High-tech vision

If you are experiencing any of a wide range of types of vision impairments, chances are there is a technology available today that can help you.

The Canadian National Institute for the Blind, which leads education and research in vision impairment and health in Canada, has been touring Newfoundland featuring demonstrations of new assistive technology that is available.

In Grand Falls -Windsor at the College of the North Atlantic on Friday, Specialist in Assistive Technology Jason Rose demonstrated a piece of equipment that can read typed information aloud from any magazine, letter or book without the use of a computer. After placing an open magazine with chosen article face down on the base of the overhead-like machine, a sultry, if slightly mechanical, woman's voice reads aloud from it: "Top of text ...News..and...trends... Canada's budget officer predicts 2009 job losses...Ottawa sheds far more jobs in 2009 than the government predicted in its... late January budget...says...Canada's... independent parliamentary budget... officer."

"If you take your hand over the magazine on the EyePal Solo from left to right it will stop talking, said Mr. Rose. "If you wave left to right over it again it will start again. If you missed something you can go from right to left and it will go back in the text. It also tells you where you are on the page." Mr. Rose said the equipment which is in a category of technology advances called "humanware" is designed for people looking for ways to assist their vision who may be a little intimidated by technology that requires computer use or knowledge. "This is very easy to use," he said. "It doesn't require any computer-related experience. You just wave your hand over the base of it. You could use it for instance to read your mail."

Sheila Matchem, the Canadian Paraplegic Association's career and employment disability case manager, said she has seen first hand the great potential for these new technologies in helping her clients. "A client of mine just recently started school and we went through the CNIB to get the adaptive technology he needed," she said. "His plan now is to do some post secondary courses in computer. He got a Jordy and Zoomtext, a digital recorder, there were several pieces of equipment that we got through CNIB, after we had assessments done. Someone came out from St. John's and one from Corner Brook and they did some assessing to make sure he was getting the proper equipment and it was wonderful."

Most of the equipment demonstrated has a high price tag attached however. The cheapest assistive item demonstrated by the CNIB is a Microsoft Optical Mouse which enables a person to magnify the screen of the computer they are using in real-time and make viewing and editing hard to see text or pictures easier to see. It sells for under $50 in most computer outlets. The Jordy, a system that can be worn like pair of glasses, can magnify video and see objects at a distance close-up and at any range costs about $4,500. The most costly assistive technology tool would be the My Reader Closed Circuit TV, which can capture an image from a printed page and rearrange the words into columns or one long line of text. The Eye-Pal Solo costs about $2,500.

Duane Morgan, CNIB's specialist in career and employment services said there is a currently an employment program partnership between CNIB and HRLE that will in some cases fund these types of equipment for people requiring it for their work. He said the CNIB is making an effort to gain more assistance from government in funding for people with vision impairment in Newfoundland. "In Ontario you can apply to the government at any time whether you are working or at school or want it for home use, you can apply to an assistive technology program, but we don't have one here in the province, he said. "But CNIB has a vision health strategy committee put together now and we're pushing the government for more access to supports. It's in the very early stages but we've got our head committee formed and we've got it broken down into three subcommittees that are going to be looking at different areas of accessibility for services."

Until that time, Mr. Morgan said in some cases they can help people find the best prices available from vendors selling the assistive technology equipment. If you would like more information on assistive technology available in Newfoundland you can contact the CNIB Assistive Technology Specialist Jason Rose at (709) 754-1180 ext. 219 or the Central Region's Assistive Technology Assessment Co-ordinator Dinah Durnford at (709) 639-9167. For general assistance regarding vision impairment and health, contact Shirley Dawe at (709) 489-6515 or visit the CNIB office at 1A O'Neill Avenue in Grand Falls - Windsor.