Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind the source for blindness news and information since 1907

© Enfield & Haringey Independent, England — An Enfield support group for the visually impaired is pushing for the NHS to send letters in large print, email or braille. Members of The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) and Haringey Phoenix joined Enfield Vision for a meeting at its office in High Street, Ponders End, on Friday to highlight issues faced by blind and partially sighted people using the NHS. RNIB figures show very few people with impaired vision receive NHS information in the appropriate format and are not given the option to request correspondence in large print, email or braille. Sixty campaigners in Enfield shared stories about not getting access to the information they need…. READ ARTICLE

By Bennett J. Loudon © Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, New York — Like many 9-year-old boys, Luke Fortner enjoys playing video games on a handheld electronic gadget. But Luke isn’t like most 9-year-old boys. And other kids don’t have a game like his. Luke is visually impaired and plays on a one-of-a-kind device created just for him by a team of Rochester Institute of Technology students. The creation won the 2009 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Student Design Awards contest, which carries a $5,000 prize…. READ ARTICLE

By Kym Soper © Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Connecticut — Blind voters have complained to the state Elections Enforcement Commission, saying they were denied their right to vote independently in this month’s election…. READ ARTICLE

PRWeb — The U.S. DOE, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), awarded Bookshare $100K in supplemental funding to create the first accessible versions of open content digital textbooks. The initial planned conversion will begin with 16 math and science textbooks approved for California K-12 students. The open content textbooks will be distributed freely under a license selected by the author and available to all individuals without proof of disability…. READ PRESS RELEASE

By Mohammed Jamjoom © CNN, Baghdad, Iraq — Kids in school rarely smile so much, or sing so loudly. But at Baghdad’s Al-Noor School for the Blind, there was reason to celebrate, as much-needed Braille learning materials from the U.S. had finally arrived. It was the second batch of supplies donated from the Perkins School for the Blind since CNN’s Kyra Phillips first visited and profiled the Al-Noor School last year. Because getting this aid from the US to Iraq isn’t easy, Perkins partnered with International Relief & Development for the special delivery…. READ ARTICLE

© WHAM-TV, Rochester, New York — There’s a new state of the art facility to help provide services for people who are blind or visually impaired in the community. The Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired unveiled its new call center on South Clinton Avenue Friday. It’s part of the group’s major expansion project that will enhance the agency’s ability to provide programs, services, and jobs to people who are blind or visually impaired…. READ ARTICLE

Internet Your Way to a New Job: How to Really Find a Job Online. By Alison Doyle; In braille (2 vols.) and PortaBook (CD and downloadable), $11.95, from National Braille Press. Online job searching often seems complicated, but it doesn’t have to be — there are tips and tricks you can use to make the process run smoothly and simply. Author Alison Doyle tells you how to: — Create your professional presence online — Market yourself as a strong candidate for employers — Connect with contacts who will help you with your job search — Help prospective employers find you — Use sites like Facebook, VisualCV, and LinkedIn to your advantage This book will provide you what you need to know and step you through the process of online job searching, professional branding, social and professional networking, and career building with uncomplicated advice, tips, and techniques on how to effectively find a new job and grow your career. Read the table of contents for this book, or order it, at http://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/JOBONLINE.html.

ClickAndGo Wayfinding Maps offers detailed narrative route descriptions that help vision impaired people successfully find their way to unfamiliar destinations. The system is modeled after the popular ‘directions’ feature of Yahoo, Google, and MapQuest maps, said inventor and mobility specialist Joe Cioffi, who has 28 years experience teaching blind and deaf-blind clients white cane techniques. “With Internet maps, sighted users select a starting point and destination from a drop-down menu and then click “go” for driving directions,” Cioffi said. “We adapted ClickAndGo Wayfinding Maps by adding the options of voice output or Braille that literally walks blind and deaf-blind people through the route to the destination with customized ‘mobility-friendly’ walking directions.” The maps are free to users and can be accessed by telephone, a cell phone, or a computer. The directions can be downloaded on a notetaker for later access. ClickAndGo Wayfinding Maps were designed to help vision impaired travelers more easily orient themselves and move through airports, schools and universities, hotel and convention centers, public parks, amusement parks, tourist destinations, and other public places. Cioffi also offers customized narrative walking directions for outdoor landmark-to-landmark route travel that can be downloaded at www.clickandgomaps.com, a fully accessible website, or obtained by using the company’s voice activated technology with a standard telephone.

By Laura Wibbenmeyer © KFVS-TV, DELTA, Missouri — Drums are one of, if not the most important instrument in a marching band. It’s cadence helps keep members on the correct foot and the tempo is completely in the player’s hands. Kristen McCoy is a snare drummer and helps lead the Delta High School Marching Band, while she is being led herself because Kristen is blind…. READ ARTICLE

By Eric Luu © WNBC-TV, New York City — Gov. David Paterson is considering challenging News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch at Jeopardy. Paterson made a few jabs at Murdoch following his comment linking the dysfunctional state of New York politics with Paterson’s blindness and his inability to read Braille. Murdoch apologized to the governor Wednesday, but Paterson didn’t mind taking a few overtime shots at the media mogul. “I think I would be willing to be on ‘Jeopardy’ with Mr. Murdoch any time,” Paterson joked on an early-morning radio interview on the John Gambling show on WOR-AM, according to the NY Daily News…. READ ARTICLE