Computing for Near-Blind Children?

mjpaci asks: "One of my co-workers has a son, age 12, who is visually impaired among other problems. He is smart, charismatic, and funny--an all around good kid. Due to complications during his mother's pregnancy, he is near-blind. His father is a saint and spends many hours each night helping his child with homework. The problem is that the child is now taking Social Studies in junior high and has great trouble with geography as he cannot read the maps in the book even with his 'overhead visualizer.' Can Slashdot help me help this child?"

"One of my clients has donated 21" monitors to him in the past and they have helped. The real rub is, even with the large monitors, the child cannot read maps when zoomed-in on. The father has looked to the end of the earth for good, hi-res maps that can be magnified without great pixelization. Are there any good sources out there for hi-res maps for educational purposes or a software package that could help? Questions like: Find the largest city on the Mississippi River and what is the Capitol of the South American country to the west of Surinam are hard for the child as his view of the map is very constrained."

Maybe Garmin's Mapsource stuff?

[kentmartin]

I use Garmin's Mapsource [garmin.com] quite a bit which, whilst not being the prettiest, turns detail off as you zoom out and adds it as you zoom in, which sounds like it could be helpful.

It isn't cheap, but, I am sure if you contacted their PR department and explained what you wanted to do with it, they would have a hard time coming off as anything other than heartless and moneygrabbing should you they refuse to give you a gratis/cheap copy.

The North American web demo [garmin.com] of their maps (link near the top right) does similar and may even do the trick, and, is free to use.

As for large screen helping, a cheap projector and a dark room would be a better logical alternative than a big screen it would seem to me, but then again, I hardly know whereof I speak.

Alternative media for alternative learning

[captnitro]

I feel for your coworker's predicament. My mother and brother have had a total of about fifteen surgeries between them to correct vision problems mostly stemming from retinas that have a tendency to detach, and complicatons thereof. The condition has many of the symptoms of a connective tissue disorder called Stichler-Sachs, but not all. In many cases, it boils down to a combination of the aforementioned, and a nearsightedness that puts a strain on the eye from its length. I got away with one surgery twenty years ago, while my mom and brother have basic vision of shapes and/or colors (with no semblance of stability in sight).

Regardless, I've been through much of this before. First off, make sure his school is accomodating with a IEP (individualized education program)/504 setup. There are many things you can do, but without help from the school, it's won't help. Many accomodations can be made "behind the scenes" and without making the child self-conscious. There are some things that the child can't totally hide, and in this case a sense of humor is particularly helpful.

Many times, the school can obtain (at the school's expense) extra-large versions of books, graphics, diagrams and the like. I know when I was a kid, we had a few raised (molded) topographical maps (? somebody help me out, I can't think of what the right description is) sitting around. I know they also have globes, but they may not be as "high-resolution" if he's studying, say, state geography. They're also not that difficult to make, which can be a family project. The point is to cover all the bases by connecting knowledge with touch and what little sight he may have: think teaching art via texture and collage and sculpture as opposed to traditional "visibles".

In this case, geography may require a rewritten or oral test for the child. Since he had to learn it differently, it may have to be tested differently. YMMV based on what the parents and educator think is best.

Many different ideas can fun or degrading, depending on how severe the disability is; that's true of many accomodations, so it's important to be sensitive to the child's attitude, especially at this age, and moreso in a few years.

Whatever your suggestion and the parents' decision, it won't be a quick fix; this is a long road. I know from experience, however, that with a lot of support, it's definitely doable. I wish you the best of luck. (I will gladly answer questions if you e-mail or reply to this post.)

Braile Monitor Relif Maps

[Marxist Hacker 42]

Seems to me that would be the ultimate solution. If you're not familiar with the device, a braile monitor uses steel pins at different heights on a flat, horizontal field to represent colors in a computer graphic. It seems to me that would be the solution required here- but I'm not sure where to get one (as I'm not blind myself) nor have I seen one in several years. You might check out a few schools for the blind and see if this technology is still available.

There are map suites with good zoom

[royli57]

I got Microsoft streets and trips for use with my GPS device. The nice thing about these maps is that they are meant to be used down to the street level and even let you select every available address in America.

Within the US, you can view the entire nation and zoom in as much as you need. Imagine how PDF files work - the information is stored in database and is not pixelated by maginifcation. This would help for any US maps.

For international, the same suite (Streets and trips 2004) works on the city level, but only has major streets. You would have to find the speicific maps you are looking for.

