If you are a person, possibly a senior, adjusting to recent vision loss, you have doubtless learned that two of the most common questions asked by the sight-impaired are "What is it?" and "Where did it go?" In this special AccessWorld article, we will try to point you in the right direction—if you will excuse the wordplay—and offer up some tips to help you identify unfamiliar items and keep track of the ones you have.

Going Low Tech

Here at AccessWorld we offer reviews, guides, and tips for using access technology to increase your independence and quality of life. That is our goal in this article, but first, there are a lot of simple, low-tech solutions to aid in identification and organization. Here are just a few:

A Place for Everything and Everything In its Place

It's not just an old saying, it's a way of life for any person who is blind and wants to remain independent. You probably know right where to go to fetch a dinner fork in your kitchen. Do you also know where you keep the roll of masking tape, the salt and pepper shakers, or the TV remote? Place-keeping is more than simply finding a place for your things—you need to keep up with the plan. Don't leave that screwdriver on the table after you tighten that doorknob. The time it takes you to put it where it belongs will be significantly less than it will take you to find it the next time. If you live with a spouse or other family members, they will need to become involved. You will never find that TV remote if other members of the household insist on dropping it wherever.

Special Places for Special Items

Do you have different medications you take in the morning and at night? Consider stowing your morning meds in your bathroom and your nighttime prescriptions in a kitchen cabinet. Can't find the mustard? No problem, if it's always on the top door shelf, right beside the relish. Keep the shampoo at one end of the tub, the conditioner at the other, and by all means leave that depilatory cream outside the shower or somewhere else where you won't confuse it for either.

You can read a lot more about Household Organization at our sister website VisionAware.

Marking and Labeling

Many people with visual impairments will put a rubber band around one bottle of medication while leaving the second untouched. Upon request, your pharmacist will also likely be willing to dispense individual medications in bottles of different sizes.

Braille labels are a popular way to label items. And you don't have to be a proficient braille reader to use these techniques. Spend a few hours learning and practicing the basic braille alphabet, and you're well on your way to using a braille labeler to individualize your spice rack using the first few letters of each jar's contents.

Another popular way of distinguishing items is by placing tiny adhesive dots on them. One dot on your bottle of Vitamin A, three dots on your vitamin C. Adhesive dots not only enable you to mark individual items, they can also be used to mark important buttons on various gadgets and touch-panel appliances. For example, a dot on the Start, 30-Second, and Stop buttons may be all you need to successfully handle most of your daily microwave usage.

For greater operative control, consider a braille touch appliance overlay. Also be sure to check out New Developments in Appliance Access in the January 2017 issue of AccessWorld, where we inform readers about a new project called VizLens, which will soon lead to new universal touch panel access, and HALOS, a low-tech solution available right now that offers unique touchpad overlays and adhesive icons that use cleverly-shaped raised images to enhance your ability to navigate appliance touch controls. You can also read a lot more about Labeling and Marking at our sister AFB website VisionAware.

Going High-Tech with Smartphones and Devices

At AccessWorld we encourage the sight-impaired to obtain and learn to use an accessible smartphone. Indeed, if you scan the archives of AccessWorld and the VisionAware. you will find dozens of articles and guides describing techniques for using the iPhone's built-in screen reader, called VoiceOver, and Talkback, which comes preinstalled on Android phones. We have also published dozens of articles on stand-alone devices that can help with organization and identification, such as the various stand-alone currency readers that can help sort your cash; color identifiers that can help with your wardrobe; accessible bar code readers to help you find that can of hash in your stocked-to-overflowing pantry; and voice labelers, such as the Pen Friend 2.

Voice Labeling

The Pen Friend 2 is produced by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIFB), and is sold here in the US by various dealers, including MaxiAids and Future Aids. Point the device at a Pen Friend label and record a voice message, such as "heartworm medication," or "green and white blouse." Affix the label to the item, and then, whenever you point the Pen Friend toward that item, your message will be played.

The Pen Friend costs $150 at MaxiAids and $160 from Future Aids. But keep in mind that a smartphone can perform the same "talking label" function using a pad of Envision ELI labels and the Envision ELI app, available free from either the iOS App Store or from Google Play.

The ELI labels cost $20 for a pad of 100. Each peel-and-stick label displays a unique QR code. Peel one off and point your smartphone's camera at it, and a friendly Eli will prompt you to record a message, such as "Tylenol Extra Strength," "Toy Story 3 DVD," or "Navy blue thread."

Each time you point your smartphone toward the label, Envision ELI plays your message, then offers you the opportunity to record over it. Perhaps you're not happy with your message, or maybe you decided to store your brown rice in that canister instead of basmati. Envision ELI will record messages up to a full minute long, so feel free to include cooking instructions on that rice label, as well as its contents.

Envision ELI labels can be purchased at the company's web site.

Object Identification

So far we've discussed several ways to organize everyday items and even to enhance your ability to find them by labeling them with braille, dots, or voice labels. Of course all of these methods assume you have someone immediately at hand to tell you what that item is in the first place. What if you live alone or simply wish to enhance your personal independence?

Medication

Taking the wrong prescription is one of the leading causes of preventable accidents. We've already shown you a few ways to separate and label your prescriptions, but did you know there are also technologies to have your prescriptions audio labeled directly from the pharmacy?

