COVID-19 and Blindness: Staying Safe and How to Help

Can of Clorox wipes and folded cane with text “COVID-19 and blindness: Staying safe and how you to help”

COVID-19 and Blindness

Blindness and vision impairment aren’t on the list officially of at-risk factors when it comes to COVID-19. But as individuals with disabilities, we should be prepared, proactive, and act as they are on the list considering how much we use our sense of touch. If you aren’t disabled, we also have plenty of ways you can help the blind and visually impaired during these uncertain times. 

If you are Visually Impaired/Blind

COVID-19 and Blindness: As low vision and blindness individuals, we use touch much more than the average person.  Whether it’s using a sighted guide, carrying a cane/using a guide dog, or touching tactile signs and braille, we rely on activities that aren’t exactly conducive to social distancing. What can we do during the pandemic to make sure we are staying safe and healthy?

Wipe down your cane/guide dog harness

If you are still leaving the house and use your cane or a guide dog, make sure you wipe down your cane or guide dog harness with a Clorox wipe or some good old fashion soap and water. Be extra cautious and wash your hands directly after if you need to use braille while out now.

Use Delivery Services

The best thing we can do right now is to stay home, especially if you’re in the blind or high-risk community. But what about groceries? Medications? The blind and visually impaired community are no stranger to grocery delivery but this just gives you another reason to use them! Instacart is a great option as well as Whole Foods delivery on Amazon.  CVS also offers delivery on medications. 

Limit riding Public Transportation, Uber/Lyft, Paratransit If you can

The CDC recommends you limit your time in crowded areas such as public transportation, if possible. With so many people riding public transportation, it can be a huge risk to ride it when it comes to COVID-19, especially considering the touch factor. If you can, walk where you need to go or have a trusted person (who you might be social distancing with) take you where you need to go.   

 In the same vein, using shared-ride services can be just as dangerous when it comes to being in contact with someone who might be infected. During this time, it’s best to avoid rideshare apps to be on the safe side.

Follow the CDC Guidelines

The CDC has a handful of great guidelines but a few general guidelines that can help you keep you safe are the following:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze or use the inside of your elbow. Throw used tissues in the trash and immediately wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol.

• Practice social distancing by avoiding large gatherings and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet or 2 meters) from others when possible.

ZoomText and JAWS offered for free

If you are having trouble completing your job or school at home, Freedom Scientific is offering ZoomText and JAWS for free until June 30th, 2020. This is a great resource if you don’t have your assistive technology at home with you.  

What you can do to help those who are Blind/Visually Impaired impacted by COVID-19:

The blind and visually impaired are an especially vulnerable population not only when it comes to COVID-19 but to the isolation that comes with it. Many blind and visually impaired individuals already feel isolated even before the pandemic. It is more important than ever to check on your friends with disabilities who may feel isolated and alone. The effects of COVID-19 and blindness can be detrimental on those with disabilities. Here are a few ideas of ways you can help:

Become a Be My Eyes Volunteer

Be My Eyes is one of our favorite apps and it is always looking for new volunteers, especially now! Be My Eyes is a free app where a sighted volunteer is connected with a visually impaired/blind person to help with anything from reading a label on a can to identifying the color of a shirt to anything else they might need help with.

Check on your friends with disabilities, chronic conditions, and the elderly

This pandemic could have detrimental consequences for the elderly and those with disabilities and chronic conditions due to the isolation of social distancing. Many elderly people do not have the technology to use delivery apps, FaceTime with friends, etc. During this time it is even more vital to keep in contact with those who may be feeling even more isolated during this time. The easiest thing you can do is give them a quick call. And if you can, offer to deliver groceries or anything they might need.

Deliver with Invisible Hands or Instacart

Invisible Hands only applies to New York and New Jersey so far but is a great resource if you are in those areas. Invisible Hands is a free delivery service where isolated and people with disabilities can request groceries delivered for free. A volunteer will drop them off at the doorstep.

Instacart and Shipt are also great delivery services and you can shop and deliver for them while making a little extra cash!

