Category Archive

LightHouse News

Teaching the Mega No Maki Self Defense Program at the LightHouse

02/07/2011 The LightHouse

A unique self defense program entirely designed for the visually impaired has been developed by the Enabling Safety Project. Sensei Stephen Nicholls, of the British Kodenkan Ju Jitsu, has spent four years of close cooperation with the visually impaired community to devise the Mega Self Defense Program (Mega means eye in Japanese). It teaches specifically designed self defense techniques. Rooted in traditional martial arts, those techniques have been adapted to the specific requirements and abilities of the visually impaired community in order to address its specific issues: How does one target one’s attacker and defend oneself if one cannot see? What does one do when one cannot make a quick escape? What are the laws and regulations that allow one to protect oneself and how do these differ for the visually impaired?

Come to our next classes at the LightHouse!

When: Saturday February 19, 3 – 6 p.m. and Saturday March 19, 3 – 6 p.m.
Where: The LightHouse, 214 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco
Cost: There is a suggested donation of $5.

For more class information, contact Brandon Young at the LightHouse. Call 415-694-7372 or email byoung@old.lighthouse-sf.org

LightHouse News

Text to Speech Study

01/27/2011 The LightHouse

Have you ever wished that you could change the text-to-speech you are forced to listen to everyday and make it sound better? Here is your opportunity to weigh in on matters concerning text-to-speech:

AT&T Labs – Research, with the cooperation of the standards committee on text-to-speech synthesis systems of the Acoustical Society of America, is running a web-based experiment to evaluate the intelligibility of synthesized speech for people who have been legally blind from six years of age or younger. This experiment includes most of the text-to-speech engines on the market today, and the results will be used to improve the usability of text-to-speech for people with visual disabilities.

The experiment can be found at

http://dudley.research.att.com/tts/TESTS/TTSfasterRateIntelligibility/html/

LightHouse News

Focus Groups on Accessibility of Conference Calls and Webinars

01/21/2011 The LightHouse

If you primarily or exclusively use screen magnification to access your computer and have experience participating in conference calls and webinars, please consider sharing your opinions and experiences in a focus group with the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Telecommunications Access.

The RERC on Telecommunications Access will be conducting focus group discussions via conference call on Thursday, January 27, 2011, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, for screen magnification users. All of these discussions will gather consumers’ opinions and recommendations regarding “telecollaboration,” or conference calls that are supported by shared media or other online support for the call. These may be group meetings or webinars.

The purpose of the study is to obtain up-to-date input from consumers about access barriers and solutions. This input will be used to guide our center’s development work and to educate companies that provide tools for telecollaboration.

Each participant will be compensated $30 for the two-hour focus group. The discussions will be conducted remotely.

The requirements for participation are:

Have participated in at least two conference calls within the past year.

Reside in the U.S.

Be 18 years of age or older.

Have a disability that may affect accessibility of conference calls and computer screen information.

Have access to a telephone line to call into a toll-free conference for our focus group conference call.

At the same location, have a computer and broadband connection active during the call.

Have a Braille or speech output device/technology to allow you to use the phone and computer.

Be available for 2 hours of discussion at a time to be arranged with the RERC staff.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Paula Tucker at paula.tucker@gallaudet.edu or 202-651-5049 for more information.

LightHouse News

Early Detection of Glaucoma Key to Protecting Vision

01/20/2011 The LightHouse 1 Comment

Did you know that January is Glaucoma Awareness Month?

Glaucoma is a group of diseases that can damage the optic nerve. The most common form is primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). An estimated 2.2 million Americans have been diagnosed with POAG and an additional 2 million have glaucoma and don’t know it.

There are often no symptoms or pain associated with the onset of glaucoma. As it progresses, a person may notice his or her side vision decreasing. As the glaucoma worsens, the field of vision narrows and blindness may result.

Glaucoma can be detected through a dilated eye exam. A dilated eye exam allows an eye care professional to see inside the eye to check for signs of glaucoma and other vision problems. Treatment options for glaucoma include medicines, laser surgery, conventional surgery or a combination of any of these.

While anyone can get glaucoma, the National Eye Institute (NEI) encourages those at higher risk to get a dilated eye exam every one to two years. Individuals at higher risk include African Americans over age 40; everyone over age 60, especially Mexican Americans; and people with a family history of glaucoma.

To help spread the message about glaucoma, NEI has developed a series of e-cards that people can send as reminders about the importance of dilated eye exams in reducing the risk of vision loss. For more information about glaucoma or to send an e-card to family members or friends at risk for glaucoma, visit the NEI website at www.nei.nih.gov/glaucoma.

LightHouse News

The Department of Justice’s Changes to Audio Description and Movie Captioning: Hearing Highlights and More

01/18/2011 The LightHouse 1 Comment

By Brian McCallen, LightHouse guest blogger and volunteer

The Department of Justice (DOJ) just held three hearings on the Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRMs), containing changes to the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) that call for upgrades in digital cinema equipment and increases in audio-described film offerings. According to published and broadcasted highlights, all three hearings in Chicago, Washington and San Francisco featured disability organizations, service providers and the general public.

At the San Francisco hearing, Marilyn Piepho, who spoke by phone, said that there are too few theaters in the country utilizing descriptive video service. Piepho recommended that the Department of Justice not only call for more movie theaters to add audio-described movies, but also use a test pattern with an audible tone to let people know that the film they’re watching has descriptions at the beginning of the show.

