Low Vision Forum

Macular Degeneration Association knows first hand that the Arts and Music play a big role in someones life that has Low Vision or visually impaired. We have seen amazing things done through paintings, pottery and music. These people are passionate about what they do and how they do it. Here is another example of things that can be accomplished. Please enjoy the article below.

A New Vision for Learning the Guitar

The student, Shaun, was a friend of the family who suffered from nightblindness - a condition that made it almost impossible to see inrelatively low light. "Shaun was enthusiastic to learn, but other guitar teachers said it wastoo difficult to teach the instrument to someone with his disability,"Mr Hoy said.

In less than two days, Mr Hoy developed a basic fret marking systemthat allowed his new student to feel where he was on the neck of theguitar, without having to look. "I added a series of raised grooves to the two-dimensional fret markersso he could feel the fret position on the neck of the guitar," he said. "As soon as Shaun was able to feel what he was playing, he had a massive smile on his face."

Since then, Mr Hoy has developed and promoted his idea, named'Razemark', worldwide, opening the world of guitar to players withvision or locomotive impairments. Endorsements have come from performers like Powderfinger's Darren Middleton and international legend Slava Grigoryan. "I also presented the system to Eric Clapton, Ben Harper and BB King who were all big fans of the concept. "I've been teaching for almost 20 years," he said. "As far as I know,I'm the only guitar teacher in Queensland who will teach vision impairedstudents."

Mr Hoy said he was scouting for locations in south-west Brisbane to establish the free classes. He also wants any old or unused guitars to help equip the school. "Hopefully there will be people out there who have a guitar gatheringdust at home who will donate towards this great school and great cause,"he said. For more information or to donate, contact Shane Hoy on 0403 984 722 or at guitarhead2000@hotmail.com

By Chris Owen

article posted at :http://www.thesatellite.com.au/story/2011/11/21/a-new-vision-for-learning-the-guitar/

Posted: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 12:00 am

Many of us need glasses or contact lenses to see in order to see clearly. After all, it's normal for some changes in our eyes and vision to occur as we get older. But what happens when you notice your vision getting worse and your glasses or contacts can't correct the problem? What is the difference between poor vision and low vision?

While poor vision can be easily remedied by a new prescription for glasses or contact lenses, low vision is a visual impairment that can't be corrected by traditional methods and interferes with a person's ability to perform their normal activities of daily living. According to Lighthouse International, an organization dedicated to fighting vision loss, low vision can result from a variety of disorders and diseases that affect the eye in different ways. For example, people with macular degeneration have mostly peripheral vision and either blurry or no central vision. People who have diabetes can suffer from diabetic retinopathy, which can cause spotty or blurred vision. Cataracts can cause cloudy vision and problems with glare, and glaucoma causes people to lose their peripheral vision and narrows their field of vision as the disease progresses.

While all of these diseases have some treatment, the vision may never been fully restored to what it was before. People with low vision are usually able to retain some usable vision of they receive treatment early.

If you are having difficulty reading street signs or the names of stores, recognizing the faces of relatives and friends, doing things that require you to see well up close (such as reading, sewing, or cooking), picking out or matching the color of your clothes, or doing things at work or at home because the lights seem to be dimmer than they used to be, then you may be experiencing early signs of an eye disease that could cause low vision. If you believe your vision has changed recently, you should make an appointment to see your eye care professional as soon as possible.

For those living with low vision, there are vision rehabilitation services available that can help you adjust to vision loss by introducing you to new methods of using remaining vision to help you maximize daily functioning. In addition, there are a variety of adaptive devices that can help with reading, writing, and managing activities of daily living. Some visual devices to help people with low vision must be prescribed by eye care professionals, while other devices such as large-face clocks, watches, and remote controls as well as large-print publications can be purchased online.

If you have additional questions about low vision or other vision impairments, there are lots of resources available online as well as through ForSight Vision Center, which serves York and Adams Counties. If you would like more information, the Visiting Nurse Association of Hanover & Spring Grove is offering an information session with ForSight Vision Center on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the VNA office at 440 N. Madison St. in Hanover. This session is open to the public and will include discussion of ForSight's services, their low vision program, and demonstrations of low vision devices.

Linda M. Baile, RN is President and CEO of the Visiting Nurse Association of Hanover & Spring Grove.

original article; http://www.gettysburgtimes.com/life_entertainment/lifestyles/article_e0a5872d-b095-5aec-8e2d-ebf7b0e22cc7.html

Updated: Wednesday, 14 Sep 2011, 6:26 PM CDT Published : Wednesday, 14 Sep 2011, 3:08 PM CDT

By: Derica Williams

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - In Alabama there areabout 1,200 children who are low-vision, and so far, Sight Savers of America says it helped about two thirds of them. One by one, they plan to aid every child in the state. Wednesday, they helped students at theSouthwest Regional School for the Deaf and Blind in Mobile.

