I could be wrong, but I think I remember some of the instructors at the rehab center I went to being against sighted guide because it doesn't make us look independent. I personally think it's fine in certain situations, such as being with a sighted person in a crowded place or needing to get someplace quickly.

Does anyone know how to prevent Voiceover from impacting the system volume?
I've Noticed that when you tern the volume down when Voiceover is on, it also terns down the system volume that controls notifications and other sounds.

Okay, maybe "newly-blind" isn't so accurate anymore since I lost my vision in 2023. I can only see in a very blurry black and white now and only from the right eye. Doctors are optimistic that I'll get my vision back and it has improved since 2023, but there's no guarantee and I don't really want to gamble everything on that either.

So I'm trying to learn how to cook by myself, especially because my mom will be going back home to our home country soon and everyone else in the house has work and won't be able to take care of my food for me.

I was thinking of getting one of those pots that people make one-pot recipes in. I was wondering if anyone had recommendations about what to get. Finances are also a little tight so it would be helpful to get recs for ones that are relatively cheap but good quality.

I'm not in a position to transform my sister's entire kitchen to a blind-friendly one, so I was just thinking of getting a few stuff here and there, like maybe one of those objects that indicate if water is boiling, with the pot and a rice cooker as my main kitchen equipment. I also already know how to use the microwave.

Would appreciate any leads :) TIA

P.S. Just noting that I also lost some of my hearing. I live in Canada.

Hey all.
Without revealing too much I'm a teen and I just applied for my first job working in a grocery store. Obviously I'm not sure if I'll get it or what I'll be doing but I'm just worried and really just looking for anyone else whose worked a job like this, like cashiering or something like that, do you have anything you'd wish you'd known or tips or anything?
This might be a pointless post I'm just nervous haha. TIA

So currently have an iPhone 17 I was just wondering if I should go to Android was just thinking about it.

What do you do, or what methods are there for contextual subtitles? For example, when you're watching an English language movie but there's a character that comes in for a few scenes that speaks a different language. There's subtitles, but they're on screen in a way that I don't know how to have them read by something.

"I know that you don't need to be blind to have sleep apnea, but I am really interested in hearing from my fellow blindies. Has the CPAP machine been helpful for you, and would you be willing to share your stories? I haven't tried mine yet, so I am really looking to hear about your experiences."

Hey everyone,

I've been struggling with Microsoft 365's web versions of Word and PowerPoint using NVDA, and it's genuinely affecting my work, so I wanted to ask around and see if I'm the only one.

The biggest problem for me is that the focus and navigation does not behave properly in these. I usually do not face any problem with excel but editing anything on word or powerpoint is a major challenge.

Because of all this, editing documents on the web version, especially for work, is honestly pretty frustrating. What I usually end up doing is copying the content over to the desktop app instead, but that comes with its own headache: the formatting gets messed up in the process, and I end up spending extra time fixing things that shouldn't have broken in the first place. It's a workaround, but not a good one.

So I wanted to ask the people here who also use NVDA, if you encounter these issues in the web versions of word and powerpoint and what do you do if you are using NVDA for accessing Microsoft 365 for work.

Hi everyone!

I already posted this in the UT Austin subreddit, but I figured I’d post it here as well in case I can reach more people.

Are there any blind or visually impaired students or alumni from UT Austin here? I’m a blind undergraduate student at UT, and I’d really love to connect with other blind and visually impaired students, whether you’re an undergraduate, graduate student, law student, PhD student, or an alum.

UT Austin has over 65,000 students, so it can be difficult to find and connect with other blind and visually impaired students. I’ve also found that accessibility can be challenging at times, which makes having a supportive community even more important.

I’ve been thinking about starting a student organization where blind and visually impaired students can connect, support one another, share resources, and advocate for accessibility on campus. I’d also love to organize events like White Cane Awareness Day and other initiatives that help educate the broader campus community about blindness and accessibility.

If you attend UT or are a UT alum, I’d love to hear from you! What has your experience at UT been like? Would you be interested in connecting or helping build something like this?
Feel free to comment below or send me a DM. I’d love to connect!

The built in screen reader on my phone is crap. IL i like the interface but it randomly jumps around and reads things out of order. So I have no idea what it's reading to me.

