Links to Other Web Sites
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National and International Organizations
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DC and Maryland Area Agencies
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Adaptive Technology
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Other Providers
National and International Organizations
- Accessible Design for the Blind
is committed to making travel safer for pedestrians with
disabilities through research, consultation, education and advocacy.
- American Council of the Blind
- American Foundation for the Blind.
The web site contains a lot of information about blindness and vision
loss. The pages at
www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=26
are specific to low vision.
- The Association of Blind Citizens,
among other programs, operates the
Assistive
Technology Fund, which provides grants toward the purchase
of assistive devices to legally blind U. S. residents of limited
means.
- The Foundation Fighting Blindness
- The Glaucoma Foundation,
describes itself as the premier not-for-profit organization dedicated to
eradicating blindness as a result of glaucoma.
- The International Academy of Low
Vision Specialists is an association of eye doctors who provide
specialized low vision services. Their web site provides some
general information about low vision.
- Large Print and Low Vision Resource Network
- Lighthouse International
- The Low Vision Gateway
is a web site with a well-organized collection of references to
a variety of resources.
- Macular Degeneration Foundation, offering information and resources about the leading cause of central vision loss and blindness
- Macular Degeneration Partnership, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing unbiased information on age-related macular degeneration
- MD Support, a non-profit group
which offers both technical and emotional support for people who are
coping with retinal degeneration.
- myEyeNet, for eye care and vision information
- National Eye Institute, one
of the National Institutes of Health. The web site includes
information about specific eye disorders.
- National Federation of the Blind
- Prevent Blindness America
- "Read This To Me" is
a network of volunteers who call visually impaired clients to read items
which the client sends in by fax. For information call 1-877-333-8847
or visit www.readthistome.org.
New volunteers are also welcome.
DC and Maryland Area Agencies
- Blind Industries and Services of
Maryland (BISM) is a not-for-profit organization offering
rehabilitation programs, employment opportunities, and services
for blind and low vision people of all ages.
- Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind
- Envision Technology, offering solutions for people with special needs
- Maryland Division of
Rehabilitation Services (DORS), an agency of the state Department of Education:
The web site guides individuals with disabilities
to employment and independent living services. Maryland's employers can
find prescreened, qualified job applicants. DORS also serves Maryland
citizens who file Social Security disability claims.
- The Maryland Department of
Disabilities, an agency of the state government, advances the rights
and interests of people with disabilities so they may fully participate
in their communities.
- Maryland Parents of Blind Children,
a non-profit membership organization of parents and friends of blind
children and youth to ensure the best possible future for our blind
youth by: promoting blindness skills, fostering self-esteem, and
utilizing blind adult role models to build a solid foundation for a
productive life with the maximum independence.
- Montgomery County Public Libraries,
Disability
Resource Center,
supports library services for people with disabilities in
Montgomery County. The web page describes available services
and provides links to other resources.
- National Federation of the Blind Of Maryland
is the local affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind. Check
the web site for announcements of upcoming local programs,
among other things. Select the
"Contact
Us" link to find the local chapter nearest you.
- Prevention of Blindness Society
of Metropolitan Washington (POB). Among other things, POB
sponsors frequent informational events on various topics around
the metropolitan area. Visit the POB web site for more
information or to subscribe to the free monthly e-mail newsletter.
- Reach-a-Ride is a web
site sponsored by the
Metropolitan
Washington Council of Governments
(COG). It provides a searchable list of transit options in the
Washington area for people with disabilities. The list includes taxi
companies, government and non-profit agencies, private ambulance firms,
and other transportation providers. If you have special transportation
needs because of low vision, this web site is one place to look for
solutions.
- The University of Maryland Medical
Center's Medical Reference web site includes more than 50,000 pages
of medically-reviewed health content written in consumer-friendly language.
- Virginia Department for the Blind and Visually
Impaired, whose mission is to empower blind, visually impaired,
and deafblind individuals to achieve their maximum level of employment,
education, and personal independence.
- Virginia Department of Rehabilitative
Services provides services to help Virginians with disabilities become
more independent and self-sufficient.
- Washington Ear reads THE WASHINGTON POST via radio and telephone
Adaptive Technology
- The ABLEDATA web site
provides objective information on assistive technology and
rehabilitation equipment available from domestic and international
sources to consumers, organizations, professionals, and caregivers
within the United States.
- The Maryland
Technology Assistance Program, part of the
Maryland Department of
Disabilities, provides several free services
to help disabled Marylanders obtain and learn to use assistive
technology. One such service is the
Equipment Link web site,
which provides
a "want ad" style exchange where individuals in Maryland and nearby areas
can list used assistive technology items they wish to sell, lend, or
donate.
- Freedom Scientific (formerly
Henter-Joyce), maker of JAWS and MAGIC and other low-vbision aids.
- HumanWare, offering assistive technologies for people with visual and learning disabilities
- The Microsoft Accessibility
Site provides information for people with varius impairments who want
to use computers with Microsoft software. Its
Resource Guide
for Individuals with Visual Difficulties and Impairments includes
step-by-step guides for using the accessibility features built into Microsoft products.
- Ai Squared, offering zoom text
- Dolphin Computer Access,
offering a range of computer and cell phone software to assist the visually impaired.
- GW Micro, offering Window Eyes and other
assistive computer programs.
- Telesensory manufactures CCTVs and OCR Projects
- Bartimaeus Group Adaptive Technology
BlindCoolTech.com provides Internet access to a long eclectic list of "podcasts" (MP3 audio files) describing a wide range of technologies and gadjets of possible interest to the blind and visually impaired.
- Envision Technology,
with an office in Bethesda, demonstrates and sells assistive
technology solutions and training for individuals with learning
difficulties and visual impairments.
- Enhanced Vision develops products
designed specifically for people with macular degeneration and other low vision
conditions.
- Ocutech, Inc. manufactures a line
of bioptic telescopes for persons with low vision. Ocutech
telescopes mount on special eyeglass frames, include built-in
corrective lenses, and should be prescribed and fitted by a qualified
optometrist or ophthalmologist.
- Innoventions, Inc., developer of Magnicam
- Ash Technologies, distributor of portable
products for people with low vision
- Clarity, develops video magnifiers
- Nuance Communications, Inc.
(formerly ScanSoft), voice activation, digitization, OCR
- CTI/ VTEK, video magnifiers
- Windows Software for People with Disabilities
for older versions of Microsoft Windows, listed at the Virtual Assistive
Technology Center web site. (Pop-up advertising may appear on your
computer when you access this web site.)
Other Providers
- Descriptive
Video Services at WGBH
- Assistive Media, an audio literary service
- EyeHelp is a British web site
with articles on the general subject of eye health and eye care.
Some articles refer to specific aspects of the British National Health
Service, but other articles are of general interest.
- Insightful
Publications (www.in-sightful.com)
is a web site including, among other things, a list of suggested resources
for visually impaired job
seekers and a list of vendors of assistive devices.
- Learning Ally,
formerly known as Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, produces and
distributes audio versions of books and other material, especially
textbooks and other educational material.
- Library of Congress, which offers the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
- The Hadley School for the
Blind (1-800-526-9909) offers distance education courses on
Macular Degeneration and other subjects.
- The Elizabeth Pierce Olmsted, M.D.
Center for the Visually Impaired (formerly the Blind Association
of Western New York) Provides services in the Buffalo, N.Y., vicinity,
and includes the
National Statler Center for Careers in Hospitality Service that
provides physically disabled individuals and those who are blind
or visually impaired with job training for the hospitality industry.
- Carolyn's Catalog, closed circuit televisions