AFB Blog

As a means of consuming literature, learning, and communicating, braille has remained the biggest game changer in the history of inventions for people who are blind. It is only fitting then, that we celebrate the United Nations' recent resolution designating January 4 of every year as World Braille Day. As a braille user myself, I can say firsthand that those tiny tactile dots represent so much more than the sum of their parts—they are a gateway to independence for people who are blind or…

As we close out 2018 and prepare for 2019, AFB would like to share our hopes and dreams for older people in this country: complete and timely access to vision rehabilitation services, including low vision, rehabilitation, orientation and mobility, and employment for older people who have vision loss; and a fundamental change in the public understanding and acceptance of low vision and blindness that promotes equal access to high quality, fully productive, and independent lives and overcomes…

AFB’s Huntington office has a holiday tradition dating back the last several years that allows us to better and more fully connect with our community. Every December, the staff throws a modest holiday party—either a catered lunch or a visit to a local restaurant. The party includes a gift exchange, where we previously all put our names into a hat and drew a colleague’s name, then that colleague receives the gift at the party. When you draw a person’s name, you think about what that person’s…

We are thrilled to announce that the moment you've been waiting for is here—registration is now open for the 2019 AFB Leadership Conference (#AFBLC19)! Join us at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA, as we bring together leaders in the field to share research and advocate for equal education and employment opportunities, as well as to address the needs of an aging population. The conference will have five primary areas of focus: leadership, aging and visual impairment, education,…

Photo: Helen Keller seated in an armchair next to Winifred Corbally (right). Keller's young grandniece Margot Keller and another child stand in front. Texas, 1961. Today we give thanks for all the wonderful things in our lives, and on this particular Thanksgiving, the American Foundation for the Blind has a special word of gratitude to the Texas Board of Education. On Friday, November 16, the board voted to keep Helen Keller (1880-1968) in the school curriculum. This decision has ensured…

The American Foundation for the Blind was pleased to learn that the Librarian of Congress had approved the US Copyright Office’s recommendation to exempt certain classes of works from copyright restrictions to improve access to those works by people who are blind or visually impaired. Every three years, the Copyright Office conducts a rulemaking procedure to determine which classes of works should be exempt from the "prohibition on circumvention of copyright protection systems for access…

This week we lost a legendary figure in the field of comic books and entertainment, Stan Lee. Among the many characters he helped develop for Marvel Comics is the first blind superhero, Daredevil. About his visually impaired crime-fighter, Lee said: "The one thing that worried me about Daredevil—I wondered if blind people would be offended, because we were exaggerating so much what a blind person can do, and they might have felt that we're making it ridiculous. But I was so pleased. After…

Helen Keller was a witness to the disasters of war—more specifically, soldiers blinded in the First World War, the Second World War and the Korean War. In-depth information on Keller's involvement with blinded veterans, and her work to improve the economic, social and psychological lives of returning veterans are all documented in the Helen Keller Archive. (Helen Keller, Polly Thomson and a veteran lying in bed, possibly at a hospital in Pennsylvania.) (Helen Keller with wounded veterans at…

A bill of rights for airline passengers with disabilities and enhanced disability training for Transportation Security Administration officers are on the way under a new federal law. Among the improvements enacted in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, this legislation will: Increase civil penalties for bodily harm to a passenger with a disability and damage to wheelchairs or other mobility aids; Require that DOT review, and if necessary, revise regulations ensuring passengers with…