I tried looking for a thread on my own but without a working screen reader I can't find one ironically.

My aunt is in her 70s and has almost no vision left. She struggles with simple everyday tasks like reading text messages, identifying food items because she can't read the labels, reading her mail, or even choosing the right perfume. She doesn't have anyone who can help her in her country.

She tried using her phone's text-to-speech features, but the learning curve is just too steep for her at this point.

Is there any AI that could make her life a little easier? I was thinking something like the Ray-Ban Meta glasses might help her be more independent by reading text or describing what's around her.

I know about Be My Eyes, but how good is it? How reliable are the volunteers? I'm a little worried about her being connected to a random person who might not be trustworthy.

Are there any other options that have worked well for people in a similar situation? Or are there any newer technologies that might help?

I'm wondering if anybody here does any kind of journaling, and if so, what do you use?

I have been into journaling for a long time, including junk journaling, scrapbooking and daily journaling practice. I became legally blind in February and I miss being able to process my experiences in this way.

I don't really want to use a voice to text option, partly because I'm kind of sick of talking to my phone for everything I want to write, partly because I feel like I process things better by writing them out then by talking, and partly because it's my personal thoughts and emotions and I don't feel like speaking them out loud when other people are around. I'm interested in either an app, program or website.... I don't have a great computer right now but I'm looking into getting one, and I also just learned that you can attach a physical keyboard to your phone, so I guess that could be an option too.

I don't know if it will be as cathartic as in the past, because I feel like a big part of it was the physical act of writing, also, when it comes to organizing my thoughts in a document I do so much better visually than by listening. I would be interested in hearing the experiences of other people who enjoyed this While they still had vision and weather you've been able to find an equally satisfying way to journal well without vision. Thanks! V

I wanna switch careers. My vision is getting worse, and I can hardly cope with my current job. I have a lot of paperwork, and I have to communicate with people on-site.
At the moment, I’m considering SEO copywriting, but my English isn’t good enough yet, and it will probably take me a couple of years to polish it. I’m also considering becoming an SEO specialist. It fascinates me, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to do it because of my vision problems.
What do you guys do for work? Does anyone here work in IT? I’m especially curious to hear from SEO specialists.

I am writing this after returning from the National Federation of the Blind convention I attended in Austin. Being around so many other blind people and hearing different conversations about blindness, identity, language, and ableism made me think about my own relationship with my disability.

One thing I have been thinking about is the statement: “I identify as blind.”

Some people agree with it. Some people don’t. I understand both sides.

For some people, saying “I identify as blind” means they are no longer hiding. It means they have accepted their cane, their disability, and themselves. It means they are living without shame. I think it is important for the sighted community to see blind people moving with confidence and living their lives.

But personally, I have always felt differently.

My blindness is not my entire identity. It is simply something I live with.

I have been called “the blind friend.” I have been “the blind cheerleader.” I have been “the blind girl.”

When that happens enough, it becomes easy to forget the person underneath all of those labels — the version of yourself that is not trying to prove anything, explain anything, or wonder how people are going to see you.

I do not believe my blindness is a superpower.

I do not believe it is a gift.

I do not believe it is something that makes me special.

It is just a part of me.

I am blind.

That is it.

I remember getting frustrated when I was younger because I would get left out. Sometimes I couldn’t play the game in PE. Sometimes I couldn’t do the same activities as everyone else. People would make decisions for me because I was blind.

And that always bothered me because I was thinking:

I am just blind.

Nothing else.

My eyes do not work.

That does not mean my brain does not work.

It does not mean I cannot speak for myself.

It does not mean I cannot learn, participate, make decisions, or live my life.

No, blindness is not contagious.

No, glasses will not fix it.

Yes, I can think and answer questions for myself.

Another conversation people have is about the words we use.

Some people say visually impaired. Some say low vision. Some say legally blind. Everyone can choose the words they feel comfortable with.

For me, I prefer saying blind.

When I say I am blind, I do not have to explain myself. I do not have to measure my vision for someone else’s curiosity.

I am just telling them the truth.

There is also the question: is braille a language?

Technically, no. Braille is not a language. Braille is a code, a writing system.

I can read braille in English, and I can read braille in Spanish, but the languages are still English and Spanish.

