For many disabled people, the upcoming holiday season means traveling to be with friends and family. For those who are blind, visually impaired, or are experiencing vision loss, even a short flight or bus ride can be overwhelming and chaotic.
Proper planning can alleviate many difficulties, such as getting through security to the right airport gate, boarding a train, managing money and credit cards, and making sure all of one’s belongings arrive safely.
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a leading resource where visually impaired travelers can seek information on all aspects of travel.
Preparation is Crucial for Blind and Visually Impaired Travelers
Following are some suggestions from Esther Smith, a world traveler with macular degeneration whose Esther’s Insights appears on the AFB Senior website. Smith has developed travel routines to help low-vision travelers avoid headaches and enjoy a more safe and satisfying trip.
- Don't be embarrassed to ask for help
- Identify yourself as visually impaired ahead of time
- Memorize identification numbers for credit/debit cards, passport, and bank account or create a retrieval system should you lose your wallet
- Request an airport guide or wheelchair to get you to and from the plane easily; a wheelchair expedites clearing security
- Ask for security guidelines when booking reservations and how much time you should allot to clear those requirements
- Ask for assistance when going through security checkpoints to ensure you retrieve all your belongings.
Esther Smith lives in the Dallas area and is a board member of the American Foundation for the Blind Center on Vision Loss and head of its docent program.
Technology Travel Aids for the Visually Impaired
Blind and visually impaired persons can also enhance travel safety and efficiency through the use of technology products, such as handheld reading devices.
Itex’s SiRecognizer is a portable OCR (Optical Character Recognition) system that recognizes and reads text on objects regardless of shape or position—perfect for airport monitors and or LCD displays. The unit photographs and reads text in less than 10 seconds and can read and speak in over 130 languages. Call 39.06.505.3318 (Rome, Italy) for more information.
The KNFB Mobile Phone developed by Kurzweil and the National Federation of the Blind, has released the Mobile Reader, which packs OCR capability into a one-button activated multifunction cell phone. Users photograph print to be read (e.g. tickets, currency, book pages) and OCR software and high-quality text-to-speech output reads documents contents aloud. The phone’s built-in screen displays text, highlighting each word as it is spoken, with navigation by character, word, or sentence.
Ultimately, each person’s travel plans pose separate circumstances and challenges. It may be useful to contact organizations such as AFB to discuss specific aspects of one’s trip.
Andrew Leibs - Andrew Leibs is Suite101’s Feature Writer for Accessible Recreation. He is a longtime chronicler of the disability movement with ...
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