Independent Living

Balancing security and accessibility, an IT major’s guide to improving your passwords

My life with double vision and seeing the world with four eyes open

One of the most-used applications on my Android phone is the Google Lens app, an image recognition tool that lets me take pictures or upload pictures from my phone gallery to get information about what is in an image or search for additional relevant information.…

Even though many mainstream technology brands offer accessibility features and support assistive technology software in their products, many technical support teams are not familiar with low vision accessibility settings or how using assistive technology can change how users interact with a product. I’ve experienced this…

As part of physical therapy, I was given a list of exercises to do at home a few times a week that will help me with my treatment goals. I noticed that it was challenging for me to remember how many exercises I was supposed…

Learning how to make a refrigerator accessible for visual impairment is a task that can include not only arranging the contents of the refrigerator inside, but organizing information or other items that can be attached to the refrigerator itself or placed on doors. Many of…

When I first started using a blindness cane, I wasn’t sure what kind of cane tip to purchase for my first cane, and had just been told to buy something before I started college. I ended up buying a random pencil cane tip on Amazon…

For one of my class projects, I worked with a tween-aged student who had a confirmed diagnosis of Cortical Visual Impairment (also known as Cerebral Visual Impairment or CVI) and wanted to redesign their bedroom to make it a more accessible and fun space. Designing…

When I was living in a college dorm, I honestly didn’t put much thought into how I would organize or identify cords for charging technology, connecting peripheral devices to my computer, or arranging items that are connected to a surge protector- I sort of just…

I love how a pair of colorful, comfortable shoes can pull an outfit together, or how the right pair of athletic shoes can make a huge difference for exercise or going for a walk. I’ve tried a few different strategies for organizing shoes with vision…

I love wearing necklaces and earrings, and I can find my favorite pieces in less than a minute thanks to learning strategies for organizing jewelry with vision loss. I’ve experimented with a few different systems for jewelry organization over the years, including the use of…

One of my friends asked me to help them learn how to organize a dresser with visual impairment after they admitted they had given up on trying to keep clothes organized and just shoved things in drawers, feeling around to locate items and having trouble…