When I watched the “Great American Eclipse” in August 2017 from my backyard, I used the graphics in the Eclipse Soundscapes app as a visual reference, which were helpful for me to explore as someone with low vision. As I update this post in advance of the April 2024 total solar eclipse, I’ve discovered several other options for blind and low vision viewers to learn about and view the solar eclipse using a mix of visual, tactile, and audio modalities to convey information. Here is a round-up of solar eclipse accessibility resources designed with visually impaired audiences in mind, inclusive of ..read more

As someone with both low vision and dysgraphia, I spent a lot of time in school experimenting with different writing aids, discovering what writing utensils worked best for reading handwriting or drawing a picture, as well as which ones made content difficult or impossible to read. When a former teacher asked me about my favorite pens for low vision and other writing aids, I remembered that they had helped with the school yearbook and started organizing my favorite writing aids based on yearbook superlatives for fun, updating my original writing utensils post from 2019 with new information. He ..read more

Many of my friends speak two or more languages, and enjoy teaching me how to say various words and phrases in other languages. Sometimes, these lead to me learning something useful, while other times my friends seem to have fun teaching me random slang words or sentences that don’t make sense, such as “my shoes are filled with potatoes” or “the giraffe smells like strawberries.” Over the years, I’ve discovered several language learning tips and resources for learning a foreign language with low vision or other visual impairments which have helped me to learn core vocabulary and phrases in diff ..read more

As part of a semester-long school project for one of my graduate classes, I researched several free braille art and tactile image libraries that could be used for educational activities relating to science, agriculture, ecology, and several other topics. Even though I don’t personally use braille due to neuropathy in my hands, I can often access some components of tactile graphics and braille art, examining high-contrast lines and other details through touch. Here is a short list of free braille art and tactile image libraries that provide resources on accessible images for blind and low visio ..read more

I was introduced to streaming audio description for performing arts videos when I watched Twelfth Night with audio description through the National Theatre At Home service. Since then, I’ve discovered several other paid and free streaming services offering audio description for plays, ballet, opera, musicals, original films, and so much more from all over the world, making it possible for me to enjoy professional productions using my own personal technology. Here are several services offering streaming audio description for performing arts content, including a mix of classic and modern titles ..read more

When I first published this post in 2019, I was researching solutions on how to modify anatomy diagrams for the visually impaired (inclusive of low vision/blind) for a friend with low vision studying kinesiology. Since then, my friend has become a Doctor of Physical Therapy, and I’ve learned about several other digital resources for finding high resolution anatomy diagrams and images for students with low vision at the high school and college level. Here are my tips for creating accessible anatomy resources for low vision and blind students, as well as tips for how to modify anatomy diagrams t ..read more

Since the Shadow Puppet app shut down and is no longer supported, I’ve been working on creating a more in-depth guide on how to create free accessible videos and narrated images with Clips, one of Apple’s video editing applications available for iPhone and iPad. One of my favorite things about Clips is that I can not only watch videos created with accessibility features like large print and captions in mind, but I can also create them myself with their authoring and editing tools. Here are my tips for creating videos and narrated images with Clips for iOS, as well as how to access Clips access ..read more

I mentioned in my other post about college libraries that I only checked out a single book from my college library while living on campus for four years. Even though I can count the amount of physical materials I borrowed on one hand (or rather one finger), I have used countless online college library resources, especially in my online graduate school program where I access digital content from libraries pretty much every day. Here are my favorite online college library resources for digital access, which are fantastic for students with print disabilities that benefit from accessible materials ..read more

I’m always looking for new functions and ways to use different features in visual assistance applications, and first downloaded the Envision app a few years ago when my friend was raving about its text recognition features at a low vision accessibility event we were both attending. When Envision became free for all users in 2022, I began recommending Envision and Envision AI more often for users looking for a visual assistance app that would work on multiple platforms and support helpful features like file upload, multiple languages, and recognizing faces. Here are my tips for using the Envisi ..read more

November 14, 2023 marks seven years since I published my first blog posts about low vision and assistive technology on my website, Veroniiiica (Veronica With Four Eyes). I started this website because I love finding new ways to use mainstream technology as assistive technology and enjoy sharing strategies that I’ve learned for living with loss, and I would often receive requests to share what I had learned with others. I’ve continued to update my posts over the years to reflect new innovations in assistive technology and disability services, but one message that has remained timeless is that i ..read more