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Have you ever wondered where devices or technology for the blind and visually impaired came from? When did people first start reading braille? How were those dots on the page formed?

Talking books are another accessible format besides reading in braille. Who recorded the first talking/audiobook? Or what about computers that speak to you, commonly known as screen reading software?

Where did this technology come from? Who invented it? In honor of National Inventors Month, let’s learn about famous inventions those with vision loss use daily to live more independently.

The invention of braille

Let’s start with one of the most popular and recognizable inventions in the blind community. Created for reading and writing, braille revolutionized the lives of the blind through literacy, education, employment, and independence.

Blind people access braille through a series of tactile dots on paper. Born in France in 1809, Louis Braille lost his vision from an accident as a small child. His family enrolled him in the Royal Institution for Blind Youth in Paris after realizing he could not learn through listening alone.

While there, Braille began crafting a reading and writing system by touch during his teenage years. He continued to perfect the system and, as an adult, became an instructor at the institution.

Unfortunately, Braille’s method was not accepted by the sighted instructors, and he died in 1852, never seeing his creation used by the blind. Eventually, the code was accepted, and today, this system of raised dots is used worldwide.

The braille code consists of letters, numbers, and symbols. It is not another language. The alphabet is based on a cell composed of six or eight dots arranged in two columns of three or four dots each.

Each braille letter of the alphabet or other symbol, such as a comma, is formed using one or more of the dots in the cell. Braille is usually found in a large book format on double-sided paper to maximize space and can be read for math, science, and music.

The invention of the talking book

When Thomas Edison applied for a patent for his Tin-Foil Phonograph in 1877, one of the ten potential uses he listed was “…phonograph books, which will speak to blind people without effort on their part.” It took over 50 years before the phonograph could be used for talking books because of technology and economic challenges. In 1931, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and Library of Congress Books for the Adult Blind Project established the Books for the Blind, a “Talking Books Program” intended to provide reading material for veterans injured during World War I and other visually impaired adults.

Later, Learning Ally and the American Printing House for the Blind produced talking books. The first test recordings in 1932 included a chapter from Helen Keller’s Midstream and Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven.

The organization received congressional approval for exemption from copyright and free postal distribution of talking books. The first recordings made for the Talking Books Program in 1934 included sections of the Bible, the Declaration of Independence, and other patriotic documents, plays, and sonnets by Shakespeare, and fiction by Gladys Hasty Carroll, E. M. Delafield, Cora Jarrett, Rudyard Kipling, John Masefield, and P. G. Wodehouse.

Talking books evolved from the early days of vinyl records. Cassette tapes were used in the 1960s and 1970s, and compact disks emerged in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, talking books can be accessed digitally from a computer or smartphone.

Reading materials now include fiction, nonfiction, magazines, foreign languages, and other selections. Audiobooks have gained universal mass appeal, and sighted and blind people enjoy them.

The invention of the screen reader

In 1986, Jim Thatcher, an IBM researcher and accessibility pioneer, created the IBM Screen Reader for DOS, the first IBM screen reader.

At first, it wasn’t trademarked because it was primarily for low-vision staff members. Since it was created for DOS, a text-based desktop operating system, he later created Screen Reader 2. This would be used for graphical interface PCs like Windows 95 and IBM OS/2.

Freedom Scientific produced JAWS, the world’s most popular screen reader for DOS and Windows. Released in 2006, Nonvisual Desktop Access is a free open-source screen reader for Windows.

Microsoft has a built-in screen reader called Narrator. Orca is a free open-source screen reader for Linux from the GNOME project.

In 2009, Apple announced a new feature called VoiceOver to make its products more accessible to people with visual impairments using the iPhone’s touch interface. Apple began incorporating VoiceOver into the iPhone 3GS.

VoiceOver is now the screen reader built into Apple operating systems, including macOS, iOS/iPadOS, and WatchOS. Google was not far behind with its version, TalkBack for Android devices and ChromeVox for ChromeOS.

These inventions for blind people have transformed the lives of people with vision loss. Reading braille, listening to audiobooks, and using devices with screen reading technology build confidence and enhance independence. Contact Outlook Enrichment to learn more about these devices.

Everyone has a regular housekeeping routine. However, spring cleaning chores, which you do once or twice a year, can be challenging for the visually impaired. The following five spring cleaning tips will help you overcome your challenges and keep your house in tip-top shape for each seasonal change.

Clean and store your winter clothing

The onset of spring brings the need for cooler clothing. Before putting away your winter clothes, pull each item from your closet and check to make sure it still fits. Also, ask a friend or use the Be My Eyes or AIRA apps to help you check for tears in the fabric or stains that need to be removed if you cannot see them.