Re:What makes Slashdot great

[flewp]

Finally, a last resort would be Adobe Photoshop. You can take any map or image and simply resize the image with a much higher resolution (say take a map from 72dpi to 600 or 1200 dpi). If there is enough information in the original image to interpret, this might be a good solution to allowing one to zoom in images and maps for ease of interpretation.

Changing the DPI doesn't really make the image any more high resolution. You'll still end up with pixelation. It works better than simply blowing up an image by zooming in, but it's not going to allow you to actually blow the image up flawlessly.

raytech marine navagator

[donald954]

the RNS marine mapping system includes a vector based mapping system that zooms to any level, can be blown up, ect. www.raytech.com I use this on my boat :).

Re:There are map suites with good zoom

[gnuman99]

The nice thing about these maps is that they are meant to be used down to the street level and even let you select every available address in America.

Geography is not about street maps. It uses topographical maps. Street maps are vector maps while topographical maps are raster, *always*. This has to do with the nature of the measurements.

You can get topographical maps down to 30m resolusion though (NASA shuttle radar project a few years ago, now at USGS here [usgs.gov]

Re:What makes Slashdot great

[Fancia]

According to a visually-impaired friend of mine who is testing the new OS X accessibility tools, they're not up to par with the solutions available for Windows a the moment.

tactile graphics

[n-boy]

The first thing I thought of when reading your question was "tactile graphics". In my experience, it's the best way to convey spatial distances when one can't see the distances. A tactile graphic is, for example, a map with details raised, effectively making it so that the individual can "feel" the distance and relation of different features. The drawback is that these graphics are expensive *and* tend to be very large (it's difficult to feel the separation of two tiny lines when they're close together). A quick google will find you plenty of information on companies that make these products. (I happen to work for a company that makes tactile gfx, in addition to other low vision/blind products, but no plug for them today)

Re:What makes Slashdot great

[BWJones]

What you're referring to is interpolation, which is different.

Mathematically, yes. I agree. However, perform this experiment: run an edge detector filter on a 256 X 256 pixel image and then run the same filter on a 1200 X 1200 image. The image interpolation will make for a much more interpretable image on the higher resolution image because of running the edge detector filter.

You said it yourself "as it is usually just a change of color contrast to trick the brain into thinking it sees more sharply. It's quite effective actually, as you do tend to see better edges,". The issue here is representing the information so that it can be interpreted and not trying to extract more information than is actually present.

BBC

[Kurt Russell]

I read this [bbc.co.uk] fascinating article some time ago. With the way the way things are headed the kid might have 20-20 vision soon ;-) I'm sure there are all sorts of neural type implant projects for vision impaired people, so the future looks bright.

Some MS Windows tips

[marcomarrero]

Windows XP has an Accessibility menu with Magnifier and Narrator. Most map software use vector graphics, so zooming in doesn't degrade the image. Speech to text software could be nice if the keyboard is too cumbersome to use.

I would recommend installing two or more monitors which can be configured (since Win98) as one big desktop. Or maybe plugging the PC to a large TV with svideo or better. Most video cards also have custom brightness/contrast settings. XP's "built-in" ultra-plain generic drivers doesn't allow that, be sure to download new drivers.

Also, it's important to know about government and private institutions benefits for handicapped persons - especially for education and training.

Tried OS X?

[v1]

Macs have always had good support for users with visual and physical disabilities. In OS X, go to System Preferences - Universal Access. The visual enhancements availabe there can switch the display to black-and-white, greyscale, enhance contrast, and can magnify the display greatly for people with low vision. Zoom can be set from 2x to 20x. On my powerbook, 20x zoom makes the mouse pointer almost 3" long, which should be plenty enough for anyone that's not completely blind.

These enhancements are part of the base OS, there is no additional software to buy.

GMT Software

[chris_sawtell]

Generic Mapping Tools [hawaii.edu]

"These are an open source collection of ~60 tools for manipulating geographic and Cartesian data sets (including filtering, trend fitting, gridding, projecting, etc.) and producing Encapsulated PostScript File (EPS) illustrations ranging from simple x-y plots through contour maps to artificially illuminated surfaces and 3-D perspective views. GMT supports ~30 map projections and transformations and comes with support data such as coastlines, rivers, and political boundaries."

