Accessibility and Technology

Technology has made communication and the management of daily activities easier for people with vision loss. It is also a critical skill to have in this day and age to be connected with the community. If you find yourself struggling with the use of devices such as smart phones/tablets/laptops due to your vision loss, contact us and our trainers will be in touch to offer training and advice.

Some of the benefits of technology for people with vision loss include:

Connection with family and friends through text and social apps
Navigation to enhance independent travel
Remaining relevant in the workforce
Shopping for essential items
Staying updated on current affairs and knowledge

Here are some of the technology skills we teach on smartphones and computers:

Magnification to zoom in and look at specific parts of the screen
Setting Colour Inversion and/or Customising Colour Profiles for people with different colour contrast needs
Settings Adjustments to make font size bigger, apps more accessible, and navigation around the device easier
Screen Readers such as Talkback on Android, Voiceover on iOS, NVDA or JAWS on computers for people with very limited vision to navigate around the device
Gestures and Shortcuts to make the use of devices easier and quicker
Basic Smartphone Skills such as making calls, saving contacts, and managing apps
Navigation Apps such as Moovit, Google Maps, and bus apps to aid with travelling
Office/Productivity Apps to perform in a work environment
Other Apps such as email, shopping apps, social media, etc.

Lessons are conducted one-on-one and customised to the client’s vision and lifestyle needs. Training is heavily subsidised by GDS and clients need only to pay a nominal fee. Lessons are conducted by vision impaired trainers who use the technology in their daily life, and therefore are in the best position to impart their skills and knowledge.

Clients are advised to use their own smartphones (Android / iPhone) or laptops to familiarise themselves with their own devices during lessons. If you are currently not owning a device and would like assistance with choosing the right solutions for your needs, please contact us.

In addition, we regularly conduct workshops on topics that are requested by our clients. If you are keen to attend our training and workshops, contact us to join our mailing list.

More Accessibility and Technology Resources

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Smartphones have become an essential piece of assistive technology for people with vision impairment (VI) to enhance their daily activities and participation. We are pleased to introduce a web-based toolkit specifically designed to provide comprehensive training and learning support for individuals with VI and their caregivers. In partnership with the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), this is part of an initiative under the Digital for Life movement.

Click here to go to Smartphone Training for People with Vision web-based toolkit

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the common types of vision loss?

Here are the commons types of visual impairment

Cataract
Thick film covers the eyes, sensitive to glare

Diabetic Retinopathy
The body is unable to produce enough insulin to convert sugar to energy, leading to a buildup of sugar in the blood. Diabetic retinopathy happens when blood vessels in the eye rupture and causes patches of blurry vision.

Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a result of damaged optic nerves caused by the buildup of eye fluid and increased eye pressure. Glaucoma affects your side vision and can eventually cause tunnel vision.

Early Stage Glaucoma

Late Stage Glaucoma

Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
Above 50 yrs old, black spots appearing in central vision or straight lines looking wavy. Difficulties in reading or recognising faces. These are some common signs of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is an eye condition affecting your central vision.

There are two types of AMD – wet and dry. Wet AMD is caused by an abnormal growth of blood vessels in the eye, leading to the leakage of blood and proteins into the sensitive cells in the macula. This causes damage and vision loss. There is no exact cause of dry AMD but the condition occurs as the eye ages.

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP)
‘Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited, degenerative eye conditions that affects the retina. People with RP may experience gradual loss of side vision and poor night vision, commonly starting from their teenage years.

Early Stage RP

Late Stage RP

Night Blindness in RP

Please see more details in People with Vision Loss.

What is the difference between using a cane and guide dog?

One of the main differences between using a white cane and a guide dog is that a white cane helps locate impediments so that the person with vision impairment can decide how to best manoeuvre around them.

On the other hand, guide dogs are trained to avoid obstacles along their pathway and help the person with vision impairment navigate their environment, allowing for a more natural walking experience. When travelling in a less familiar or more complex environment, a guide dog also helps to lessen the mental load that a person with vision impairment may have, reducing anxiety and stress.

Both a white cane and a guide dog are great mobility tools that help people with vision impairment to lead a more independent life. People with vision impairment have different lifestyles and preferences and there is no single tool that is better than the other.

How do people with vision impairment use technology?

Most technology solutions have accessibility services included by default to help someone with vision impairment use technology. In essence, this would be normal hardware augmented with special software or applications. This includes screen reading applications for someone with little to no vision, by reading out the contents on the screen and providing an accessible way to operate the device, such as altering the way the touchscreen works or including extensive support for keyboard commands.

For someone with an adequate level of functional residual vision, vision enhancement functions make the screen more vision-friendly by magnifying content, enhancing colour contrast and/or providing basic screen reading functionality.

How can apps/websites be designed to be accessible for people with vision impairment?

The aspect of user experience of an application or website is crucial to the accessibility for vision-impaired users.

Programmatically, elements and controls should be properly indicated with the relevant tags for screen reading applications to translate to users the intended function of the control.

Regions should also be properly indicated, such as the navigation bar or, the content region or the main region.

Font sizes and colour contrasts should also be taken into account for users who utilise vision enhancement services. Guidelines exist for different platforms in order for developers to optimise apps for accessibility, such as W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

I would like to improve the accessibility and user experience of my applications/content/website. How can I work with GDS on this?

As part of our service, we offer digital accessibility consultancy and user experience testing, in terms of accessibility for the visually impaired. Please contact us to learn more about how you might be able to implement or improve accessibility of your existing applications and content.