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(Home) (Advice and Information) (Background) (Computing) (Fundraising) (How
to Contact Us) Equipment | Electronic Aids | British Wireless for the Blind Fund | Computers Sight Concern Bedfordshire has two Resource Centres, One in Luton and one in Bedford, both of which are open to the public. Opening hours for both centres are 9.00am - 5.00pm Monday till Thursday and 9.00am - 4.30pm on Fridays. EquipmentBoth Resource centres have a wide range of equipment on display, all of which is available to view and can be demonstrated to ensure that the item is suited to your individual needs before purchase.We have equipment ranging from talking watches and clocks to talking microwaves. Do you overspill when making a cup of tea? Why not try a liquid level indicator. This clever little device hooks over the side of a cup. The first sensor will bleep when there is enough water in the cup and the second when there is enough milk. This is just one of many kitchen gadgets we keep in stock. Brightly coloured, tactile, 'bump on' indicator buttons are self-adhesive and can be used to mark switches around the house. They are commonly used on cookers, washing machines and other household equipment, to mark the settings that are used the most. Other products include symbol canes, anti-glare glasses, fluorescent lamps, large print and Braille playing cards, coin holders and much more. The majority of equipment is available to buy from our centres, the small remainder can be ordered with a short delivery time direct to your home. You are welcome to call in for this useful and friendly service, or if you cannot get to us, a volunteer or member of staff will visit you at home, with a travelling suitcase of equipment. Electronic AidsEach Resource Centre has a display area with closed circuit televisions and Eezi-readers. Both these aids are useful for people with some remaining vision to help them read things such as letters, books, newspapers, medicine bottles, photographs and even read tins and packets of food.CCTV or close circuit television is another method of enlarging material to enable you to see it. To use this equipment you place what you want to be seen under a special camera. The literature or picture will then appear magnified on your television screen. Usually a CCTV can magnify print or items up to forty five times, so considerable increases in the size of print and other media are available. Whilst this piece of equipment can be expensive it can make a huge difference to a blind and partially sighted person's capacity to access printed material and thereby maintain a significant range of independence. We can also arrange for suppliers of this type of equipment to demonstrate it in your own home, you are under no obligation or pressure to buy. Another print magnifying tool is the Eezi-reader. The Eezi-reader takes form of a lightweight hand held scanner, similar in shape and size to a paper stapler. To use it, the scanner is simply placed on the material to be read, the image is then transferred on to the television screen enabling you to read it. Unlike the CCTV the Eezi-reader will only magnify print to the size of the TV screen that it is connected to, so the bigger the screen the larger the print! British Wireless for the BlindPeople registered as Blind, and now Partially Sighted too, may be entitled
to a radio/cassette or radio/CD player on a free permanent loan from this charity.
Players are black with bright yellow tactile buttons, which are easy to use.
As agents for British Wireless for the Blind who purchase the radios, Sight
Concern Bedfordshire holds stocks of these radios and are able to issue them
for eligible people throughout Luton and Bedfordshire. ComputersAnother important way in which blind and visually impaired persons can access
information, manage their correspondence and stay in touch with family and friends
is via computers and the World Wide Web. There are an ever increasing range
of software packages available on the market to assist people with vision loss
to utilise computers in their daily lives, both at work and at home. |