The data set is available on CD from The Geoware Online Store [geoware-online.com] or alternatively from various ftp archives. I have not got the various the url's to hand but the data is freely available from US institutions. ( several hundred megabyte download )

Create suitable images according to the need of the moment using the GMT software and project them onto a horizontal board. Us the projected image as a guide to making plaster reliefs. Great educational fun for folks of all ages who want to learn that there is a real World out there which is more than just target co-ordinates.

Tactile Maps

[Egonis]

I worked at the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) for some time...

A very valuable tool for youth (typically provided by the educational institution) is to create tactile maps, in which thin strips of foam are used to represent maps which can produce:

- Directions in a Neighbourhood
- Basic City Plans
- Geographical Maps

Basically, you take a piece of hard construction paper, and glue strips and curves of thin foam to it, and name each section with braille.

For further information, reply and I am willing to assist.

Blind + Linux = BLINUX

[Anonymous Coward]

Blind + Linux = BLINUX [leb.net]. This is the best solution in the long run and it doesn't cost anything, unlike solutions from Microsoft and other proprietary software. I wish you the best luck. The command-line interface is ideal for blind users.

Emacspeak is a speech interface that allows blind and visually impaired users to interact independently and efficiently with the computer. Available free of cost on the Internet, Emacspeak has dramatically changed how the author and hundreds of blind and visually impaired users around the world interact with the personal computer and the Internet.

In my humble opinion Emacspeak is the most advanced voice enabled user interface currently available. If I wouldn't have seen a trained Emacspeak user reading his email faster that I ever could I never would have believed it. Did you ever see a person which is blind playing Tetris amazingly fast? It sounds incredible. Emacspeak makes it possible.

I won't tell you that you don't need some training until you are at home with Emacspeak. But if you are willing to invest some efforst, chances are good that you will be able to handle your computer faster than many sighted users.

When reading, writing, designing, or programming, the totally blind individual is inevitably restricted to a one dimensional world, be it speech or braille. This linear stream may take the form of a single-line display on a braille output device, or the words spoken by a speech synthesizer. There are brief moments when the blind user can enjoy the benefits of a 2-dimensional presentation. If he has a braille printer he might print out a chart or spread sheet and explore it with both hands. Indeed, when I studied mathematics at U.C. Berkeley I often had to write the equation, or set of related equations down in braille, and review it as a whole, before I understood it. However, one rarely has the time to construct such a two-dimensional tactile representation, similar to the screen or the printed page. As a general rule we must admit that the blind user is stuck in one dimension.

Unfortunately, almost all modern applications present information in a two-dimensional format, and most employ graphical icons that have no meaning for the blind. Since it is impractical to rewrite all these applications, the blind community has been forced to perform a rather awkward retrofit, using various adapters. We should recognize that this is not the ideal solution. Pasting a screen reader on top of Netscape makes it accessible, but the result is hardly efficient.

Over the past decade a small minority of blind users have discovered Linux, a free, text-based operating system for the home computer. Linux applications rarely employ graphics, and most of them are already linear, just like the mode (speech or braille) that is our Karma. All other things being equal, Linux is the best operating system for a blind user.

Of course things aren't always equal. If your job requires the use of a proprietary order entry system that only runs on Windows, then you'll be using Windows, with an adapter that tries to make the application somewhat accessible. But this scenario is actually quite rare. An employer may insist on a Microsoft Word document, but that doesn't force you to use Windows. You can write html code on Linux and mail it to your boss, who can then import it into Word. Conversely, your co-workers can easily export their Word documents into html for your benefit. There are very few reasons why you must use Windows. Let's assume you are considering Linux, where the applications are less graphical. That's a fair assumption, since you're already visiting this web site.

If you watch a sighted Linux user for an hour, you will notice that he spends most of his time in screen applications. He doesn't need the labyrinth of "helpful" menus and drop down boxes that Windows is famous for, and he has no patience for the "are you sure you want to do that" and "click ok if you really want to quit" dialog boxes, and he

Also been there, here

[mblase]

My stepdaughter is in a similar predicament as the poster. Her vision isn't as bad as "near-blind", but one eye is near-blind and the other is severely nearsighted.

My wife has always been her primary advocate in school, but we've done much of what the parent poster has done: get an IEP (even though she's at a private school which isn't required to follow an IEP, they do so), and use it to get enlarged books (they're free) and worksheets, and special consideration for homework (she's only required to do half as many math problems, for instance) and tests (her time limits are always extended).

