Computers for the blind and visually impaired - My 95 yr old grandfather's road to new vision

Описание: My 95-year-old grandfather's road to a new world of vision

The Just a lil think mission for the month, was to help an inspirational family member in my life enjoy the world of the Internet.

That man is my grandfather Jimmy.

Sometimes we take the smallest things for granted.

Like checking up on our Facebook page, reading the latest news and emails, playing games and just communicating with each other on a daily basis.

Well my grandfather unfortunately has very bad vision. So bad that he’s unable to read small texts and identify pictures very well.

And this is because of a rare condition called “Best Syndrome”.
“Best Syndrome” is a form of macular degeneration that causes progressive vision loss.

Anyway, so my grandfather is 95 years of age and he doesn’t have the mobility and vision like he used to. So you can say that he was in a way, living in the dark with hardly any connection to the world.

And so it was my mission to help him enjoy the small pleasures in life that we enjoy every day.

It started off by taking a tablet that we don’t use, and organising it in a way that not only a visually impaired person can use but also someone who can’t see at all.

The process started off by organising all the apps that my grandfather would use on a daily basis.

And there are only 6 APPs.


Checkers – His favourite game

Indigo – A virtual assistant to read out the latest Headline news all around the world.

YouTube – So he can watch and listen to any video he desires.

Skype – So he can video call his family as we are often travelling and separated from each other

Google Voice – Which can help him set a timer, Define a word, Calculate any maths sum, Read out his messages and emails, Send out emails and WhatsApps through voice, answer any general knowledge question he has and many other things.

And finally, WhatsApp so he can send voice notes or voice call his loved ones.

The first challenge was that those six icons on his tablet were far too small to see and press.

And so, I simply downloaded a widget that helped make the icons bigger.

Next, I made sure that all his apps were located on only the Home page.

And if a screen went anywhere else, I simply told him to click on the middle button which will take him back to his home page.

I then sat with papou and showed him how his new tablet works.
On day one he was already playing his checkers and watching YouTube videos.

And every couple of days on Skype, I showed him another thing he can do on his tablet.

This is only the beginning for his improved quality of life as you can only get better with practice.

I’ve done this video because I feel that there are many more people out there who may suffer from macular degeneration and visual impairment.

If you know anybody who you would like to connect with the world and enjoy the small pleasures in life like my grandfather did then maybe now you have some kind of an idea on how you can do to help them.

And that’s what Just a lil think is all about.

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