Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired

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As a young boy growing up in India, I walked away from my first computer class convinced that I could never put the technology to good use.  My eyes were already beginning to fail me, the result of a degenerative eye disease. The visual impairment made it difficult for me to conceptualize the computing concepts the teacher described.

Over time, with the use of screen-reading technology, I learned ways to unlock the power of computers and smart phones. This opened up the world for me. For the first time, I could think about competing with my peers.

Soon after, I came over to the United States for advanced education in Information Systems. First a Masters, and then a PhD made me the first ever blind man to earn a doctorate in this field. As a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, I researched ways to make the internet more blind-friendly. Research institutions and organizations serving the blind from across the globe including the Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired partnered with me in this endeavor and more.

My research has placed me in a unique position -- a liaison between the 50 million blind people around the world and researchers interested in Internet accessibility and usability. I leverage this position to educate the world about the unique needs and strengths of blind people.  I strive to change people's perception about the blind from one of a receiver of help to that of an untapped pool of special talents. Currently, blind people are second-class citizens when it comes to Internet accessibility and usability. Because the internet is sight-centered by design, blind people constantly face barriers in completing tasks a sighted person would consider routine -- sending an email or chatting with Facebook friends.

To combat this problem, my research, “The Mind of the Blind on the Web,” focuses on understanding the problems blind people face in today’s internet society, and removing obstacles by creating better interfaces and more effective user training.

At present, I am a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where I continue to work towards empowering the blind in the information society. I lead a team of researchers to establish a research center dedicated to this cause. My responsibilities at UWM also include teaching Information Science & Technology courses.  I believe blindness is an inconvenience that can be reduced if we design the environment for non-visual interaction. Doing so benefits the entire society that can leverage the unique intellectual and technical skills of blind citizens for progress.

Since 2004, the Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired through its social worker, John McElheron, has been a part of my journey.  John has helped me with my professional development while I was a student at Central Michigan University. As an advisory board member, John has been part of my research projects on empowerment of blind citizens in the information society.  John and I have worked together mentoring and helping some individuals with blindness on their career development.  Currently, we are in discussions on how to help the students at a blind school in my native place in India. In addition to these work-related interactions, we have become friends visiting each other multiple times over the years simply to socialize. 

One teen learns an unexpected lesson.

By Emily Volpert                             

I volunteered at a camp in Michigan for young people who were 14 to 20 years old – Summer in the City. They never complained. They didn’t have any gripes. They didn’t stress out about their social scene. The campers were blind or visually impaired.

I got this opportunity because my aunt works at this camp that is set up to teach skills of independence to teenagers with vision restrictions. I had no idea what to expect. Being so used to hanging out with people who have vision, my biggest fear was saying something offensive, like “Did you see that?” or “Look at that color.”

I braced myself to spend my time at the camp walking on eggshells, but when I got there the first day; I met a girl who wanted to talk about her love for pop singer, Nicki Minaj. A bunch of kids talked about the Summer Olympics. The campers were so similar to people I know from Grant High School.  The only difference was their diminished eyesight.

The idea was to make everyday life activities easier for the students. Tasks that a person with vision would consider completely mechanical can be surprisingly difficult for people who can’t see -- like counting money, crossing the street, cutting food, opening a package of cookies, or even preheating an oven.

I learned more about the struggles these students go through every day. Everyone has pretended to be blind at one point or another, covering their eyes for a couple of seconds or trying to perform a task without looking. At the camp, I saw the reality of a visual impairment, and it’s a lot more difficult than I imagined.

Being blind, the kids don’t judge you on what you look like. To them, it doesn’t matter what you are wearing, how big or small you are, what color your skin is or anything else related to your appearance. Their opinions of you are based completely on your personality and how you treat other people. Shouldn’t that be the way we interact with everyone?

One of the days of the camp featured dancing. When the music came on, we moved our bodies however we wanted. At the end of the day, I found myself running around the room flailing my arms with colorful scarves in my hand. Nobody cared whether I was good or not. We were all there dancing together. And that’s all that mattered.

What helped you to cope with your vision loss? What advice do you have for others? These questions spurred useful responses of encouragement and practical advice from scores of our clients who volunteered to participate in a recent formal study.

Author-educator, Kaye Olson, analyzed the responses and found that "hope is essential to those with vision loss." Acceptance and outreach to others were seen as key in making a positive adjustment. Those who readily sought out special equipment, teaching and support groups were more successful in maintaining independence and peace of mind.

We invite you to read the responses of study participants. Files are in pdf format.

Download Adobe Reader

Click here to read a description of the survey.

Click here to read a summary of the questions.

Click here to read Appendix D.

Click here to read Appendix E.