You could also offer to pick up groceries for anyone you know who might be isolated.

Give Blood

There is a nationwide shortage of blood donations so if you can, donate! The Red Cross is looking for all blood types. If you are healthy and able, this is a simple thing you can do to help those in need.

Donate to Organizations

If you are financially able, donating is a great way to help during this time as many organizations that serve individuals in need are struggling. World Services for the Blind remains open and we are always looking for donations through our Support webpage either through direct financial support or purchasing something on our Wish List that can help students that are on our campus and in need of help.

10 Tips for Working from Home

Top 10 Tips for Working From Home

World Services for the Blind is no stranger to working from home. We offer many career training programs online, several employees at WSB work remotely, and many of our students go on to find remote work once they graduate. Working from home can provide tremendous benefits, especially for those who are visually impaired and blind. No commute, fewer work distractions, and a flexible schedule can be a tremendous benefit for those with disabilities. With working remotely becoming huge amidst the news right now, we thought we would share our top 10 tips for working from home.

1. Have a Routine

   Having a routine can be beneficial for anyone, working in an office or working from home. But it can be especially helpful if you work from home. Creating a morning routine can help jumpstart your productivity. Whether that is making a cup of coffee before you sit down at your desk to going to the gym first thing, it’s all about creating a routine that can help set the stage for the rest of your day to be productive.

2. Get Dressed

   Working in your pajamas all day might seem like the biggest perk of working from home but studies show otherwise. Even changing out of your pajama pants into a pair of jeans can help you feel more focused and productive (as tempting as it is to stay in your pajamas all day!). It can help you switch from lounge time to work time.

3. Make your workspace as accessible as possible

   When working from home, you won’t need to worry about the fluorescent lighting of an office or navigating it without ease. With your home, you can design it so that it is easy to navigate around and the light works best for you. Freshome provides some great tips and tricks on working from home (or working for yourself freelance) with a disability.

4. Find when you’re most productive

   If your job allows it, find when you’re most productive to work. Are you more productive first thing in the morning? Start work early. More productive in the evening? Work alter hours to accommodate when you get the most done. working from home can provide the flexibility to get things done when you feel the most productive.

5. Change up your scenery and experiment with your workspace

   Working from home doesn’t have to be just sitting at your house all day, every day. Try working from different settings like a coffee shop or coworking space. Find where you are the most productive whether that is in complete silence, with music on, or at a coffee shop. It’s also important to have a dedicated workspace in your home. It doesn’t need to be a fancy office but a separate desk can help keep your work-life balance. Setting up a workspace can also help in minimizing the distractions in your house.

6. Keep in contact with your colleagues on a daily basis

   One of the most difficult things about working from home is missing the daily interactions with your coworkers, especially if everyone else works in the office. When working from home, it is so important to keep up with your colleagues if they work in the office or not. Schedule a weekly meeting where you can catch each other up or if you need to bounce some ideas off someone. Keep in contact using emails more frequently or chat services like Slack or Microsoft Teams.

7. Invest in a headset

   If you decide to work outside the house, you’ll want to invest in a headset. Headsets help block out the noise for your coworkers if you have to take a call but don’t want to go back to your house to get the work done. Jabra has a wide range of different headsets in a multitude of price ranges.

8. Set working hours

   When working from home it can be really easy to forget about having a work-life balance. You can easily check your email and then continue on working when your day was supposed to end at five! So it is very important to make sure you have set working hours so you don’t overwork yourself. But this also goes the other way around, make sure you stick to your working hours and you aren’t completing house chores when you should be working.

9. Join a Coworking group

   One con of working from home can be the loneliness of working by yourself. But working from home doesn’t have to be lonely! In many major cities, there are coworking groups such as Ladies Work Remote, a coworking group for women in every field. There are plenty of coworking groups on meetup popping up all over the United States. Even if you are sitting with other people in silence working, it can help keep you focused and motivated to get the work done. There are also Coworking spaces that provide after work activities to get to know people in different fields.