By: Sue Mason  Observer Staff Writer

Original article posted at : http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20110722/NEWS24/110722007/Library-Blind-Westland-celebrates-80th?odyssey=nav|head  

George Illingworth laughs at the fact that he’s older “by a little”than the federal law that created the library he likes so much.

Blind since birth, the Livonia resident was among more than 100 people who gathered last week to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Wayne County Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in Westland. “I’ve been using talking books since I was 11 years old,” said Illingworth,age 83. “I used to go to listen to books at the library. Now I get my choice, I take what I want because I volunteer here.”

Ho tweather didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the staff, patrons and volunteers who gathered for a ceremony and picnic on the lawn of the library on Michigan Avenue east of Merriman. The gathering listened to the poetry of Ava Johnson of Detroit and the reading of a proclamation from Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano and applauded as volunteers were honored for their work at the library. “There are millions and millions of books can be read, there are millions and millions of people in the United States and abroad who can read because of talking books,” Johnson told the gathering. “This library enables us,the disabled, to be able to help us read, and for this it deserves a big cheer.”

The Wayne County library was established by the federal Pratt-Smoot Act of 1931 which created a network of regional libraries around the country for the dissemination of recorded books for the blind. The Westland facility has 3,000 patrons while the subregional library at the Frederick Douglas branch of the Detroit Public Library has 300 patrons like Johnson. “Our mission is to provide library service for the physically disabled population equal to services provided to those who are non-disabled,” said library director Vanessa Morris. “The federal government funds the talking book program, it provides the free books and players. Wayne county provides the staff.” “This library serves as a model for other communities and states that want to join the Talking Book Program,” she added. “It’s a great day for wonderful day 80th birthday celebration,” said Edith Killins, director of the Wayne County Department of Health and Human Services, who read a proclamation from Ficano recognizing July 19,2011, as Wayne County Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped Day in Wayne County. “On behalf of Mr. Ficano, I want to thank you for using the services of this library.”

The library is managed by Maria McCarville, the executive director, Morris and librarian Sue Steiger who also is the volunteer coordinator. It also employs four student interns and receives “invaluable help from the community volunteers.” “The volunteers are simple fantastic,” said Steiger. “They come from as far away as Plymouth and Belleville and as close as Wayne and Westland. We’re very, very grateful for their support. We simply couldn’t do the job without them.” Among those attending the celebration was Ellen Stross, the adult services librarian who coordinates the low vision program at the Plymouth Public Library. While she brings in experts in the area of low vision for patrons, she also helps get the word out about the Wayne County regional library. “Sue Steiger comes once a year to explain the library and encourage subscriptions,” Stross said. “We have a small low vision center with an Internet terminal with an magnification overlay and lots of informative handouts that explain low vision, but I also promote the services for this library, too.”

Art  Michalek of Plymouth discovered the regional library after hearing about it at the public library. Blind for 35 years, he said the librarians “have always been very helpful.” Michalek had his entire family, including his children Zack, Sofia and Mary Cecilia, at the party, thanks to his wife Cathy having a day off from work. “It’s a very wonderful service, I get books and magazines for recreational reading and education,” he said. “The Plymouth library has an outreach program with selected books and they can get them to you. That’s another resource for me. This is great for anyone who doesn’t have the ability to read on their own.” “I’ve seen my dad’s books, they send books on tape to the house,” Zack added. James Holowka of Garden City was there to celebrate two 80th birthdays’ - his and the library’s. He was treated to rendition of Happy Birthday, led by Killins. “I’ve been a patron for a few years,” said Holowka. “Alexander Scourby is my favorite reader. His first book was the Bible. He did a lot of the classics, they all were terrific.”

Scourby was an American film, television, and voice actor known for his deep and resonant voice and is particularly well-remembered in for his landmark recordings of the entire King James Version of the Bible. It’s his voice that Holowka appreciates. “He had a base voice,it was very clear,” said Holowka, a retired postal employee who delivered mail in Livonia, Redford and Detroit during his almost 50-year career. “Nobody I know can red like him. He had a great voice.” “This is a great service they provide,” observed Frank Selinsky of Lathrup Village who was there with his 97-year-old father, Frank Selinsky. “It gives people the opportunity to read books any way they can. It opens up vistas they can see in a way they never could. It’s a great program.”

smason@hometownlife.com | (313) 222-6751 

Original article posted at : http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20110722/NEWS24/110722007/Library-Blind-Westland-celebrates-80th?odyssey=nav|head