Kindle Gets VoiceOver Support

Amazon has announced a handful of new updates to its universal Kindle app for iOS, designed to make it easier for blind and visually impaired users to navigate their way through the app. Version 3.7 of the Kindle app taps Apple's VoiceOver tech to introduce a new read-aloud feature for almost 2 million titles in the Kindle Store. This follows on from Barnes & Noble, which launched VoiceOver integration for its iOS Nook app back in November.

Just to recap, VoiceOver was first popularized on Apple Macs, and went on to become a standard iOS feature on iPhone 3GS and later. It's essentially a gesture-based screen reader, enabling users to interact with their device even if they can't see the screen. While the update is hitting the iOS app first, Amazon says it will be landing on other devices in the future. Click here to learn more, including how you can activate and use the new features.


NAPVI International Family Conference

The National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (NAPVI) and Jewish Guild Healthcare welcome parents of children with visual impairments, blindness, and additional disabilities of all ages, including siblings and extended family and friends to Families Connecting with Families International Conference in Boston, MA, from July 19-21, 2013.

The conference will offer 32 workshops on a variety of topics as well as “Eye Condition Networking Sessions”, where parents will have the opportunity to meet other parents of children with similar eye conditions. The conference will feature renowned key note presenters:

• Kay A. Ferrell, PhD, Professor of Special Education and renowned author on Early Childhood and Visual Impairments
• Eli Peli, MSc, OD, Director of Vision Rehabilitation Service at New England Eye Center
• Kevin O’Connor, MA, author and an acclaimed motivational speaker and father of a young adult who is visually impaired

A FREE daycare program is offered for children as well as activities and fun for the whole family. To get more information or register, please visit www.guildhealth.org/family.


New Life Begins at Clovernook for the Blind

VisionServe Alliance member Phil Bertram of Clovernook for the Blind recently shared his personal challenge in dealing with a life-threatening illness that left him visually impaired and unemployed. Persons who become visually challenged later in life are often not prepared to answer this question: "What should I do if suddenly my vision becomes impaired and I simply can no longer perform my work duties as contracted?"  Actually, this burning question plagues many in the blind community who either seek to remain in or enter independency by finding employment and providing for themselves and their families.

Read and learn how Clovernook for the Blind is making a difference in regards to training and employment, and how it personally saved Phil's life by helping him find so much more than he'd originally lost.


Employment Mentoring Project: Seeks Legally Blind College-Aged Students

The National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision (NRTC) at Mississippi State University continues to seek students and professionals to participate in a nationwide Employment Mentoring Project that pairs students with legally blind mentors and offers career resources in an effort to improve employment outcomes.

Students must be graduating college or graduate school between August 2013 and December 2014, must be legally blind, under age 35, living anywhere in the U.S., and seeking employment after graduation. Students graduating before March 2014 should sign up right away to be included in the next group! Legally blind mentors are also being sought. Students and mentors who are interested can obtain more details by visiting http://tiny.cc/mentoring-project or contacting Dr. Jamie O’Mally at nrtc2@colled.msstate.edu or 1-800-675-7782. Persons are also encouraged to sign up for the national Participant Registry for Blindness and Low Vision Research (http://tiny.cc/participant-registry).