Traynham: MORE THAN 20 MILLION AMERICAN COPE WITH VISION LOSS,
AND THAT NUMBER IS GROWING DUE TO BABY BOOMERS
REACHING RETIREMENT AGE AND BEYOND
AND HIGHER SURVIVAL RATES FOR PREMATURE BABIES,
MANY WITH MULTIPLE DISABILITIES.
FOR THE NEXT FEW MINUTES, WE'LL DISCUSS EFFORTS
TO BE SURE THAT TECHNOLOGY IS ACCESSIBLE TO THIS POPULATION.
HELLO, EVERYONE. AND WELCOME TO "COMCAST NEWSMAKERS."
I'M ROBERT TRAYNHAM. JOINING ME IS PAUL SCHROEDER.
HE'S A VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMS AND POLICY
FOR THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND.
PAUL, WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM.
Schroeder: ROBERT, IT'S SO GOOD TO BE WITH YOU.
Traynham: THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING WITH US
AND FOR SPENDING SOME TIME WITH US
TO TALK ABOUT A VERY, VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC.
BEFORE I BEGIN, I THINK WE SHOULD LET OUR VIEWERS KNOW
THAT YOU YOURSELF ARE A MEMBER OF THE BLIND COMMUNITY.
IS THAT CORRECT?
Schroeder: I AM, AND I'M PROUD TO SAY THE LEADERSHIP
OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND
IS AND PRETTY MUCH HAS ALWAYS HAD A FAIR AMOUNT OF PEOPLE
WITH VISION LOSS OR BLINDNESS.
I LOST MY SIGHT WHEN I WAS A SMALL CHILD,
SO JUST ABOUT A YEAR AND A COUPLE MONTHS OLD.
Traynham: AS I MENTIONED, PAUL, A FEW MOMENTS AGO,
MORE AND MORE AMERICANS, UNFORTUNATELY,
ARE IN THE SAME PREDICAMENT AS YOU ARE.
AND YOU WORK FOR AN ORGANIZATION
THAT IS TRYING TO BREAK DOWN THOSE BARRIERS
AND TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS AN EQUAL ECONOMIC, EDUCATIONAL,
AND WORKFORCE PLAYING FIELD FOR YOUR GROUP.
TELL US ABOUT THAT.
Schroeder: YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY TRUE,
AND IT'S INTERESTING YOU USE THE WORD "UNFORTUNATE."
AND VISION LOSS, I DON'T WANT TO SUGARCOAT IT --
IT IS A TOUGH -- IT CAN BE VERY TOUGH.
AND IT IS DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO ADJUST TO.
MOST PEOPLE LOSE THEIR SIGHT AS THEY'RE OLDER, AS THEY'RE AGING,
SO THEY GET PAST AGE 50.
AND THAT'S THE HARDEST TIME TO MAKE THOSE ADJUSTMENT.
I THINK WE ALL KNOW FROM OUR PARENTS
OR OUR LOVED ONES, RELATIVES --
THEY'RE STRUGGLING TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO.
AND SO, WE HAVE DEDICATED OURSELVES
AT THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND
IN EFFORTS TO TRY TO HELP INDIVIDUALS
WITH THE TOOLS, STRATEGIES, SERVICES,
WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE
TO MAKE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS TO VISION LOSS,
BECAUSE THE MESSAGE, ROBERT, IS, IT CAN BE DONE.
FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME WHO GREW UP WITH VISION LOSS,
THIS IS ALL I KNOW.
SO I MAKE THE ADJUSTMENTS AUTOMATICALLY,
BUT I'VE ALSO HAD A LOT OF GREAT PEOPLE
WHO TAUGHT ME THINGS LIKE BRAILLE SKILLS,
HOW TO GET AROUND WITH A WHITE CANE,
AND HOW TO USE TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE.
FOR AN OLDER PERSON LOSING VISION, IT'S NOT AS EASY.
NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.
BUT THOSE SAME SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE,
AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE DO.
Traynham: AND, PAUL, LET'S TALK ABOUT THOSE SERVICES.
I ASSUME -- YOU MENTIONED SOME OF THE RESOURCES
THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN TERMS OF WALKING
OR USING A CANE AND SO FORTH, BRAILLE AND SO FORTH.
I WOULD ALSO ASSUME THAT THERE IS AN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT
THAT NEEDS TO TAKE PLACE,
PARTICULARLY WITH, AS YOU MENTION,
WITH BABY BOOMERS THAT ARE GETTING OLDER,
AND THEY'RE LOSING OR THEY LOST THEIR SIGHT
IN THE PRIME OF THEIR LIVES.
Schroeder: AND IF I COULD SPEAK TO FAMILY MEMBERS HERE,
THE CHILDREN OF OLDER PARENTS,
OR A MOM AND DAD WHO HAS A LITTLE ONE WHO'S LOSING VISION,
THE BEST THING, MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO --
STAY POSITIVE AND KEEP A FOCUS
ON HELPING THAT PERSON RECOGNIZE, "YOU KNOW WHAT?
"IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY.
"YOU'LL BE ABLE TO LIVE INDEPENDENTLY,
MAINTAIN INDEPENDENCE WITH VISION LOSS."
YOU MENTIONED TECHNOLOGY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEGMENT.
AND FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME, I'M OLD ENOUGH
TO HAVE WITNESSED AND BEEN ALIVE FOR CHANGES
THAT HAVE MADE IT SO MUCH EASIER TO GET ACCESS TO PRINT.
WHEN I WAS GOING THROUGH SCHOOL,
I HAD PEOPLE READ THINGS ONTO CASSETTE TAPES, YOU KNOW,
SIT WITH A BOOK IN FRONT OF THEM AND READ IT ONTO A TAPE,
AND THEN I WOULD LISTEN TO THE TAPE.
THEY WERE EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE.
-IT WAS EXTRAORDINARILY AWFUL. -Traynham: SURE.
Schroeder: A VERY DIFFICULT WAY TO GET INFORMATION.
NOW I CAN GET THAT INFORMATION OFF OF AN ONLINE PROVIDER,
I CAN READ IT IN SOMETHING CALLED TEXT-TO-SPEECH
SO THAT IT AUTOMATICALLY IS CONVERTED INTO SPEECH
THAT I CAN UNDERSTAND,
OR IT'S CONVERTED INTO BRAILLE
THAT IS ON A SPECIAL TECHNOLOGY DEVICE
-THAT DISPLAYS THAT BRAILLE. -Traynham: UNBELIEVABLE.
Schroeder: OR FOR SOMEBODY WITH LOW VISION,
THEY CAN SEE IT ON A SCREEN WITH GREAT MAGNIFICATION.
AND WE SAY "LOW VISION" A LOT.
A LOT OF PEOPLE, THEY STILL HAVE SOME VISION THAT THEY USE,
AND SO, INSTEAD OF SQUINTING AT THAT COMPUTER SCREEN,
YOU CAN MAKE THOSE CHARACTERS AS LARGE AS YOU WANT THEM.
Traynham: YOU KNOW, PAUL, WHAT YOU JUST SAID A FEW MOMENTS AGO
HAS BEEN UNBELIEVABLE, AND SO KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. WE HAVE 10 SECONDS LEFT.
I JUST WANT TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SAY THANK YOU
FOR BEING AN INSPIRATION TO ALL OF US.
-WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. -Schroeder: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Traynham: AND, OF COURSE, THANK YOU
FOR JOIN US FOR THIS EDITION OF "COMCAST NEWSMAKERS."
I'M ROBERT TRAYNHAM. HAVE A GREAT DAY, EVERYBODY.
WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME. BYE-BYE.