Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Help with coding with low vision. (self.Blind)
submitted by carpe_diem1977
Hi. My son is visually impaired and wants to do more coding. He has some vision and can read font size 48. Any recommendations for coding with low vision? I know screen readers are an option but has anyone found other solutions?
-shacklebolt- 2 points 6y ago
What is his normal computer access solution, and what issues is he having with it?
carpe_diem1977 [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Right now he uses a large monitor and gets close to the screen. He's starting to have neck problems from having to lean forward to see the screen. Thanks for responding!
kennethbrodersen 2 points 6y ago
I have to agree with shacklebolt. It is so important that he receives some help exploring and choosing the kinds of tools/technologies that can assist him in day to day life (not just programming). It will make his life much easier, more fun and it WILL make him more self-sufficient.
I am a visually impaired software engineer so I know a thing or two about programming :-) The most useful tools for me is a LARGE monitor (on a movable arm) and a screen magnifier. He has to decrease the font size to code efficiently so the magnifier is a must. The screen magnifier and/or screen readers are also so important for improving his sitting position. If he continue as now he will probably end up having some nasty neck/back problems when getting older.
I could go much more into details but I am not going to do that right now. We are all different and what works for me might not work for your son.
The most important thing is to follow shacklebolts advice and contact whatever organisation in your country who evaluates and advice blind/visually impaired people in the use of assistive technologies. They can show you the different options available and help figure out what works for your son and what does not.
I am a visually impaired software engineer so I know a thing or two about programming :-) The most useful tools for me is a LARGE monitor (on a movable arm) and a screen magnifier. He has to decrease the font size to code efficiently so the magnifier is a must. The screen magnifier and/or screen readers are also so important for improving his sitting position. If he continue as now he will probably end up having some nasty neck/back problems when getting older.
I could go much more into details but I am not going to do that right now. We are all different and what works for me might not work for your son.
The most important thing is to follow shacklebolts advice and contact whatever organisation in your country who evaluates and advice blind/visually impaired people in the use of assistive technologies. They can show you the different options available and help figure out what works for your son and what does not.
carpe_diem1977 [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Thank you so much! I'll get a movable arm and screen magnifier. We have a big monitor and it's made a huge difference.
lhamil64 1 points 6y ago
I'm also visually impaired and need to be really close to my monitor, and the arm mount works really well. I have $1 and mount it to the side of my desk. So I can pull it closer but have room under it for my keyboard.
Does he still need the larger font size if the monitor is close? In my case, I can see fairly small sizes if I look close enough, so I don't really need large fonts since I have the arm. But all text editors have the option to change the size, so it would really just be a matter of adjusting the size to a comfortable level.
EDIT: another thing to note about the arm, you should plan where you'll mount it before buying one. For me, my desk is solid on the side so there wasn't a good spot to clamp it on (so I had to carve out a hole in my desk).
Does he still need the larger font size if the monitor is close? In my case, I can see fairly small sizes if I look close enough, so I don't really need large fonts since I have the arm. But all text editors have the option to change the size, so it would really just be a matter of adjusting the size to a comfortable level.
EDIT: another thing to note about the arm, you should plan where you'll mount it before buying one. For me, my desk is solid on the side so there wasn't a good spot to clamp it on (so I had to carve out a hole in my desk).
aleeque 1 points 6y ago
If he doesn't wear glasses, he could try some with plus power. It makes the image larger so you don't have to lean forward as much.
carpe_diem1977 [OP] 2 points 6y ago
Unfortunately glasses don't help him very much (optic atrophy). I can have him try some with plus power. Thanks!
-shacklebolt- 1 points 6y ago
Has he received evaluations from school or a rehab professional as to the type of tech he should be using? Have they provided anything for him to use for school? He is entitled to receive these things free of charge for his education if you're here in the US (and many other countries.) The [National Organization of Parents of Blind Children]
(http://nopbc.org/) is a good place to start for help and support, and I can't recommend getting in touch with them enough. He's legally blind, so "stare close at the monitor" is probably really limiting his access to information versus what he could be getting using assistive technology.
In terms of computer access tech in general and for coding, his options are:
- [Get Zoomtext.]
(http://www.zoomtext.com/products/zoomtext-magnifierreader/) There's a free 45 day demo of Zoomtext that you can try out. Zoomtext magnifier makes fonts much, much smoother than windows magnifier can and it offers color and focus enhancing options as well as an optional reader (TTS) function (or a full screen reading function via Zoomtext Fusion.) Zoomtext is available for Windows and Mac. (MAGic magnifier also exists, but Zoomtext seems to be more popular and it's what I've used.)
