Cane Quest in Austin!

The first ever Cane Quest in Austin will be held on Saturday, May 19th. It is a collaborative project sponsored by ESC XIII and TSBVI Outreach and School; the event’s purpose is to applaud our students’ commitment to continuing to grow in developing their O&M skills. As such, it is not expected that students will have reached their highest efficiency level to participate. The basic criteria: students in grades 9 – 12, 20/600 or less in the better eye with correction, has had training in the areas of residential, business, city bus, escalators, stairs, and soliciting assistance, and use of human guide is not the primary mode of travel when in community settings. Students will be monitored by O&M specialists, and there will be a distance learning Cane Quest Q and A in the fall (date TBA).

Any questions can be directed to:
Diane Barnes, ESC XIII O&M Consultant
5701 Springdale Road, Austin TX 78723
512.919-5331

Additional Details for Cane Quest 2012 in Austin:

Go to Braille Institute of America’s Web site, Braille Institute Cane Quest, to learn more and see pictures of the Cane Quest that took place in Southern California.

For Orientation and Mobility Specialists that would like to participate:
— The event requires O&M specialists to be ‘Scorers’ — meaning, persons who are assigned to designated spots along routes — score students based on event determined criteria.

– The event requires ‘Shadows’ — meaning, VI persons (O&M and others with some level of exposure/knowledge of persons who are VI/Blind) —– each student will be assigned an individual Shadow: it is a requirement for all Shadows to be trained.

— ACVREP credit will be provided to all O&M participants

White Cane Law Bumper Stickers

Have you ever been frustrated by drivers that don’t seem to know the White Cane Laws?

Now you can create awareness

Every place you drive your car.

Order your

White Cane Law Bumper Stickers

And help fund SWOMA Conferences

Mail your check payable to TSBVI-SWOMA Fund #4727

Mail to: _(your name) __________________________________________________________________

Your Address: __________________________________________________________________________

Number of bumper stickers ordered: __________ Check enclosed for: $__________

Send orders to: Carrie Keith, TSBVI Outreach, 1100 W. 45^th St., Austin, TX 78756 ?Questions: 512-206-9314

Size: 3-inches by 11-1/2 inches

New Information for Tactile Maps

In case you had not heard already, or have not had a chance to review it yet, The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) has finalized and published their Guidelines and Standards for Tactile Graphics. It is now available on their Web site for download as a PDF and is an excellent resource in planning and producing tactile graphics for working with students and clients. The direct link to the site is http://www.brailleauthority.org/tg/index.html

Of particular interest for orientation and mobility is Unit 8 that details considerations and strategies for maps tailored to the student’s travel environment. The initial Units of the document provide wonderful templates and other specific areas to consider for determining materials to be used and specifying the goal of the tactile graphic or map to ensure that the main goal of your work is adequately represented as the emphasis of the final product. Also, immediately preceding the specific orientation and mobility section is an example of a complex diagram of a bus route; this is at the end of Unit 7.

Whether you are designing a map to facilitate travel on a school campus, travel in a residential area, or just beginning to introduce skills for accessing tactile maps and diagrams, these guidelines provide clear examples and suggestions that increase the individuals ability to successful obtain useful information from the tactile work produced. Did you ever wonder how many details you could reasonably put on a map, or how close the landmarks could be to one another and still be discernible when read tactilely? These guidelines and standards help to answer many of the common questions addressed when planning and creating tactile maps and diagrams, potentially saving you and the learner hours of frustration in finding what works.

Happy tactile mapping!

Contributed by Chris Tabb, TSBVI O&M Specialist

iPhone Apps for Orientation and Mobility

Here are some of the apps that I have found useful on my iPhone; they all have a price rather than free (with the exception of VisionSim), though they all have been quite helpful.

Ariadne: This is a GPS app that is meant to provide information that a traveler using vision would receive from their travel environment, such as addresses, cross streets, etc. It does not provide turn by turn directions, though you can set favorites and track them with distance and destination to your favorite. It also has a map that you can touch on screen and reads the street name below your finger.

Navigon: A traditional GPS app that speaks street names, has points of interest, etc. The beauty of this app is that you can select the route profile and choose pedestrian mode with voice announcements. It is one of the more expensive apps I have purchased so you may want to watch it for any sales they may offer; it was about $24.99 when I purchased it.

Sendero GPS: This app provides a “where am I” description, your nearest cross street, and nearest five points of interest; it also has a compass and other tools for finding points of interest in categories.

TextGrabber: An app that takes a picture of text and then reads the text through speech output. It does very well with printed text, though I have not been able to do as well with handwritten words or styled fonts.

LookTel Recognizer: This app can identify barcodes and then tell you what item you have. I believe it has much greater ability than I have used it for though at a minimum it helps to tell one type of soup can from another in a store.

LookTel Money Reader: Great app for determining the denomination of a bill when at a store or for organizing your bills in your wallet at home.

VisionAssist: This app is like having a CCTV in your pocket, complete with options for zoom, contrast, reverse polarity, freeze frame, etc.

VisionSim: From the Braille Institute; this app provides a visual simulation of some eye conditions that can help family, friends, etc. to understand what/how a person with a visual impairment sees their environment. This is the only free app listed in this group.

There are many more helpful apps to consider, these are just a few that I have found very helpful. One Web site to monitor for new information is Applevis. This site covers iOS apps and information specifically for users with visual impairments; on occasion they also offer promotional codes to test drive certain apps and let participants provide feedback to others via their comment area.

Contributed by Chris Tabb, TSBVI O&M specialist

iGlasses Mobility Aid

From the Ambutech website:
AmbuTech and RNIB are proud to announce a new affordable electronic travel aid solution for head and upper body protection.

The iGlasses™ Ultrasonic Mobility Aid is a head-mounted device which enables more informed, confident, and efficient pedestrian travel. Objects in your path are detected by the ultrasonic sensors and communicated via gentle vibrations. As obstacles get nearer the frequency of the vibration will increase. The device is intended as a secondary mobility device to complement the traditional long cane or guide dog.

The Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Accessibility Proposal

We are reaching out to you because of the big stake you have in the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) efforts to maintain the rights of travelers with disabilities. We encourage you to join the conversation at Regulation Room and help DOT get this new regulation right. Regulation Room is part of Cornell University’s e-Rulemaking Initiative. DOT has proposed new regulations that will:

Require airlines and airports to make check-in kiosks accessible to travelers with disabilities; and,
Require airlines and travel agents to make their websites accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Very few travelers with disabilities have commented on this important proposal, but there is still time to submit your comments before the January 9^th cutoff date.

Many people who would benefit from the proposal don’t realize that DOT needs to hear from people who agree with the proposed regulations, not just those who disagree.

We Urge You To Participate Before Time Runs Out.