She's tried electronic devices to enlarge her books and papers, but since she had to wheel it from classroom to classroom it was both unwieldy and very obvious -- not a good thing for a peer-conscious preteen. So yes, they have those devices and they work, but they're not as good as simply enlarging the books and papers. (I look forward to the day when all the textbooks come on an electronic tablet which can simply enlarge the font and/or invert the black and white as needed.)

Telling your child to have a sense of humor about such a situation is easier said than done; I'm sure we all remember how cruel kids of any age can be. The better thing to do is, as a parent, be understanding, comfortable, and above all be a strong advocate for his/her needs. Don't expect your child to speak up when he/she needs special assistance, because that may not be in his/her nature. But do ask him/her about any problems in the classroom and go to the teachers, or principal if necessary, yourself to correct it.

Helpful resources

[Kartik3]

Helping people is, I think, one of the best uses of the slashdot community. That being said...
Here are some (hopefully) helpful resources:

American Printing House for the Blind [nyud.net]:
They're a great resource of learning materials for the blind. (You should try and see if the school can (or maybe should) pay for these materials)

APH geography learning materials [nyud.net]

Royal National Institute for the Blind (UK) [nyud.net]
The RNIB looks like a good resource and charity in the UK for the blind as well.

This article in the 4th issue of their Curriculum Close-Up magazine dealing with learning geography for the blind might help as well.
Article [nyud.net]

I hope this helps and I wish you and them the best of luck!

Re:Alternative media for alternative learning

[shoesaphone]

The American Printing House for the Blind, http://www.aph.org/ [aph.org], is a great resource for "adapted educational" products. And not just in Braille but also large-print, audio, tactile, software, etc. Their online catalog includes products to recommend to your school.

I'm not affiliated with them, but I do have dear friends that work there. APH is a non-profit (so they're not in it for the money).

Re:What makes Slashdot great

[RatPh!nk]

Just to clarify: I am not sure if you are asking for screen reader software or not as part of the solution? If so, there are a number of alternatives for Windows (fairly pricey), but the next version of OS X will have a built in screen reader solution! combined with other visual aids that will help the blind and near blind use their computer systems without having to invest in another solution.

Along those lines, I think it would be a good idea to check out Apple's Accessibility Page. [apple.com] It does a fairly good job with the technologies that are currently in OS X and gives information on OS X's compliance with Section 508 of the Workforce Investment Act Of 1998 or Rehabilitation Act. (IIRC)

Apple also does a good job linking to third party software from that page. I think it would be definitely worth a look, good luck and let us know how it turns out!

CIA World Factbook Maps

[alexburke]

The CIA World Factbook has some EXCELLENT reference maps [cia.gov], available in 100% vector PDF (meaning they can be infinitely scaled without any pixellation).

A Different Kind of Help

[mlmitton]

I can't help with your specific question. However, there was a REALLY good cover story a few weeks ago in the New York Times Magazine on a child with cerebral palsy being integrated in the classroom. It describes an effort to truly integrate children with disabilities as though they were any other student. It may very well provide some answers or ideas that your friend might have, outside of your specific request. As it happens, just today I scanned this article in (6 MB), (I have two nephews with cerebral palsy) and would be happy to email it on to you or your friend. Email me at AT yahoo dot com and I'll send it on. (It's a secondary email for me, so the reply might be slow, but I will reply.)

ReadPlease

[Lahjik]

I am a technology coordinator for a special education service agency and so have some experience with assistive technology. Step one is find a local assistive technology (AT) library in your region so you can borrow and try different devices and/or software mentioned here. Most states have these libraries located in various regions. Next, I suggest trying some free software. If you search, I am sure you can find a freeware screen magnifier (I know I have used one with students before). Another suggestion is to modify the normal.dot template in Word or create a Word Template as a shortcut on the desktop (with large icons of course) to a special use template. Use contrasting background/text colors and a large size font. The best color combination depends on the user, but a classic is blue/black background and yellow text. If you are looking at screen readers or other text to speech, I suggest first downloading ReadPlease. This is a freeware reader with a pay version and a pay IE addin available. The website is http://www.readplease.com For the free version, you can copy and paste in text and have it read aloud. Not great, but a good place to start. For a much more expensive investment, though probably worth it if reading is a probblem, is Kurzweil 3000. This program is simply amazing. You use it with a scanner: it can scan in any printed text and then parse out the text to read it aloud. You can zoom in to increase size of images and text. A trial is available on the website at http://www.kurzweil.com Again, your best bet is to work within your school system to access an AT library or find other solutions. If the child is receiving services as an exceptional child (special needs) then Medicare may cover expense of some devices.

