When You Can No Longer Read

Newsline

Dear Linda:

       My mother is no longer able to see. She was an avid reader and really misses the newspaper. Is there anything I can do for her?

Robert in Richland Hills

Dear Robert:

       Yes, you can arrange the gift of information for your mom. Contact The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) about its electronic news service called NFB-Newsline. The largest accessible information service in the United States, it operates in thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia, and serves over 50,000 registered users.

       Created for people (blind or disabled) who can no longer read regular newsprint, this valuable service enables access to current events and in-depth coverage in several magazines and more than 200 daily newspapers from around the country.

       NFB-Newsline is a free service to all registered-users and has been available to the over 75,000 disabled residents of Texas since 1995. The Fort Worth Star Telegram and The Houston Chronicle are the two newspapers in Texas that are accessible.

       As a registered-user of the on-demand, telephone (touchtone) service, your mom can access the newspaper by calling a local or toll-free number on the day it’s published or at her leisure twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and she can choose to hear the whole publication or just the articles in which she is most interested.

       The cost of making this important program available to all the disabled people in Texas is only $40,000 per year. The funding had been provided by a federal grant, the Texas Commission for the Blind, and the NFB in Texas (an affiliate of the national organization). Last year, however, that funding was not forthcoming and the program in Texas was in jeopardy. Last minute donations postponed its termination and ensured another year of operation.

       Call 866-504-7300 to support this critical service and to request a brochure, an introductory cassette, a list of available newspapers in registered states, and the application for registration, which requires a letter certifying the subscriber’s disability.

Christmas Gifts for Those with Poor Vision

Dear Linda:
       
My Dad’s eyesight is failing. What can I get him for Christmas that will make life easier?
 
Holiday Helper

Dear Holiday Helper:

       Begin by taking your dad to the ophthalmologist for an eye exam. Be sure his eyeglasses are the correct strength, and that any disease is properly diagnosed and managed. If he hasn’t been screened for glaucoma, request that test be done. Left untreated, glaucoma can result in blindness. The doctor can also assess whether your father is suffering with dry eye, a culprit in poor vision and more common among seniors.

       Then fill his stocking with large-faced playing cards, a large-print check register and address book, low-vision puzzles, games and word searches.

       Think big for under the tree: a large button telephone, remote control and calculator, large-print books (including cook books), sheet music and calendars.

       Enlarge the world for him. Magnifiers come in every size and shape. There are magnifying mirrors — hand-held and for on the wall, and magnifying watches with built-in flashlights. There are magnifiers that can be used for over television and computer screens, books and magazines, and medicine bottles.

       Magnifiers can be hand-held or hands-free, lighted, page-size or as small as a credit card. Visit www.activeforever.com for a variety of products or call 800-377-8033.

       If an unexpected voice won’t be disconcerting, consider the value of things that talk: clocks, watches, timers, indoor and outdoor thermometers, scales and Caller ID to name a few. Simple software converts a computer into a talking machine, and talking frames can put messages from family members’ within reach.

       Buy books on tape and collections of music (including golden oldies and show tunes from old movies and Broadway). Old-time radio dramas and comedies are also entertaining. Visit www.wellhaven.com for other ideas or call 888-564-1500.

       Remember time spent with your dad is more important than any gift, so consider tickets to a holiday show. Get seats close to the stage and bring binoculars.