Keep a cleaning schedule

If you know that you always like to clean specific areas of your house during certain times of the year, such as the spring and summer, for windows, keeping these specific dates on a calendar can help you remember when to clean said areas.

Use a grid pattern for window cleaning

Here’s how to use a grid pattern to clean your windows thoroughly.

Starting on the left side of the window, wipe up and down the side of the pane. Move your cloth to the right and wipe in a vertical motion. Continue wiping in rows until you reach the right side of the pane.

Clean baseboards and hard-to-see areas with your bare hands

If you use gloves for most of your housekeeping tasks, cleaning areas that are hard to see can be done much more efficiently when you remove the gloves. You can use one hand to study the surface you plan to clean while using a dish rag or soft cloth to wipe the surface with the other.

This spring cleaning tip helps you find spots you’ve missed, and you can go over them again to ensure they are thoroughly cleaned.

Use a grid pattern for cleaning floors

Remove all small items, such as garbage cans or lightweight furniture, from the room you wish to clean. Walk through the room, creating a mental image of each floor square. Start at the room’s far end, working your way towards the exit, using the walls or countertops as reference points. Sweep or mop in rows in each square you mentally mapped out as you walked through the room.

Give your kitchen a thorough cleaning

Before you clean your kitchen cabinets or countertops, have an organization method in place where things are so you’ll know when you need them again.

If you have items you don’t use, store them on a shelf or in a large container for safekeeping. When cleaning kitchen cabinets or countertops, feel along the surface with your hands so you don’t miss areas that aren’t easy to see. Wipe the surfaces down using a grid pattern.

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For more spring cleaning tips and tricks like these, connect with us.

How many times have you played the guessing game in your kitchen? Are you trying to figure out what is in that can or box on your pantry shelf? Sniffing a spice and hoping you select the right one for the recipe? Digging in the freezer to grab that frozen dinner, but can’t determine the cooking time because the instructions are in small print? People with visual impairments play this guessing game regularly. Many food items we use daily are not entirely accessible yet but can be with some modifications. Learning how to organize, store, mark, and label food items in the kitchen will help identify food items and increase self-confidence and independence when doing activities for visually impaired cooks.

Organize the kitchen

The first step is to get organized. Do an inventory of your kitchen. Look at how things are stored and placed. Gather similar food items and put them together. Canned goods can be organized and stored in one location in the pantry, and boxes of cereal or crackers can be stacked side by side on a shelf. In the refrigerator, keep condiments together in the door while separating fruits and veggies in the crisper. In the freezer, collect all bags of frozen veggies and put them on one side, while frozen dinners are on the other. Place spices and seasonings in a caddy for quick and easy reach.

Marking and labeling food items

Now that the kitchen is organized and you know where things are, it’s time to mark and label your food. There are numerous ways to accomplish this task, from simple and rudimentary to detailed and complex. You can use everyday household items like index cards, rubber bands, colored plastic tape, markers, and craft paint. Other items you might have to purchase are Dymo adhesive tape, a braille label gun, a puff paint pen, adaptive technology, like PenFriend, or smartphone apps.

Once you determine what to use during your activities, the next step is marking and labeling a specific food item. A can of corn can be differentiated from a can of peas by wrapping a rubber band around it. But if there are several cans of different kinds of food, take a marker and index card, write the food item on it, and use a rubber band to secure it around the cans. If you are a braille user, create braille labels instead, placing them on the index card. Store the marker, rubber bands, and index cards in a Ziploc bag for later use and keep labels as food items are eaten.

If you want to mark and label your food items with more details, such as ingredients or cooking directions, then using adaptive technology works best. Rubber bands, Dymo tape, and index cards don’t work as well in the freezer, but using a PenFriend will get the job done. This hand-held device is a voice-activated labeling system where you can record your voice to produce labels. There are apps for your smartphone like Be My Eyes and AIRA for quick and handy-sighted assistance. These apps access your camera and microphone, where a sighted assistant can help you identify items in your kitchen.

The guessing game regarding activities for visually impaired chefs is over. Your kitchen’s foods are organized, stored, marked, and labeled. You can approach your kitchen with self-confidence and independence. The only thing left to do now is start cooking and enjoy all you have accomplished.

If you would like to learn more about adaptive technology, Outlook Enrichment is here to help. Check out our adaptive tech programs. We look forward to helping you grow your independence. Contact us to learn more!

Enhancing Accessibility With These Life Changing Inventions