Tag: Blindess

AUDIOBOOK: Girl, Stolen

Image result for girl, stolen cover
Pictured: Book cover showing a girl with her hands held up covering her face so that she cannot see.

By April Henry

A 16-year-old blind girl sick with fever, cough, and misery of pneumonia, lies curled up in the back seat of her stepmom’s car in a mall parking lot. Her stepmom Danielle has dashed into the mall to pick up new prescriptions to fight the pneumonia. The car keys dangle in the ignition, the door is unlocked. It has only been a few minutes at most.

The car door opens and soon the car is moving quickly out of the parking lot. Cheyenne Wilder, huddled in the back seat, realizes it is not Danielle at the wheel.

Kidnapped! That was not Griffin’s plan. His mission was to steal packages from vehicles in a busy parking lot. Spotting the key in the ignition changed his plan.

Cheyenne’s harrowing adventure had begun. Cheyenne is sick, she is blind, and now she is terrified.

Written for young adults and older, this book is carefully crafted and beautifully written. There are no loose ends. It is suspenseful, scary, and packs an emotional wallop. Blind and visually impaired people of all ages will identify with the protagonist while sighted people will gain insight into the challenges of blindness and ancillary acquired skills.

 

 

_______________________________________

Available through BARD and bookshare.

________________________________________

You Must See This

Do you see what I see?  Can you see what you can’t see?  What is it, and how do you know?

Visual impairment is a spectrum.  It is seeing something between all and nothing.

The following video gives first hand information about what some blind and visually impaired people see.

What do you see?

Go back

Your message has been sent

Speak App for Android

This just in . . . A free app for android.

I received a message from a reader, Eyal, about the development of an app for android phones called Speak. Eyal states that this app is different because it is totally free, no purchase required, no subscription required.

I developed an app for Android only. There is currently no version for Apple.

It reads text caught on camera, identifies products by reading barcodes and detects objects and colors. It also reads pdf files and text from images stored on the device, and translates text.

The app is quite similar to Envision AI, if you know it, the main difference and my main incentive was to provide a free app. Envision AI costs 5$ a month, the subscription fee is completely justified since they use cloud services which are not free. I did the best I could with free technology for the benefit of those who cannot afford the cost.

Please take a look (if you have an Android phone) the link is below.

I do not have an android phone, so I cannot look at this app. For those of you who do, check it out. Your opinions are valuable to all of us.

Good luck, Eyal!

Novel Characters

Confessions of a Guide Dog: The Blonde Leading the Blind
       Pictured: Book cover – Confessions of a Guide Dog

 Are you looking for a good book?

The following list of novels features characters who are blind or visually impaired.  All of these books stand out as great reads and are recommended.  This list is a work in progress.  Additional books featuring characters who are blind or visually impaired will added to this list as they become known.  This page can be accessed at any time under the BOOKS tab at the top of this and every page on this blog.

Click on a hyperlink if you are interested in reading my review.

  1. All the Light We cannot See by Anthony Doerr

  2. Blind Curve by Annie Solomon

  3. Blindness by Jose Saramago

  4. Confessions of a Guide Dog by Mark Carlson and Musket

  5. Girl, Stolen by April Henry – young adult

  6. Seeing by Jose Saramago (sequel to Blindness)

  7. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Image result for all the light we cannot see
Pictured:  Book cover      –  All the Light We Cannot See

A

 

Can We Talk?

Do you see what I see?  Can you see what you can’t see?  What is it, and how do you know?

​Assistive devices for vision impairment can be very helpful, and very expensive.  CCTVs, braille writers, magnifiers, and audiobook players cost hundreds, even thousands of dollars, to name just a few things that could help blind and visually impaired people.  Even audiobooks can be beyond our budget.  Too often, even tools that can help us with our daily activities and special needs are not even made available for us to try, or even know about.  And then, can we afford them?  We must rely on word of mouth, and even then the results can be disappointing.  It is not like I see what you see, or that you see what someone else sees.  With vision impairment, we all see (or don’t see) the same things differently.

Talking about different devices can often lead to success.  Even better, there are so many common household items and stationery supplies, and even things we never gave much thought to that provide so much benefit.  Sometimes we just have to think outside the box.

For example, did you know you can cook perfect bacon in the oven instead of a fry pan and avoid all the hot oil spatter?  Did you know a child’s whiteboard can be the perfect tool for your notes and reminders?  Did you know you can easily connect your tablet to your computer screen or TV so you can benefit from greatly enlarged print and images?  Did you know there is an online group that gives away used audiobooks and braille books, magnifiers, and more?

We have a lot to talk about.  So let’s explore together.

Thanks for joining me on this journey.

 

Talk to me.  I would love to hear from you!

Go back

Your message has been sent