Category: Special Observations
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The 2020 Census is Totally Accessible
I found the 2020 Census totally accessible. In the past I would have to get a sighted person to read the questions and fill out the forms for me; but this time around I was able to handle the whole process independently. Historically people with disabilities have been under represented and so this year strong…
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My Blindness Doesn’t Determine My Happiness
Ever since I lost my vision in the late 1990s to Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (VKH) syndrome, which is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic, bilateral uveitis, I made a decision that I would strive to live a happy life. I was determined that my blindness would not control me and I would figure out how to live…
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Making Peace with My Lack of Sleep
This week, March 3-9, is National Sleep Awareness Week. The Sleep Health Foundation contends that sleep is the third pillar of health, alongside diet and exercise. I would strongly agree because for the last 14 years I have battled with a sleeping disorder. Like so many others I took my sleeping for granted but now…
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Haban Girma First Deafblind Black Woman to Graduate From Harvard
Black History Month is quickly coming to a close and as promised I wanted to share about one more black person with a visual impairment. This person is not a historical figure from the past like Blind Tom but rather made recent history by being the first black, deafblind woman to graduate from Harvard Law…
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The Voice Dream Reader Makes Reading Bookshare Books a Dream
February is National Library Lovers Month where the focus is on reading and the institutions that provide books. It is a time to honor and recognize the important role that libraries play in the community. Although I grew up reading and patronizing the library since losing my vision traditional, brick and mortar libraries don’t completely…
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Audio Described Movies and the Oscars
Besides diving into a great book another of my favorite pastimes is watching an audio described movie. If you are not familiar an audio describe movie provides extra verbal narration of visual elements happening in the film. It could be hand gestures, facial expressions, physical movements or a description of clothing and action happening in…
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Blind Tom a Georgia Slave Never Emancipated
This month is Black History Month. To start things off I am posting a story that I previously published at the Center for the Visually Impaired and VisionAware. Later in the month I will share about another interesting blind African American. So stay tuned! Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriett Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Washington Carver, Rosa…
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Ten Ways I Use Braille Everyday
Happy New Year everybody! I am kicking off the year on the Triple E Blog with a post about braille and how I use it every day. January is the month that those of us in the blind and visually impaired community observe Braille Literacy Month. Braille is a code created for reading and writing.…
Empish J. Thomas 