More than just a list of other websites, Blind Ambition's "Links Page" is intended as a resource, to enable it's users to ascertain, online, which sites are most appropriate for their particular needs, before they ever click on a hyper-link.

Much of the descriptive text listed for each site, has been taken directly from the listed website itself. It is intended to provide a preview of what's available on that site, and allow the user to "window shop" beforehand, previewing and comparing, in advance, which site best meets the user's needs.

What follows is a list of blindness-related websites you may find to be of interest. If you know of other sites that you think would be appropriate for this list, please let us know. If you encounter any links that no longer exist, or that do not function as they should, please let us know that, too. To leave a message, click here. Thank you.

George Cassell,
WebMaster

Agencies for the Blind

• CNIB - Canadian National Institute for the Blind (Canada). The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) is a national voluntary agency providing services to individuals across Canada to whom loss of vision is a central problem in personal and social adjustment. The CNIB also acts as a consultant and resource agency to the helping professions, government departments and private industry. The basic aim of the CNIB is to help blind and visually impaired people find ways to lead satisfying lives. Underlying all CNIB services and actions is the belief that blind or visually impaired individuals can be integrated into the mainstream of community life, according to their ability to function within that community

• RNIB - Royal National Institute for the Blind (UK). RNIB is the leading charity working for blind and partially sighted people throughout the United Kingdom. We have over 60 different services to help people at all stages of their lives. RNIB wants a world in which people with a visual impairment enjoy the same rights, freedoms, responsibilities and quality of life as people who are fully sighted.

• RNZFB - Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind (New Zealand). Creating an environment in which people who are blind or vision impaired have equal opportunity as part of the community.

Catalogs and Mail-Order

• Ann Morris Enterprises Inc. One stop shopping for talking products, electronics and safety, housewares, kitchen, microwave, novelties, pet supplies, leather goods and more. We specialize in products for people with vision loss, whether partially sighted or blind. Our items are geared to making your life easier. We offer large print catalogs, as well as audio cassettes and computer disks.

• Beyond Sight. The product line has been expanded, and many new items have been added. Now includes just about everything a blind or visually impaired person may need, such as kitchen items, magnifying glasses, CCTVs, games, beeping balls, and lots more.

• Disability Specialtys. Braille Embossers and Supplies, Calculators, Canes and Mobility Aids, Clocks & timers, Computers and Accessories, Computer Games, Computer Tutorials, Digital Recorders and Players, Electronic Magnification Systems, Games & Recreation, Health Care, Housewares, Kitchen & Cooking, Magnifiers and Lamps, Safety & Security, Screen Readers and Screen Magnification Software, Speech Synthesizers, Watches: large print, talking and braille.

• En-Vision America. Products for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Features the i.d. mate, a bar code - speech identification system.

• Independent Living Aids. Aids, such as talking products, needle threaders, magnifiers, writing guides, etc. Good quality items, and the most useful items in each category.

• LS&S Group, Inc. Products for visually and hearing impaired. A huge list of product categories with hundreds of products. Receive their catalog by mail, or download it online.

• Maxi-Aids Products Catalog. One of the largest distributors of products for people with Special Needs. Several thousand products for daily living. From sewing needles to voice recognition computer products.

• Mons Online Catalog. Guide to Low Vision, Lighting, Colored Filters (Sunglasses), Occluders, Magnifiers, Telescopes and Sportglasses, CCTV Systems (Video Magnifiers), and more.

• Products for the Blind. Sacramento Society for the Blind's Products for Independence Store.

• Speak To Me. Catalog of Talking Products. Give the gift that says something!

• Visions, Gifts & More. Offers a variety of aids and appliances to assist the needs of the blind population in everyday life. Also offers quality Blind Made Products from their own facility, and from Blind Shops across the country.

Internet E-Mail Lists and Newsgroups

• BList - Blindness-related List is the comprehensive index of blindness-related e-mailing lists. This site contains instructions on how to join over ninety blindness-related e-mailing lists and newsgroups, along with mailto fields which you can use to subscribe to any of the lists. It also contains an extensive listing of accessibility and pan-disability lists, as well as a list of e-mailing lists which are not blindness-related, but which are frequented by blind members, and a selective list of e-mailing list-related resources.

• Liszt. The Comprehensive Directory to use when searching for e-mail lists, newsgroups and IRC chat. Continuously updated. "The pre-eminent Internet resource for locating and joining Internet mailing lists." --The Official America Online Internet Guide

Internet Resources

• Blind Links. Links to internet sites covering the following topics: Adaptive Technology, Advocacy and Training, Books and Magazines, Commercial, Employment, Medical Links, Mobility and Braille, U.S. Government Links, WWW and Homepages and Blind U.S. Veterans. This should be your first stop for any blindness-related internet search.

• Camera Obscura - Blindness-Related Resources. Index of blindness-related resources on the web and beyond. Includes listings of homepages of blind individuals, organizations by and for the blind, adaptive equipment manufacturers and verndors, etc.