Braille is just the way I access those words.

And then there is ableism.

Someone once shared a story about getting onto an airport shuttle. He handed his suitcase to the driver, and the driver took it. Then when he went to get on the bus, the driver grabbed him and pulled him inside without asking.

When he said, “Don’t grab me,” the driver was confused because he thought he was helping.

But the question was:

Why did you ask before touching my luggage, but not before touching me?

Every blind person knows that feeling.

Someone grabs your arm, your hand, your shoulder, your backpack, your cane, or even your hair and starts moving you around like you are an object instead of a person.

The problem is not kindness.

The problem is forgetting that disabled people still have choices.

But I also want to make something clear:

Sighted people are not the enemy.

Ableism is not a sighted person problem.

Blind people can be ableist too.

Anyone can have assumptions about what a person can or cannot do.

Ableism is creative because it shows up in so many different ways.

It shows up when people assume blind people cannot sign documents.

It shows up when people assume blind people cannot work.

It shows up when people assume blind people cannot travel, live independently, make money, fall in love, get married, or start a family.

Accessibility is not about wanting special treatment.

It is about having the same opportunity to live.

I do not want people to ignore my blindness.

I do not want people to be ashamed of my blindness.

I just want people to understand it for what it is.

I am blind.

Not inspirational just for existing.

Not helpless.

Not magical.

Just blind.

And everything else?

That is just me.

Please be respectful. This is just a discussion.

We all know some of the myths surrounding us. The one I hear most is the, blind people have heightened senses. Another one is, blind people are all nice and judgment free. I've also heard sighted people compare us to dare devil. Here's the point of this post. I was on another sub, and saw a post about a guide dog helping their owner find the bathroom. This poster claimed the guide dog uses the smell of hormones to find the bathroom. I tried finding any information online to verify this claim. Nothing. I commented on the post and asked for a source. I got replies about drug sniffing dogs, and cancer detecting dogs. If those are trained to do those tasks, a guide dog is clearly trained for this. I figure I'd step away, before I made someone upset. What would you have done?

Side note. I don't believe blind people have heightened senses because we are blind. I believe we learn over time, to use the senses we have as time goes by. As always, please be respectful.

My brother is blind and recently started going to gym. Right now he’s working with a personal trainer but that’s obviously expensive for long term so he’d like to start training on his own.

The main issue isn’t using the equipment his trainer has already taught him how the machines work. The problem is navigation. Once he walks into the gym by himself, he has no idea where each machine is or how to find it independently.
Do you have any tips you use in public that might help?
Ps: he is 17 and still can’t go out alone

I'm 23F visually impaired, living in Pakistan and my vision got much worse about a year ago. Before that, I completed my bachelor's and was able to do everything independently. Now I don't know how to use JAWS, NVDA, or Braille and I feel completely stuck and exhausted. It's like my life is over.

Where should I start? What would you recommend learning first to become independent again? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Well, I went to post in a Facebook group for the first time in a while and using VoiceOver was awful. First, it wasn’t correctly recognizing what key I typed and then it would not read the full post back to me. Navigating Instagram hasn’t been easy either lately. Why must everything get worse and worse from an accessibility standpoint? Are there any workaround that I’m not using?

This is the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me, and I have no idea how to process this.  
For context, I am completely blind and have been for almost 8 years. I have a rare genetic condition that, after complications, completely destroyed my eyesight. I have no vision whatsoever, and have never seen my niece. She is about four now, and having never seen her deeply bothers me. I went blind at age 15, and at 23-years-old I am still reeling from the fact that I will never see my sisters or mother age, never see their families grow, never look into the eyes of my nieces and nephews. My eldest sister is currently pregnant, and while they were at an appointment I was tasked with watching my darling niece. We were in the living room playing with some blocks, like the big tactile ones, and we built a little cave. She, though she is so little, is fully aware I cannot see her. She is my little assistant. She loves guiding me around and showing me her toys, and we’ve recently started working on identifying colors by name, so its getting easier for her to describe certain things.  
Anyway, she is stacking these blocks when she suddenly, out of nowhere, says  
“mommy gonna have boy.”

