Many people do not realize just how much of the population is technically visually impaired. Visual impairment is not the inability to see, but rather means that a person cannot perceive contrast or acuity or has lost part of his field of vision or sees objects in a distorted way. Some estimates peg the number of adults in the United Sates who suffer from a visual impairment to be over 16 million, representing a significant portion of the population.
While it is a serious thing to have a visual impairment, there are ways to cope with the condition and live a normal life. Visual aids such as prescription glasses and even cheap contact lenses might help correct some or all of a person’s visual impairment. Various industries have also developed products with visual impairments in mind, including phone app developers. While there are many excellent apps for people who are visually impaired, following is a list of three that are exceptionally useful.
LookTel Money Reader:-
Sometimes you do not have the option of using a card to pay for things, such as at a street vendor where cash is the only acceptable form of payment. For people with a visual impairment this can be a huge challenge. How do you know if you are providing the correct amount of money for a purchase if you cannot read the denominations on the bills? You can have a friend or family member help, but what if you are alone? That’s where LookTel Money Reader comes in handy. The app costs $9.99 and has the ability to use your phone’s camera to scan different bills and read out loud the denomination. The visually impaired do not have to worry that they are paying too much or too little for different services, plus they know if someone gives them correct change or not. The app has the ability to identify paper money from quite a few currencies from countries such as the United States, England, Australia and Canada. Foreign language support is also available.
Voice Brief:
Smart phones can be a handy device, but if you struggle to read what’s on the screen they can also quickly become a burden. With Voice Brief you can use many of the functions included on your phone such as the calendar, notes, weather, stock quotes and even email without having to struggle to read the screen every time. Voice Brief will read the information to you and also allow you to dictate to it, meaning you don’t even have to be looking at your phone while using the app. The app costs only $2.99, making it a tremendous deal.
VizWiz:
Leverage the power of the Internet and solicit the help of those without visual impairments using the VizWiz app. The visually impaired can reach out to others using the app for help with performing various tasks, and the “web workers” respond in almost real time. All you have to do is take a picture of the thing in question, record a short audio clip with the question, and then send your request out onto the Internet for responses.
Elizabeth Garvey is a counselor for the visually impaired. She frequently shares her tips on optometry blogs. Click to find out more about cheap contact lenses.
