Links

This page has links to places where you can get help, information and software.

A Forgotten Group of People.

Perhaps there may be just one or two people with learning difficulties and little or no sight in your Centre, your town or your school.

It is reasonable to expect that most people with learning difficulties, with support, should be able to:

People with learning difficulties and little or no sight are a minority within a minority but they still have the same needs.

My experience of people with learning disabilities as well as little or no sight leaves me to strongly believe that this niche client group is well left behind and far from achieving the above.

So we have created some rewarding software that begins to include our group and I undertook a desk research program to find out what, if anything was already available.

I found lots of programs which cost lots of money to produce. But little that could be used by me - a person who can't visually read what is on a computer screen. So here are a few leads:

AbilityNet.
Masses of useful information and practical support.
Another Lens.
This program allows users to get a magnified view of the content underneath their mouse pointer.
Audio Network UK.
You hear speech and music as soon as you bring up the website: "Welcome to the Audio Network, the website designed for the blind and visually impaired".
Once in this site, blind and partially sighted people do not need to rely on their screen reader or any other adaptive technology to enjoy the above kind of content. content. Neither are there complicated keystrokes to deal with. Navigation is all done by pressing numbers from 1 2 3 4 to 0.
So, a standard computer is needed with speakers, of course. The user will need to be able to press the number keys and want to hear some, not all, of the following list: The Games Room, Poetry Online, Radio Stations, Gutenberg Audio Books, Classic Movies, Magazines Online, Sports Section, Story Time, and Online Store.
Black Window.
This program enhances the visibility of certain functions while removing the distraction of all other programs you are not using by creating a black window.
Biggy.
Helps computer users by allowing them to create cursors that are extra large in any program they are using.
Birmingham Focus on Blindness.
A search of this website brought up 25 relevant entries and the charity runs specialist services for the client group.
Blatchington Court Trust
This charity meets the needs of visually impaired young people and children in e-sussex. No specific mention is made of those with learning disabilities but a good deal of help and support is available.
Bookshare.
This organization provides free access to students with disabilities. They have a large collection of books that can be downloaded and read with voice software or printed in braille and mailed to your home.
British Computer Society Disability Group.
BCS Disability Group focuses on the role of IT in giving disabled people a better quality of life.
Aims include: encouraging the computer industry to consider the needs of disabled people at the design stage; identifying and correcting shortfalls in the provision of equipment; offering a forum to stimulate new IT developments in this field.
The Group contributes to Ability Magazine, organises meetings, road shows and conferences. There is masses of knowledge here and a good voluntary spirit, IT CAN HELP.
Cobshell Plus.
Create an alternative interface for your computer using CobShell Plus. It creates 6 large buttons that cover the whole screen which are fully customizable and can be linked to commonly used programs.
Eyeless Trust.
This small charity provides family support where there is a blind child having additional disabilities.
Guide Software.
Although £400, this excellent software is great for those on the way to literacy and listening to music and radio stations. Everything is spoken and magnifiable and the keystroke routine is very straightforward and predictable.
Hot Potatoes.
This software needs a teacher with more than entry level software knowledge to set it up for pupils. It comprises includes six applications, enabling you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and gap-fill exercises for the World Wide Web. Hot Potatoes is not freeware, but it is free of charge for those working for publicly-funded non-profit-making educational institutions, who make their pages available on the web. Other users must pay for a licence.
I.T. Zooms.
A free magnifier which you download every time you start up your computer. Fully featured version of the Sensory Lightning magnification software.
Large Cursors and Pointers - The Ace Centre.
Large Pointers and Big Cursors are often a great challenge for people with limited vision, who just can't spot the mouse pointer.
Learning Disability Website for Professionals.
Is a good start but makes no mention of our client group.
LibriVox.
Get free audio books from the public domain in this great online collection. Real human beings reading like my mum used to read to me.
Listen Again Radio from the BBC.
Part of the WebbIE Text Browser Suite. This wonderful resource allows people to listen to their chosen recent radio or TV program when they want to. It is easy to pick out suitable listening for the individual whether music, comedy or children's etc. This is part of the WebbIE Text Browser Suite as a download from the WebbIE website.
Magnifiers (Electronic) - Bierley.
Sometimes known as Closed Circuit Televisions, such equipment magnifies print, pictures or anything placed under the camera so it can be seen on screen beautifully focused. We have partnered up with Bierley to provide the most economic but suitable electronic magnifiers for those on the way to literacy.
My Blind Site.
Masses of information re audio books, etc and some suggestions very useful to this client group. Run by knowledgeable visually impaired people. Excellent.
Non-Visual Desktop Access
NVDA is an open source screen reader that allows those with visual impairment to enjoy the information and educational possibilities of the Web. It is a rival to Thunder and there are interesting developments.
RFD&B.
Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic provides a large number of resources in alternative format materials to those with learning disabilities or visual impairments.
Royal Blind Society UK.
Apply for grants to assist with purchase of IT solutions for home use. Also great on the provision of specialist holidays.
Speak On.
This free program allows users to get audio output of the Web, an Internet radio, a book reader and access to online talking newspapers. It is for totally blind people and there are no on screen visuals.
Spoken Web.
Minimal keystrokes and everything just speaks. News, magazines, sport and science etc. For the more literate.
TextAloud.
Here you will find a fully featured text to voice program that allows users to read text from a variety of sources and even to convert it to mp3 format. it has additional features that can let you get weather, stocks and news read aloud as well. you can purchase alternative synthetic voices for the computer also available.
Thunder Talking Software.
A free talking screenreader works behind the Heather Suite of programs. Makes everything talk for those who can't see. Useful accessories for visually impaired computer users are available from www.screenreader.biz.
UCanDoIt - I.T. Training in the Home.
Free or low cost tuition at home for disabled people. A fund of knowledge and excellent volunteering spirit.
WebbIE - Easy to Use Web Text Browser.
Converts web s pages into easy to read or hear text. Option to enlarge fonts or magnify pictures. Works well with the Thunder talking screenreader software.
Youtube Easy to Use Video Player.
An excellent way to enjoy YouTube. The Player is easy to see and totally accessible via the TAB Key. Developed with great attention to learning disability user need. Masses of fun and learning.

Things move very quickly on the web and we apologise if some item has changed or even been removed since we carried out this research October 2008.