I started using a blindness cane (also known as a white cane) full-time during my first semester of college while living on campus. As a student with low vision, using a cane gave me a tremendous amount of freedom and independence, accompanying me everywhere from…

If I’m attending a visual impairment or assistive technology conference that has a karaoke event, there’s a very strong chance I will take the mic and perform “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi, my favorite song of all time and one of my favorites…

When I receive emails from students and parents asking about free tutoring for blind and visually impaired students, one of the first things I ask them is if they have contacted the National Homework Hotline, provided by VISTAS Education Services. Founded in March 2020 as…

One of the common misconceptions I first believed when buying my first blindness cane is that all canes are one size fits all, and that the process of choosing a cane is as easy as choosing a random item online and checking out. However, I…

I’ve been creating accessible assignments with Microsoft Sway as both an instructor and as a student for years, and often get questions from others about how I organize various types of content. Every Sway I have ever created for undergraduate and graduate assignments has earned…

One of my favorite ways to create takeaway documents and handouts after meetings and presentations is with the Microsoft Sway web application, which makes it easy for presenters and audience members alike to access content with their favorite assistive technologies. Here are my tips for…

How having both a laptop and desktop computer has helped me in my classes

Confession: I had never used audio description until my first year in college, because I had believed one of the common myths about audio description and assumed that it wouldn’t be beneficial for someone with low vision like me. I was thrilled to discover that…

I was officially diagnosed with dysgraphia at the age of five, which is a learning disability that is characterized by poor handwriting and trouble with forming letters. I’ve always struggled with dysgraphia, but the people who seemed most frustrated by my poor handwriting were my…

Why having a tutor from the same school or school district is beneficial for students, especially those with IEP or 504 plans

When I was in elementary school, my parents would buy large print word search and other puzzle books that would keep me entertained for hours at home or on a long drive. Over time, the font size of the large print puzzle books has become…

I’ve been using my iPad a lot for writing lately and noticed that my hands were starting to hurt after doing so much typing on the device’s touchscreen keyboard. After learning that a physical hardware keyboard could help me type more quickly and efficiently with…