LCD or DLP Projector: Small and Cheap or Borrow 1

[liquidzero4]

My suggestion would be to aquire a small LCD or DLP projector. You could use this to project an image of almost any size. It's very easy to take a map and project it onto a wall as a 9ft by 9ft image. These projectors have shrunk considerably over the years some are smaller than a shoe box.

Local Library: These projectors have dropped considerably and you could probably pick one up used for a few hundred dollars.

Most local libraries have these projectors for either guest speakers or to show movies. It is very possible that someone might actually let you borrow one for a few weeks.

Hope this helps.

Vision impaired child and education law.

[Kiliani]

Two suggestions:

At work we use a digital projection system to project paper documents (in fact anything which is not a transparecy/viewgraph) onto our projection screen in the conference room. With good optics you can zoom in quite a bit (we once blew up a nickel to 6 feet across on the screen) - this would work well for good paper maps or any other document you would want to enlarge and/or zoom in. The size of the wall you project onto is your limit - and your wallet, since you also need a good projector.

This is where the school district may come in. The parents may be able to get them to buy equipment like that - especially since it could be used for general classromoom instruction as well. I realize, this would not help at home ...

Another comment pointed out the child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP), where this would have to be dealt with. A word of caution: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) gives parents of disabled children a valuable tool for working towards a decent public education for their children. However, to get adequate education for your child, you need to become an advocate for that child. That means you need to know the law (including case law up to the Supreme Court, if you are unlucky) and the technical/medical possibilities and ramifications better than any representative of the school district you will face. Remember, you want the school district to provide a service for which they have to pay extra (equipment, personnel, transportation, etc.), and they will want to make it the least expensive for them. You think I exaggerate? My own child is severely hearing impaired, and I will have to sue the school district in order to get adequate service. What was offered us so far is so woefully adequate that I would call this neglect, at best. We live in a huge (read: resource-rich) district, so this could far and take long. Fortunately, your mileage *will* vary greatly. But dealing with IEP's/ ARD's and all the "fun" issues surrounding special education for your child does take a *lot* of work and energy - at a time when you want - and should - devote your time to raising, helping and educating your child.

Parents schould educate themselves well, if they have to take this journey. Start with Wrightslaw, a really excellent resource (www.wrightslaw.com).

Best of luck, I know what it's like!

Re:Braile Monitor Relif Maps

[sn0wflake]

Googling provided this [sforh.com]. The device is rather pricey though.

Re:LCD or DLP Projector: Small and Cheap or Borrow

[brxndxn]

I would mod parent up, but I don't currently have mod points. However, it is the same suggestion I would suggest.

For a family with a near-blind kid, a $1000-2000 projector should be in the budget. (Cheaper than most medical procedures.) It might allow the poor kid to even do other things like explore the Internet. Some projectors are extremely bright and have a very high contrast ratio - very useful for trying to make things easier to see.

The nasa software world wind

[Tragek]

Is a wonderful option for learning geography. Much better than nearly anything else!

BookShare.org

[IanDanforth]

Check it out. Free books for the blind (or otherwise handicapped). Its copyright at its best.

-Ian

Bookshare.org [bookshare.org]

here they can help this child

[der_devilus]

Don't make efforts solely to improve the child's environment. You must also help improve his sight, which is possible in spite of what top-notch doctors already told him.

I also had/have problems with sight but I managed to make significant improvements(still working). The contacts I am offering you below, are NOT advertising, but my effort to make this child happy. The contacts are here:


Norbekov Institute
113 McHenry Rd. #242
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089,
USA

1-86-NORBEKOV
1-866-672-3568
info@norbekovusa. com


You will try to look at the site first, but that one is very lame. :( Contact those guys directly and make yor opinion later.

I hope this will be of help to the child.

Alex

PS: I know many of you(with mod points) will consider this post off-topic and unworthy, and will give a corresponding score. But I bet you don't have kids at home having the same problems.

Try National Geographic...

[killpog]

I know, they're old and a wee bit commercial, but they've always been slanted towards education... If they haven't considered your particular problem yet, they should... I've already dropped 'em a line - and included a tack on the hearing impaired (my child) as well, and found their response prompt and useful.

Re:Braile Monitor Relif Maps

[poppycat]

http://www.performancesystems.com/news6.htm