For years many pharmacies have offered to attach either large-print or braille labels to medication bottles and other packaging, but these days there are ways to make that same pill bottle talk.

The ScripTalk Station from En Vision America. is free to qualified users, and all you need to do to read a prescription label with the device is place a specially-tagged prescription bottle or box atop the device. ScripTalk Station ScripTalk Station will then speak the medication name, dosage size and timing, doctor's name, refill date, and even the drug's possible side effects. You can read more about this device in the June 2013 AccessWorld.

Many major brick-and-mortar and mail-order pharmacy chains, including Walmart, offer ScripTalk labeled prescriptions. Check here to see if your pharmacy participates.

A second popular method your pharmacist can use to create accessible prescription labels is by using Audio Digital Labels from AccessaMed. These gum-packsize devices are programmed by the pharmacist with the prescription name, dosage, doctor's name, refill date, and other critical information. Press the device's single button and the information is spoken in clear, easy-to-understand synthesized speech.

One last technology we will describe here is Talking Pill Reminders, which are used by Walgreens. These talking reminders attach to a prescription bottle and include a beeping reminder alert, along with the ability to record and replay an audio message describing the container's contents and proper dosage.

VisionAware offers a Guide to Accessible Medications, where you can see how your pharmacist stacks up. If yours does not offer accessible prescriptions, consider changing pharmacies,if you can. If not, ask to be connected to someone who can make this happen.

Reading Labels

It's called pantry roulette. You take a can of what you think is green beans out of your cupboard to go along with your meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Only it turns out to be a can of bean sprouts. You are mystified because you thought you had the green beans all the way to the right on the top shelf. Somebody must have moved them.

It's not always possible to label everything you bring home from the supermarket and pharmacy. And if there's no one around, you can indeed be left wondering.

There is a standalone device that can help. It's called the I.D. Mate, and it is produced by En-Vision America, the same company that also provides free ScripTalk Stations. This handheld device uses the same bar codes used by store cashiers to determine and announce the name of a product, along with other information such as size, weight, even some cooking instructions. To learn more start with the August 2016 issue of AccessWorld.

There are also several smartphone-based solutions that can help you determine what's in that can or jar. Perhaps the most popular is TapTapSee, which is available for both iPhones and Android smartphones.

TapTapSee is a mobile camera application designed specifically for the blind and visually impaired. Snap a photo of that can or box, automatically upload it to the TapTapSee servers, and in just a few seconds receive a description of the item which is spoken using your smartphone's built-in screen reader. Give it a try. You'll be amazed at its usefulness.

Some Reading Required

Of course not every item can be identified by TapTapSee. What about the address label on that package you just received? Or, now that you know you have that frozen dinner you want, how long do you need to heat it in your microwave?

This is where an optical character recognition (OCR) mobile app called KNFB Reader comes in quite handy. It's available for both iPhones and Android phones, and you can use it to snap a picture of text you can't see and have it read to you.

KNFB Reader includes several features that make it easy to use your phone's camera to snap a high quality image. The app will sound beeps to help you position the phone over the text you wish to have recognized and spoken aloud. You can also snap a test pic to make sure you have all four corners of your page in view. KNFB Reader doesn't care if your text is a bit off-center—even if it's upside-down. You can even use KNFB Reader to go through your own mail—a real boost to personal independence. Read more about this groundbreaking app in the November, 2014 issue of AccessWorld.

Also check out the article on the OrCam devices in this special issue, which introduce you to a pair of glasses that can read text—and all you have to do is point your finger!

"Borrow" a Pair of Eyes

Sometimes you simply need sighted help. Perhaps you are confused about which is the 1/3-cup and which is the ½-cup kitchen measure. Or maybe you can't remember which TV remote button changes the set from satellite to DVD player. These are times when it's nice to have a sighted companion around, but that's not always possible…or is it?

BeSpecular is a new app that enables you to not only snap a picture of an item and upload it to the Cloud for description, but you can also ask a question and receive multiple responses from BeSpecular volunteers who are available around the world, 24-hours a day. BeSpecular is available for both iPhones and Android phones, and if you want to learn more, read BeSpecular: A New Remote Assistant Service from the July 2016 issue of AccessWorld.

Sometimes what you need to know to get organized simply cannot be accomplished in a single picture. BeSpecular allows you to send multiple images, but for times such as these, there may be a better solution.

Be My Eyes is an app currently available for iPhone, and soon to be released for Android. Be My Eyes matches one of nearly one-half million volunteers with people with visual impairments who need a few minutes of remote sighted assistance. The app uses your phone's camera and microphone to conduct two-way audio, one-way video interaction. The volunteer can see what you need seen, answer your questions, and offer guidance such as "There are three ripe tomatoes on your vine. Reach out your left hand and go down about four inches for the first," or, "Looks like you got it all. I don't see any more broken shards of glass on the floor."

Like most of the other technology solutions we have mentioned in this article, Be My Eyes was also covered in greater detail in a previous February 2015 issue of AccessWorld.

As you can see, regular AccessWorld readers are treated to detailed looks at both new and emerging access technologies on a regular basis. Indeed, below you will find links to just a few articles that may prove invaluable as you strive to enhance your independence and quality of life. We also invite you to return next month to enjoy more of our ongoing coverage of all things accessible.

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Author
Bill Holton
Article Topic
Access to Item Recognition and Organization