10. Set a timer to make sure you get up from your desk

    Working from home can leave you sitting for hours if you aren’t careful. When working in an office it can be a lot easier to find reasons to get up from your desk whether it’s going to lunch or walking to a coworker’s office. But when you’re working by yourself, it can definitely be difficult to remember to take breaks. Set an alarm when you would normally take a break in the office so you remember to take a walk around the block or grab some coffee.

Accessibility: One Greeting Card at a Time

Quilling Greeting Cards for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Image thanks to quilling cards

At WSB, we love innovated products aimed at accessibility from tiles to help us find our luggage to apps that help in our daily lives. But what about everyday items as simple as a greeting card? We wanted to share a new product from Quilling Card that can change the game for the visually impaired and blind community receiving greeting cards!

You might be wondering what Quilling even means. But it turns out it is a great solution when it comes to accessible greeting cards. Quilling Card produces hand-made, fair trade greeting cards utilizing the art of Quilling.   Quilling is the art of rolled, shaped, and glued paper that results in creating a unified, decorative design and braille for readability and enjoyment. Quilling cards now offer their unique art form in braille so it can be read by the blind and visually impaired community. They worked hard with the Perkins School for the Blind to make sure the cards were accurate and legible.

Quilling Cards are also a company you can feel good about supporting! Not only are they providing an accessible and innovative service to the blind and visually impaired community, but they also focus on hiring those with disabilities. The company hires deaf artisans to create the braille quilled greeting cards as they wanted to create a connection through touch for the deaf and blind. The founder of quilling cards, Huong Wolf, spent many years focusing on providing equal opportunities for people with disabilities, which speaks to us at WSB as that is exactly what we do.

Quilling cards can be purchased on their website for $12 and for more information, visit the Quilling Cards website

if you are interested in any of our vocational training programs, please visit our Career Training Programs Page

Travel Tips for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Traveling can be overwhelming to anyone but it can be especially overwhelming and stressful if you are blind or visually impaired. In this blog post, we wanted to share some of the best travel tips we have learned over the years specifically for the blind and visually impaired community.

Put tile on your luggage

Checking your luggage can be stressful when it comes to finding it at the other end. One way to find your luggage independently is by adding Tiles on your luggage. Tiles attach to your luggage and then you use an app on your phone, when triggered, creates a beeping sound on your bag. Using Tiles also ensures you have picked up the correct bag.

Use a distinguishable suitcase

If someone is helping you at the airport it can help for your bag to be very distinguishable for someone (or yourself) to identify. Everyone has a black suitcase so why not get one that is colorful and fun? It is much easier to spot a pink suitcase than it is a black suitcase that everyone else may have.

For the guide dog users, separate your dog food.

Separating your dog food will keep it fresh longer and will be easier when going through TSA at the airport. Another tip is to put your dog food in poop bags. That way, you can use the bags when you get done with the food.

Travel with a spare battery/charger

A common theme of traveling (especially when you’re visually impaired/blind) is that you never know what will happen. Having your own spare battery for your phone can be a lifesaver especially if you are dependent on ride share services like Uber! Anker makes some great chargers (they can be pricey but are worth it and have a year-long warranty!). Having your own battery can also be helpful so you don’t have to find a charger to plug in your phone or tablet.

Play the blind card and don’t be afraid to ask for help

TSA Pre-check is great if you travel a lot because you don’t have to worry about the security lines or taking your shoes off. But if you don’t want to pay extra (85$ for 5 years of TSA pre-check) ask for help when you check in. At most major airports there are separate security lines for those with disabilities, which can make getting through security a breeze!

Asking for help at airports is never a bad idea because airport staff can help you find your gate, your luggage, and where the Uber pick up points are. Oftentimes Uber pick up points are in difficult to find locations but don’t be afraid to ask airport staff to help you locate them.

For low vision users, use your camera to your advantage

If you are out of the country, you may not always have access to Wifi and data. If you depend on apps like Be My Eyes and AIRA but have some vision, you might want to use your camera on your phone to zoom in on street signs or train signs. This can be a cumbersome process but it’s effective if you’re in a bind (and are able to zoom in enough!).

