Collaboration between the occupational therapy (OT) community and the Visual Impairment Charitable Trust Aoteoroa (VICTA) is reaching out to people with low vision. Watch this short video describing vis bands and vis sticks. These tools are helpful identifiers for people who are visually impaired travelling in their communities.
Tap Tap See app - technology for low vision
Tap Tap See is a camera app for blind and visually impaired people. Anyone can snap a pictures of their shoes, or the tomato sauce bottle. But Tap Tap See will then say out loud, “Shoes,” or “Tomato Sauce Bottle.” Tap Tap See is like a sighted assistant that never grows tired of you asking “what’s that?”
Designed for visually impaired, the app works with Voiceover on your iPhone to speak the results. Voiceover is one of many built-in services which make the iPhone easier to use for people who can’t see well.
With Voiceover on, you just point your phone at something and double-tap the screen. Your phone will tell you it has snapped a picture, “Photo 5 taken.” Then, a few seconds later, it will read out the result. I pointed it at my legs and the app said “blue jeans.”
Technology continues to help people with low vision. iPad, iPhone and iPod touch have some great features. When Bold Text is on, keyboard characters are bolder. Increase Contrast has extra options to “Darken Colours” and “Reduce White Point”. The Button Shapes option introduces background colour to buttons. Change the setting from Off to On and see how it affects the “General” button at the top of the screen.