- Use a screen reader with speech. Getting training (through school, local blindness organization, etc) to use a screen reader can make or break the experience. At the very least, find a tutorial series on the screen reader you choose and go through it to start with. [JAWS]
(http://www.freedomscientific.com/Products/Blindness/JAWS) is very popular on windows, but expensive. [Window Eyes]
(http://www.windoweyesforoffice.com/) is free if you have a copy of Office 2010 or better running on the PC. [NVDA]
(http://www.nvaccess.org/) is a completely free Windows screen reader that has actually turned out very excellent and competitive with some of the commercial options. (But if you can, donate if you use it!) The only thing you might want to (legally) buy to add onto NVDA is the [Eloquence and Vocalizer]
(http://codefactoryglobal.com/app-store/voices-for-nvda/) voices package, which adds nicer sounding speech. If you have a Mac, Voiceover is included free and is excellent right out of the box.
- Use a screen reader with a refreshable braille display. This can be very helpful for some tasks (like coding) where seeing a detailed version of the text exactly as it appears on the screen is helpful. If your son doesn't know braille, he is legally [entitled]
(https://nfb.org/braille-and-vi-students) to be taught by his school, and learning braille has far reaching benefits well beyond making computer access easier. Any of the above screen readers can be used with a variety of braille displays. (A bluetooth braille display can also be connected to an android or iOS device as well, although iOS is recommended.) If he gets a notetaker with a braille display for school purposes as well, this can often also be used as an external braille display for his computer or phone.
Okay, so that is a brief introduction as to the scope of his options. If you would like more detailed information about any of them, or have any other questions I would be happy to try and help.
(http://nopbc.org/) is a good place to start for help and support, and I can't recommend getting in touch with them enough. He's legally blind, so "stare close at the monitor" is probably really limiting his access to information versus what he could be getting using assistive technology.
In terms of computer access tech in general and for coding, his options are:
- [Get Zoomtext.]
(http://www.zoomtext.com/products/zoomtext-magnifierreader/) There's a free 45 day demo of Zoomtext that you can try out. Zoomtext magnifier makes fonts much, much smoother than windows magnifier can and it offers color and focus enhancing options as well as an optional reader (TTS) function (or a full screen reading function via Zoomtext Fusion.) Zoomtext is available for Windows and Mac. (MAGic magnifier also exists, but Zoomtext seems to be more popular and it's what I've used.)
- Use a screen reader with speech. Getting training (through school, local blindness organization, etc) to use a screen reader can make or break the experience. At the very least, find a tutorial series on the screen reader you choose and go through it to start with. [JAWS]
(http://www.freedomscientific.com/Products/Blindness/JAWS) is very popular on windows, but expensive. [Window Eyes]
(http://www.windoweyesforoffice.com/) is free if you have a copy of Office 2010 or better running on the PC. [NVDA]
(http://www.nvaccess.org/) is a completely free Windows screen reader that has actually turned out very excellent and competitive with some of the commercial options. (But if you can, donate if you use it!) The only thing you might want to (legally) buy to add onto NVDA is the [Eloquence and Vocalizer]
(http://codefactoryglobal.com/app-store/voices-for-nvda/) voices package, which adds nicer sounding speech. If you have a Mac, Voiceover is included free and is excellent right out of the box.
- Use a screen reader with a refreshable braille display. This can be very helpful for some tasks (like coding) where seeing a detailed version of the text exactly as it appears on the screen is helpful. If your son doesn't know braille, he is legally [entitled]
(https://nfb.org/braille-and-vi-students) to be taught by his school, and learning braille has far reaching benefits well beyond making computer access easier. Any of the above screen readers can be used with a variety of braille displays. (A bluetooth braille display can also be connected to an android or iOS device as well, although iOS is recommended.) If he gets a notetaker with a braille display for school purposes as well, this can often also be used as an external braille display for his computer or phone.
Okay, so that is a brief introduction as to the scope of his options. If you would like more detailed information about any of them, or have any other questions I would be happy to try and help.
carpe_diem1977 [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Hi. Thanks for such a detailed answer. Yes, he's had evaluations and some of the tools have been very helpful. He tried Zoomtext and didn't really like it. And we have some screenreaders. Thank you so much.
-shacklebolt- 1 points 6y ago
You're welcome. Honestly though, if he prefers visual means Zoomtext is the way to go and he honestly should be encouraged to use it so he's not hurting himself. As far as I recall you can go into the settings and set it to magnification levels as low as 1.25x, so he can start with a lower magnification level to get used to the idea and then move back from the screen (and increase magnification) as time goes on. The text on zoomtext looks much better at 2x and up though. If not then I'd look at other solutions and see about getting him some more training.
Vaelian 1 points 6y ago
I got a Mac shortly before starting to lose my sight and found the zoom and inverted colors accessibility options to be a Godsend. For as long as I could read, those options were enough and I didn't need screen-readers.
davewp196 1 points 6y ago
Which programming language is he planning to use, and what does he want to do with the coding?
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