the finalists for Content Creator of the Year at the @rnib See Differently Awards 2024.

I first began my journey as a blogger and content creator in June 2012 and over the past 12 years now I have witnessed how much the online industry has grown.

I feel so proud to have been one of the earlier content creators to start this movement and feel honoured to have been selected as one of the finalists.

Whether or not I win the acknowledgement is such a huge achievement in itself.

I will find out if I am the winner later on in May.