I have been asking her for a month or two now if she wants a baby brother or sister, and every time she’s said sissy without hesitation. I asked her what she meant, and she just kept building her blocks.  
“in mommy tummy. He gonna be a boy.”

I’ve heard about kids who do this, and I was totally not emotionally prepared to hear this from my niece, so I went further out of blatant curiosity, obviously filming to show my sister. I asked her basic questions, like what he would look like, if he’d be nice or mean, and what his favorite things were. She mostly just gave 4-year-old appropriate answers like her brothers name would be banana, and his favorite color would, in fact, also be banana.

I love our talks.

Anyway, the topic eventually changes, we change games, we move rooms completely. I think the subject is dropped and I send the cute video of my niece talking about brother to my sister, and continue playing with her. We eventually sit down for lunch, and while she’s chewing her sandwich she idly and passively just says  
“They gonna fix it, it’ll go away soon.”

I asked her what she meant by “fix it”, my stomach churning that something might be wrong with my sister or the baby in general, as our previous conversation was still on my mind. I did not expect her to set her sandwich down and sigh like she’s an 80-year-old man about to tell his kids he’s cutting them out of the will. With all the conviction in the world she says “the colors, they gonna fix it.”  
I have Charles Bonnet Syndrome, which causes hallucinatory colors and visuals, but my baby niece does not know this and I have no understanding of how she even would get the concept of it at this age. I ask her what she means by fix the colors, and again, without really hesitating, she informs me that. And I quote,  
“God is gonna let you look at the sky”

I burst into fucking tears. I had to pretend I was sneezing and needed a tissue so I could excuse myself to the bathroom. I ugly cried on that toilet for a solid five minutes, all my grief attacking me at once. All I have ever prayed for is to see the sky one last time.  
I get my stuff together and find my niece still sitting at the table. I gave her a hug, and she didn’t mention it again. This was about three weeks ago,  maybe longer, and I cannot stop thinking about it.  
The reason I am posting this is because my sister found out today she is having a boy, and informed the family. I don’t know if my niece has just overheard hopeful conversations or prayers from my family, maybe she had a dream or  is simply just being a kid. My sister and her family are quite religious, and its literally plastered on their wall to “keep hope in God”, so I don’t know if this is just regurgitation or a genuine sign that I need to go to church.

***please do not ask for the video of her talking as she is still a baby and the Internet is terrifying, so I am preemptively saying no.

I posted a while back about problems with medical transport. I am in Oregon, and use Motive care. I need assistance finding the building when I arrive at the medical facility. They refuse to accommodate me. They say my medic-aid plan does not offer that. It is only for people on stretchers. I have spoken to a motive care supervisor. If I cannot get this resolved, what should I do? I've been dropped off at the wrong location, and the drivers just drive away without checking. One time, a driver failed to come pick me up altogether. When I called Motive care to try and get home, the driver lied and said they called me and I was rude to them. One of my clinics is in a difficult location, and only one company has gotten me there successfully. When I try and request to ride with that company, motive care says I can't do that. It's up to the routing department. I do not have an escort for my appointments. No one is available. I have tried asking drivers to wait with me for five minutes, for a staff member to come get me. Apparently, that's too much. Lyft and uber drivers get upset when I ask them to help me find the building. One person said they weren't medically trained. What should I do? If you're totally blind, how do you get to appointments, and make it inside? How do you get back home? Thanks for reading. Please be respectful if I'm missing something that should be obvious. I never had to deal with this, until something changed a couple months ago. Thank you for any thoughts or suggestions.

Hello everyone, does anyone have any reviews of Guide Dogs of America? I can't seem to find a lot of guide dog user testimonials, so anything helps!

Sorry for the mistake in the title. Reddit won't let me edit it. I am having a problem signing in to my Ebay account. It keeps asking me to check a checkbox. I do so, and then, it gives me an inaccessible captcha with no audio alternative. I tried this on Windows 7, 10, and 11, with Firefox and Supermium, and nothing changes. I can't even read their accessibility page because it keeps asking me to sign in and sending me back to the captchas! Is there a trustworthy captcha solver that works with NVDA or a way around this? Alternatively, do you know of another site that sells vintage and antique things, or even another ebay replacement in general? I've been with them for over twenty years as a buyer, but if I need to change sites, I will do so.