Expo presents importance of technology for the visually impaired

By the age of 9, William Bowman had already developed glaucoma. Born with cataracts, the Selma resident underwent 44 eye surgeries over the years, but even after all that today he has sight in only one eye.

Through his lifelong struggle with vision problems, Bowman learned the value of having a good support group and adequate technology to help him lead a normal life. That's the reason he started Visually Impaired People Organization Inc. in 1998, and a few years later began holding conferences for the visually impaired.

"My life has pretty much been devoted to educating people about what it is like to be visually impaired and how to overcome it," Bowman said. "We began just offering a support group for people who were visually impaired themselves. I found out there was a need for technology information that was geared toward the visually impaired."

His nonprofit organization will host the fourth annual Low Vision Conference and Assistive Technology Expo on Thursday in Selma. The conference will bring visually impaired people together with vendors who sell assistive products to the visually-impaired population in the state.
Bowman said he personally uses a computer that enlarges text on the screen and talks while he types. Products at the conference will include magnifiers, talking watches, talking calculators and closed-circuit TV that can magnify books for easier reading.

But the assistance doesn't come cheap. These TV devices -- known as CCTVs in the industry -- can cost several thousand dollars each.

"It's very expensive," said Bob Davidson, supervisor of the assistive technology department at the Talladega office of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind. "It's a niche market, and I think that is basically the reason the prices are as they are."

The AIDB helps working-aged blind and low-vision people train on technology and get jobs in Alabama. They assist the totally blind with products Davidson calls "electronic Braille note-taking devices," which are comparable to personal data assistants.

"These devices, in the vocational setting, level the playing fields so a blind or a low-vision person can perform many, many jobs that normally wouldn't be accessible to them," Davidson said.
Because of certain demographic changes in the American populations that are going to happen in the next few years, the technology industry servicing the visually impaired may be on the cusp of big growth. As the Baby Boomer generation edges closer to retirement, the number of people with degenerative eye disease also will increase, says one local doctor.

"We've seen businesses are definitely aware that the population is getting older," said Dr. Benjamin Harris, an optometrist at Primary Eyecare Associates in Montgomery and Selma. As an example of this, Harris said some utility companies send out large-print statements and phone companies sell phones with large numbers, he said.

Harris is slated to speak at the conference about diseases that cause low vision, and the symptoms, treatments and management of those diseases. Similar to the philosophy of the AIDB, Harris believes in a comprehensive approach to helping the visually impaired, from medical treatment to technology training and counseling.

"It's not just vision therapy, it's occupational therapy," Harris said. "The fact that they have visual impairment doesn't mean they have to be stuck at home."

Bowman expects about 300 to attend the conference, which has grown each year he has held it. The free conference is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at the Carl Morgan Convention Center in Selma.