American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections Special Issue on Technology WHAT'S HAPPENING
https://nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media/access-on-podcast
Access On is the National Federation of the Blind’s podcast devoted to technology. It is hosted by Jonathan Mosen, the NFB’s Executive Director for Accessibility Excellence. Whether you’re a technology expert or just trying to make sense of it all, Access On has something for you. It taps into extensive networks in the tech sector, of NFB’s Center for Excellence in Nonvisual Accessibility, and the experiences of listeners to bring technology news, reviews, and interviews. Subscribe and listen on your podcast client.
Blind Help Project is a community forum that allows users to connect with a global community of blind and low-vision users who can offer personalized support, comprehensive technical resources, and the opportunity to share knowledge and experiences.
The Facebook group has over eight thousand members. Find resources on everything from advocacy to technology.
AppleVis is the go-to resource for blind, deafblind, and low-vision users of Apple technologies. AppleVis’s mission is to empower people who are blind, deafblind, or who have low vision to get the most from Apple products and services. With an active, engaged user base and a vast, collective understanding of vision accessibility on Apple’s platforms, members of this community support each other in accessing the maximum potential of Apple hardware, software, and services.
National Braille Press has long been committed to providing the blind community with resources on technology. Here are a few of their recent offers, available in downloadable MS Word or in hardcopy Braille:
Microsoft Excel 2025 Keystroke Compendium
Microsoft Word 2025 Keystroke Compendium
iOS Basics for the Beginning User
Online Safety for Blind Computer Users
iOS 18 Reference Card
https://www.aph.org/braille-tales/apply-for-braille-tales
American Printing House for the Blind (APH) partnered with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to offer free Braille books to children under six years old. Braille Tales provides access to books that include both print and Braille. One Spanish/English title is included annually. Books are shipped throughout the United States and to Samoa and Puerto Rico.
APH/Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Audiobooks offers Braille Tales audiobooks using playback equipment available through the National Library Service (NLS).
https://www.cvibooks.com-home
Contact: [email protected]
CVI Book Hook creates materials for students with cortical visual impairment (CVI) or low vision. They offer downloadable PowerPoints of book pages that parents or teachers can customize to meet a child’s unique needs. You can add specific photos and change the background, font size, or color. CVI Book Hook features a titled What’s Your Story? that enables you to create a book about your child or student, including a page that highlights the child’s strengths, hobbies, achievements, and dreams, as well as a page for information about the child’s eye condition. This book is excellent for preparing new teachers or sharing at an IEP meeting. Other books focus on letters, numbers, seasons, calendars, animals, foods, and nursery rhymes. Other books cover concepts such as stop/go, hot/cold, fast/slow, above/below, left/right, and more.
The Laptime and Lullabies course helps parents learn how to make literacy a natural part of their child’s daily life. The course shows families that literacy goes beyond reading to include music, tactile play, and daily interactions. It teaches parents to adapt activities with tactile materials, auditory cues, and hand-under-hand guidance for children who are blind or have low vision. Everyday routines can become extraordinary learning experiences.
https://viewplus.com-product-category-coloring-books
View Plus offers tactile coloring books and crayons labeled in Braille.
64 Ounce Braille is an online store dedicated to providing resources for learning and teaching Braille. Products include games, tools, and 3D models designed to enhance Braille literacy.
Contact: 801-556-6649
[email protected]
Unicorn Design offers a variety of accessible games and accessories. Products include magnetic backgammon, Braille dice in Nemeth Code, Braille-o-Grams, and Gem Quest Game.
https://www.youthviewresearch.org
Contact: Dannielle Schutz: 806-834-5316
[email protected]
Children who are blind or visually impaired experience high rates of physical and mental health disorders, which may be driven by ablism. Ablism harms people with disabilities by excluding them from full participation in society, but the specific impact of ablism on the physical and mental health of blind and low-vision children has not been examined. This virtual study conducted across the United States seeks to identify the role of ablism in driving physical and mental health inequities to reveal how ablism gets under the skin and results in poor health outcomes for these vulnerable children. Total time for each participant will be about 3-4 hours. During the testing session, participants will complete a variety of self-report survey instruments, psychological tests of intellectual ability/academic skills/cognitive functions, and clinical interviews related to mental health symptoms. Caregivers and youth will complete self-report and interview measures simultaneously with two members of the research team. Each participant will be awarded $150 in gift cards.
The NFB is gathering information regarding the accessibility of educational technology used in our nation’s schools (kindergarten through graduate level). If you are a student, parent, teacher, or administrator who uses screen access software or other accommodations to participate nonvisually in educational programs or services, or if you are the parent, teacher, or administrator of someone who does, please complete the Education Technology Survey once a semester and contribute to this important research.