I tried to contact several small Northern California movie theaters, including Sierra Theaters in Grass Valley, about the possibility of their offering descriptive video service in the future. None of the theaters returned my emails or calls for comment.

Even though the hearings are over, you still have a chance to speak out about the proposed changes! The period for public comment continues until January 24th, 2011. To learn more, go to http://www.ada.gov/anprm2010/anprm2010_comment.htm. There, you’ll find the link “Movie Captioning and Audio Description.” Just click on the link, and type your name, address, email and comments inside the special box on the next page. You can upload a word processing document with your comments to the site as well.

So speak out and make your voice heard about these new and exciting changes to the ADA. And for all the information on the ANPRMs, log on to http://www.ada.gov/!

LightHouse News

Help the LightHouse Purchase New Cookware

01/18/2011 The LightHouse

We need to replace some very old cookware used in our cooking classes. Through February 22, for every $10 you spend on qualified purchases, Lucky Supermarket is giving out a stamp that can be redeemed for professional cookware. Please consider donating these stamps to the LightHouse. Bring them into our office or mail them to LightHouse for the Blind, Attention Kathy Abrahamson, 214 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102. Thank you for your support!

LightHouse News

Changing Definition of Service Animal – Live Webcast

01/14/2011 The LightHouse 1 Comment

Are you or someone you know interested in acquiring the services of a guide dog or other service animal? The State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind is hosting a Question & Answer session in Sacramento on Wednesday, February 23, 2011, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. This Q&A session will address the recent changes to the legal definition of a service animal and why you should know. Speakers include Christina Galindo-Walsh from the U.S. Department of Justice, along with Fred Nisen and Stuart Seaborn from Disability Rights California. Not in the Sacramento area? Fortunately for you, the session will be streamed live over the internet. For more information and instructions to view the broadcast on the day of the event, please visit www.guidedogboard.ca.gov.

LightHouse News

Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic Survey

01/14/2011 The LightHouse

Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (http://www.rfbd.org/) works with leading publishers and technology innovators to bring accessible materials to individuals with visual and learning disabilities. Since their founding, they have advocated for programs for individuals who learn differently. The combined voice of volunteers, students, parents, educators and other concerned citizens has driven the educational system forward to be more inclusive and inviting for those who learn differently.

As they plan for 2011, they are asking you to share your thoughts about the changes and improvements you’d like to see in state and federal law for the education of our students. To do this, please take a few minutes to take their 2011 Public Policy Survey, by going to http://www.rfbd.org/2011survey/. Your individual responses will be anonymous and your insights will be invaluable.

LightHouse News

President Signs Quiet Car Bill

01/07/2011 The LightHouse

Blindness organizations such as the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) applaud President Obama for signing the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act (S. 841).

This legislation will require the U.S. Department of Transportation to begin writing standards that would set requirements for an alert sound that allows blind and other pedestrians to reasonably detect a nearby electric or hybrid vehicle. It also requires that those rules be finalized within three years.

LightHouse News

Half Marathon Update: This Blind American Life

12/23/2010 The LightHouse

By Serena Olsen, guest blogger

Act One: Training
Okay, so my days of “rest” are actually Fridays and Sundays. I have discovered, however, that “rest,” in this context, is not the verb meaning “take it easy; relax.” It is more like a noun—as in, “this is the only time you have to get everything done that you never get to because you are too busy working and training.”

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, I get in anywhere from 2 to 4 miles of running a day currently—this distance is creeping upward as the Big Day draws near. Mondays and Wednesdays are for that all-important cross-training. Fridays and Sundays, of course, are for the “rest” of my life. This, on top of my split job personalities—commuting alternately into the East Bay, then the City, the East Bay, then the City … and so on—some days hitting both of them in the same day and often being out after a full work day for some work-related evening event. Then comes the training, packed in with my social events, like hosting my roommate’s baby shower for 30, catching Flowers of the Four Seasons at the Berkeley Art Museum and a work holiday party. But, the training is important and I am sticking to it!

Act Two: Let’s Get This Party Started!
The LightHouse Half Marathon is more than just a personal goal for me to conquer something new and get in great shape in the process—I am also doing this to benefit the San Francisco LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired. I do this because it is important to me to make as many people aware as possible how important the services of agencies like the LightHouse are to the blind and how vital financial contributions are to its programs. I could easily just be running the half marathon for my own purposes, but have pledged, instead, to also raise $100 for every mile I run. A hundred bucks. Thirteen miles. A summer of memories and empowerment for Enchanted Hills’ youth.

Act Three: The Big Picture
There are over one million blind people in America. Some 57% of working-age blind people do not work. A great number of these people eke out a sub-poverty existence on a variety of government programs. For me, these programs were a springboard to a higher standard of living—they enabled me to get the education and training I needed to make a better life for myself. When blind youth connect with competent blind peers and mentors and get the skills training and opportunity they need, their chances for living a successful and independent life skyrocket.

I know a better life is possible because I am living it. $100 a mile. Thirteen miles. How far can you help me get? How far will America’s blind youth get?

To donate to a fundraiser for Team LightHouse, go to http://active.com/donate/teamlighthouse and search by name to support LightHouse programs like Enchanted Hills Camp.