Have a backup plan

This comes back to the theme of you never know what will happen you’re traveling. If you’re traveling with a dog, they might get sick. Your cane might break (or you might lose it in an Uber…) so always pack a spare cane! There are telescopic canes that are extremely portable and can help when you need it most.

Utilize navigation Apps

We talked a lot about great apps for the visually impaired and blind in our first post but they are also great for travel! Google maps allows you to download the map of the city you’re going to so you can use it even if you don’t have data or wifi! Other great apps mentioned in our post can help with finding grassy spots or pet relief areas for your guide dogs or restaurants near you.

How to Make Your Social Media Accessible

Graphic with Facebook and twitter icon with text “How to make your social media accessible by world services for the blind

Accessibility in websites has become a huge topic within the last year due to news articles and social media. But what about making your social media posts accessible? It is not as hard as you would think. There is so much assistive technology available to help those who are visually impaired and blind already but making a few small tweaks to your social media posts can make them accessible to a much wider audience!

Add Image Descriptions

Image descriptions provide screen reader users image descriptions so they can navigate a website without losing any information. Image descriptions (alt text) are almost always at the forefront of accessibility on the web. It's basic web practices to add them to your website but they can often be overlooked on social media. But they are incredibly easy to add! Image descriptions need to be provided for any kind of image, whether it’s a graphic, a photograph, or an image with text on it!

Here are ways to add image descriptions to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Linkedin:

Facebook: On Facebook when you upload a photo, click on “edit photo”. From there you will be able to add a description of photo.

LinkedIn: When you upload an image to your feed, at the top right of the image you can add the image description by clicking “Add Description”.

Twitter: In twitter click on the more icon and select Settings and Privacy. From there, go to the accessibility tab and select the checkbox that says "Compose image descriptions" Once this checkbox has been selected you can add image descriptions to any image you add to twitter.

Instagram: When uploading and image, go to “Advanced Settings” at the bottom of the upload screen. From there the last option is “Add Alternate Text”. Another way is to add Alt text at the end of your image caption.

Contrasting Colors

For low vision users, colors with similar contrast can be difficult to see (think white writing on yellow background, white writing on light pink, etc) and with Instagram's newest feature, Instagram Stories, many of them cannot be read because the text does not have high enough contrast. So make sure your text has high contrast so low vision users can read it easily.

Add Subtitles

Subtitles on videos are vital for the hard of hearing and deaf community. Adding subtitles and captions can provide accessibility to an even wider audience that would be missing out on your videos otherwise! For Instagram stories, Clip-o-matic is a great app that provides the captions for you on Instagram.

Transcribe screenshots, memes, and GIFS

This tip goes back to adding image descriptions to posts. Screen readers such as JAWS and NVDA cannot detect text in a shared screenshot, meme, or a GIF (for example, the graphic on this post!) so make sure when you are adding descriptions of the text in images to your image description.

No Need to Overuse Emojis

The same emoji over and over again can be very repetitive when using a screen reader. Make sure you limit your emoji use to only one or two to get your point across.

Capitalize words in Hashtags

Another screenreader tip - to make your hashtags accessible to screen readers (and easier to read for low vision users) make sure you capitalize words in every hashtag. For example, #worldservicesfortheblind would become #WorldServicesForTheBlind, which makes the hashtag much easier to read and screen readers can detect them as separate words.

If you have any more tips, feel free to let us know in the comments.

If you have any questions, feel free to Contact Us!

The Best Apps for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Here at WSB, we love technology especially when it comes to helping us make our lives easier. We love technology so much, we can even teach you how to become an expert in the field of Assistive Technology and become a certified Assistive Technology Instructor! But today we wanted to share some of our favorite apps for the blind and visually impaired. Here is a list of our top 10 apps staff and clients use on a daily basis!

