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Author: Tom

I have been working in accessibility for the last 25 years. I have helped government agencies, corporations and non-profit organizations to become accessible. Over the years I taught over 20000 people about accessibility.

Preparing for Life When You Are Going Blind

Published December 8, 2022 by Tom

Introduction

If you or any of your relatives are going blind, it will probably be one of the biggest life events. It is hard to avoid trauma, but it is important to know that people who go blind can continue doing what they were doing with modifications, and it will also create new opportunities. Going blind itself is such a huge topic that it would deserve an entire book. This post, however, is more intended to be a roadmap for somebody starting on their research on how to get prepared.

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Airport Accessibility Enhancement Accreditation

Published November 30, 2022 by Tom

In September 2022 the Airports Council International launched the Airport Accessibility Enhancement Accreditation program. This accreditation is the first of its kind, and can be awarded to ACI member airports, currently in 183 countries.

The accreditation demonstrates a level of accessibility and provides continuous improvement. The accreditation is valid for three years. The process is expected to take approximately two weeks.

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Specialized or mainstream vacations for blind people

Published November 28, 2022 by Tom

There are some vacation experiences which are designed specifically for blind people, keeping all requirements and accessibility needs in mind. This is where people don’t have to worry if their accessibility needs will be met for the entire duration of their stay. However, only a few of such experiences exist. Opportunities are practically endless when we consider mainstream vacation ideas, available for all, but these may not be fully accessible. There are advantages of both approaches. We will look at how each one works and what the advantages are.

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Why Blindness is Expensive and Time-Consuming?

Published November 11, 2022 by Tom

I always tell people that being blind is expensive and time-consuming. Just by the nature of things, the expense parts can be cut back to some extent, but the time consuming will always be a thing. I could provide numerous examples, but for now, let’s concentrate on some of those which are related to travel in some way. It is not just a complaint session, at the end I’ll explain what would make it less taxing on people.

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An average business trip to Las Vegas from a blind employees perspective

Published October 29, 2022 by Tom

I attended a conference in Las Vegas which was one of the most typical experiences from the accessibility point of view. Most of the challenges were familiar, and usually I wouldn’t even think about them. However, this time I took note on everything that maybe a challenge, and I will take you through it. I will explain the accessibility problem, and will provide a solution if it is available.

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Working with a guide dog

Published October 23, 2022 by Tom

Baldwin the guide dog sitting in a cockpit

Hi, my name is Baldwin. My human, Tom, asked me to talk a bit about the work of a guide dog. I’m glad he did, because what does he know about being a dog anyway?

A little bit about me, I was born in New York state, at Guiding Eyes for the Blind. That’s where thousands of guide dogs are born. After a couple of months, I moved to Virginia to be with a puppy raiser family. I spent a year with them, they taught me how to behave. Tom says they did good. They loved me so much, they even write for my birthday every year.

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