physical disabilities Archives - Page 5 of 6

Published July 2, 2013

On the Future of Braille: Thoughts by Radical Braille Advocates… by Betsy Beaumon

On the Future of Braille: Thoughts by Radical Braille Advocates by Betsy Beaumon, VP and General Manager, Benetech’s Global Literacy Program I recently had the honor to speak at the first-ever Braille Summit, hosted on June 19-21, 2013 by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) and Perkins School for the Blind. With the goal of promoting braille literacy, this landmark meeting brought together braille experts from around the world to Perkins’ campus in Watertown, Massachusetts. My biggest takeaway from the summit: the time could not be more urgent, and more hopeful, for the future…

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Published July 1, 2013

Bookshare Celebrates 250,000 Milestone and Members of All Ages!

Bookshare is helping people with print disabilities around the world to read books for school, work, and fun so they can reach their personal goals and more fully participate in society. This summer, we celebrate a very important milestone: we now serve 250,000 members! Did you know that Bookshare members include students, adults, seniors, veterans, and international members in over 40 countries? We could not have achieved this milestone without the help of members, advocates, and partners like you. Your tireless efforts have helped to build Bookshare’s thriving community. And your continued support will help us reach hundreds of millions…

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Published April 25, 2013

College Students Share Thoughts and Feelings about Bookshare

There’s no better evidence of success than when you hear a Bookshare member sharing their achievements and innermost thoughts. Recently, we talked with three students now in post-secondary schools whose lives were changed by Bookshare. Ta’ Lisa Hutton began, “What if others think I’m abnormal?” This was the main question that ran through her mind when she was first offered a Bookshare membership at eight years old. “At that age, other people’s perceptions of me were more important than tools that could have changed my future,” she said. “So I struggled with reading and comprehension and feelings that amount to…

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Published February 26, 2013

Plan Your CSUN Schedule

Are you going to CSUN? Look for our booth, #712, in the conventional hall and stop by for a demo and training on the new tools, Bookshare Web Reader and Bookshelf. Here’s quick look at all the Bookshare presentations, trainings, and events. Mark your calendars with items of interest. Event Day Time Location Presenter Latest Developments in Math Accessibility Fri 8:00 am Ford C, 3rd floor Anh Bui Born Accessible: Inclusive Publishing Thur 1:50 pm Ford C, 3rd floor Betsy Beaumon Reading Technology: What Works? Thur 9:20 am Ford C, 3rd floor Kristina Cohen and guest teacher from SDUSD Making…

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Published May 8, 2012

Bookshare Helped Student Transition to College

Zach Bryant pulled straight A’s in his Maryland high school. He liked to read all kinds of books then, but that wasn’t always the case for Zach. He has Cerebral Palsy (CP) which prohibits him from speaking and walking. To communicate and write his thoughts down, he uses an augmentative communication device (AAC). Simple tasks, like turning a printed page or finding the last chapter he read was frustrating for him. According to his mom, this experience happens to many children with CP. “They get frustrated and don’t want to read, but access to digital books and reading technologies changed…

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Published April 16, 2012

Can We Give Too Much?

A guest post from Lucy Greco, a blind advocate for accessible technology. An Assistive Technology Specialist at UC Berkeley, San Francisco Bay Area, Greco is the user of various assistive technologies since the early 1980s. She is passionate about the ways technology makes the world more accessible to everyone but especially to individuals with disabilities. “For students with disabilities in college and universities, where do we draw the line between providing them support services and teaching them to be independent,” asks Lucy Greco. I graduated from California State University Hayward in 1997. The ADA was only six years old and…

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Published April 2, 2012

U.S. Senator Congratulates Bookshare on 10th Anniversary! Digital eBook Access Breaks Down Reading Barriers for U.S. Students with Qualified Print Disabilities

On March 8, 2012, ninety guests gathered at the U.S. Capitol to hear Senator Tom Harkin (IA- D), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Appropriations Committee, recognize the good work of the staff and volunteers of Bookshare on its 10th anniversary. The Iowa Senator and Julie Freed, an assistive technology teacher and constituent of the Senator’s home state, thanked Bookshare for breaking down barriers to reading access for individuals with print disabilities. In his speech, Senator Harkin first acknowledged the leadership of Jim Fruchterman, Benetech’s CEO and the founder of Bookshare along with Betsy Beaumon, V.P. and General…

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Published January 12, 2012

Hot Books for Emerging Teen Readers

We are often asked about high-interest books for emerging readers in middle and upper grades. To make this category of books easy to find in Bookshare, we’ve organized the titles in a new Special Collection called “Hot Books for Emerging Teen Readers.” To start, there are 327 books in the collection. You can find the collection by clicking on Browse (in the tool bar at the top, near the right) and then clicking on Special Collections and clicking on “Hot Books for Emerging Teen Readers.” There are lots of titles by Michele Martin Bossley, Becky Citra, Norah Mcclintock, Eric Walters…

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Published December 7, 2011

What You Can Do During Inclusive Schools Week

This week, December 5 to 9, I recently learned is Inclusive Schools Week sponsored by Stetson & Associates, Inc., and this year marks the 11th anniversary of the event. The purpose of the week, to quote from their website, is “to highlight the progress schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to students of diverse backgrounds and abilities and to provide an opportunity for educators, students, and families to ensure that schools continue to improve their ability to successfully educate all children.” Apparently, thousands of districts are planning to celebrate this week and participate in “Moving From…

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Published December 2, 2011

Boy Scout Manuals on Bookshare!

Credit for this post goes to Bryan Wendell, with the Boy Scouts of America. Here’s the original. For some boys, reading doesn’t come easy. And that makes the Boy Scouts of America a challenging place. The Boy Scout Handbook. Merit Badge pamphlets. BSA training manuals. Daunting prospects for boys with print disabilities. Fortunately, the BSA has some great resources for those Scouts. Starting with Bookshare. This summer, the BSA signed a memorandum of understanding that cements a partnership aimed at improving the Scouting experience for boys and girls with print disabilities. Bookshare’s cool online library (bookshare.org) allows Scouts in your…

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Category: physical disabilities