1. Be My Eyes

   Be My Eyes is a free app where you can be connected to a volunteer (from anywhere in the world!) to help with a variety of tasks. With a simple video call, a volunteer can help with making sure the oven is set to 400, picking out an outfit that matches, making sure you’re at the right street, and so much more! Be My Eyes can help with it all!

2. AIRA

   Similar to Be My Eyes, AIRA connects you with a real-life volunteer to help with your daily tasks. AIRA provides confidentiality when you need it so they can help you make sure you have the correct credit card numbers typed out, give you resume help, help sign confidential documents, write invoices, and give live audio descriptions for TV shows and movies! AIRA is free for five-minute calls (so you can talk for five minutes and then call back!). It is also free inside AT&T stores and Target. If you need assistance with JAWS or ZoomText, and if you are a small business - they are free for 30 minutes! They also have glasses you can purchase so you can use AIRA hands-free.

3. Seeing AI

   Seeing AI also helps with your daily tasks like identifying money, identifying people, reading a screen, and more! Seeing AI also has a feature for a light detector if you want to make sure the lights are on or off. The difference between Seeing AI and the apps listed above is that Seeing AI does not use a real live volunteer but rather computer software.

4. NAGDU

   For all the guide dog users, The NAGDU (National Association of Guide Dog Users) app is for you! This app provides helpful information on state and federal laws regarding service animals whether that is in a restaurant, in an Uber, and any other problems you might encounter!

5. Where to Go

   Another app for the guide dog users is Where to go. Where to Go finds animal relief areas in airports so you never have to be lost on where to take your dog.

6. Google Maps - New Features for the Blind/Visually Impaired Community

   In October of last year, Google Maps announced a new feature to help the blind and visually impaired! The app now gives much more detailed instructions when walking a route. The new feature gives audio alerts and compass directions when traveling. To turn the feature on, users can go to the Google Maps settings and select “Navigation.” At the bottom of the list will be the option to enable "Detailed voice guidance," beneath the “Walking options” heading.

7. Otter Voice Meeting

   This is an app for someone in school or conducts a lot of meetings. Otter Voice Meeting can take your notetaking to the next level. With Otter Voice meeting, you can record and transcribe meetings, transcribe notes, search keywords, upload notes, and share with your colleagues or teammates. 

8. Find Near Me helps with exactly what it says - it helps find restaurants, grocery stores, cafes, and more near you. Find Near Me uses keywords for your search but you can also add your own.

9. Menus4All

   While not technically an app, Menus4All is still something easily accessible on your phone. It is actually a website (and not available in every state) but it is a great way to get accessible menus at restaurants. Menus4all is a free website that allows users to download fully accessible menus from restaurants across the United States.

10. Nearby Explorer

    Nearby Explorer was designed specifically for the Blind and Visually impaired. This app helps with navigation when walking around as it can provide clear and detailed directions of streets coming up, directions, and mass transit options. This app is able to be customized to what announcements you want to hear so it is a great way to get your directions hands free.

Those are just a few of our favorite and best apps for the blind and visually impaired community! Let us know your favorite apps in the comments below.

Welcome to the WSB blog!

Welcome to the brand new World Services for the Blind blog! With the start of a new decade, WSB has some exciting new projects happening. This blog will post weekly content relating to all things blindness and low vision. Be sure to check back here every Thursday for a brand new post.

As a short introduction, World Services for the Blind is a comprehensive life-skills and vocational training school for the blind and visually impaired based in Little Rock, AR. We have residential and online training programs available. World Services for the Blind offers vocational training programs in becoming Assistive Technology Instructors, IT Specialists, certified Massage Therapists, certified Credit Counselors, and so much more! WSB also offers a comprehensive life skills training programs with classes in Assistive Technology, Home Management Techniques, Orientation and Mobility, and so much more! You can find out more about our programs on our Programs and Services page.

This blog will provide content regarding everything blindness and low vision from our favorite apps we use every day to traveling solo as a visually impaired person to everything in between!

If you have anything you would like us to write about, please contact Development and Communications Manager Lee Rogers at lrogers@wsblind.org