Low Vision Services / Resources

• The Center for the Partially Sighted (Southern California, USA). Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Retinopathy, Glaucoma, Retinitis Pigmentosa, Stroke Impairment, Legal Blindness. Low vision is a significant reduction of visual function that cannot be corrected to the normal range by ordinary glasses, contact lenses, medical treatment and/or surgery. A person is considered partially sighted if their best corrected visual acuity is 20/70 or less in their good eye, or if they have a restricted visual field. Even when wearing regular corrective lenses, partially sighted people cannot read standard newsprint, or see expressions on a person's face. There are approximately 4.3 million Americans who have been diagnosed as partially sighted. An estimated 8 - 10 million more Americans report vision problems that interfere with their ability to perform daily activities without help.

• Low Vision Gateway. This site is sponsored by the Internet Low Vision Society, with support and staffing from the Low Vision Centers of Indiana. Offers good Internet resources for those with low vision. Resources include: Low Vision Rehabilitation, Low Vision Aids (From Magnifiers to CCTVs), New Vision Loss: An Introduction to Coping, The Low Vision Gateway Bookstore, Find a Doctor, Clinic or Vision Rehab Professional, Eye Diseases & Condition Related Support Agencies, Organizations Assisting the Blind & Visually Impaired, Children & Educational Issues, Equipment and Tools for the Professional, Computer & Internet Access Technology, Adaptive Technology: Regional Resources, Alternative Media Resources: Reading Radio, Talking Books, Internet Audio, Large Print etc., Dogs to Guide the Blind & Visually Impaired, Braille and other Tactile Resources, Independent Living Aids, Mobility and Orientation, Deaf Blind Information, Sports, Recreation, Arts and Driving, Research & Libraries, Governmental, Disability & Legal Issues, Personal Web Sites of the Blind & Visually Impaired, Discussion Groups / E-mail Lists.

• NAVH - National Association for Visually Handicapped (USA). Works with millions of people worldwide dealing with difficulties of vision impairment. This site is not just for the "HARD OF SEEING®" but for those with family and friends that need everything from large print books to the latest on their particular condition. Health Care Professionals are welcome here as well.

National Representation / Advocacy

• ACB - American Council of the Blind (USA). The American Council of the Blind is the nation's leading membership organization of blind and visually impaired people. Founded in 1961, the Council's membership numbers in the tens of thousands. The majority of it's members belong to one or more of it's 71 affiliated organizations. Membership is not limited to blind or visually impaired individuals. There are many sighted members. ACB has 51 state and regional affiliates, and 20 national special interest and professional affiliates. The Council strives to improve the well-being of all blind and visually impaired people by: serving as a representative national organization of blind people; elevating the social, economic and cultural levels of blind people; improving educational and rehabilitation facilities and opportunities; cooperating with the public and private institutions and organizations concerned with blind services; encouraging and assisting all blind persons to develop their abilities and conducting a public education program to promote greater understanding of blindness and the capabilities of blind people. Monthly publication: The Braille Forum.

• AFB - American Foundation for the Blind (USA). A non-profit organization founded in 1921 and recognized as Helen Keller's cause in the United States, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a leading national resource for people who are blind or visually impaired, the organizations that serve them, and the general public. The mission of the American Foundation for the Blind is to enable people who are blind or visually impaired to achieve equality of access and opportunity that will ensure freedom of choice in their lives.

• NFB - National Federation of the Blind (USA). The NFB is the largest organization of the blind in America. Interested sighted persons also join. Founded in 1940, the Federation has grown to include more than ten percent of the nation's blind (over 50,000 members). The ultimate purpose of the National Federation of the Blind is the complete integration of the blind into society on a basis of equality. This objective involves the removal of legal, economic, and social discriminations; the education of the public to new concepts concerning blindness; and the achievement by all blind people of the right to exercise to the fullest their individual talents and capacities. It means the right of the blind to work along with their sighted neighbors in the professions, common callings, skilled trades, and regular occupations. Monthly publication: The Braille Forum.

Retinal Degeneration

• FFB - Foundation Fighting Blindness is a national eye research organization that funds laboratory and clinical research at over 40 prominent institutions in the United States and foreign countries. It serves as a source of information for eye care specialists, professionals and affected families. The Foundation has more than 45 volunteer-led affiliates across the United States. The Foundation's research is dedicated to finding cures and treatments for all retinal degenerations, including retinitis pigmentosa (RP), Usher syndrome, macular degeneration and other rare disease forms. Retinal degenerations affect over six million Americans. Macular degeneration is characterized by loss of central vision and is the leading cause of legal blindness in adults over 55. Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is commonly diagnosed during childhood or young adulthood. Night blindness is the first symptom of RP, followed by increasing loss of peripheral vision. Children with Usher syndrome are born with varying degrees of deafness and later develop retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

• IRPA - International Retinitis Pigmentosa Association. A voluntary charitable umbrella association of 34 national societies, each of which is formed by people with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), Usher Syndrome, Macular Degeneration and allied retinal dystrophies. This site is an excellent source for everything you want and need to know about RP. Here you will find RP-related news and press releases, RP-related events, and the IRPA Newsletter.

• John Wenberg's RP Page. An excellent resource for information about RP. This site contains valuable information about RP research, as well as links to other RP-related sites on the internet, mailing lists for the visually-impaired, RP-related IRC chats, and E-Pals - a unique feature that lets you establish electronic pen-pals with others who have RP, allowing you to share and discuss common, RP-related experiences.

• Johns Hopkins School of Public Health - RP Page. What is Retinitis Pigmentosa? How does in manifest itself? Who can be affected by RP? Is there a cure? For a fascinating insight into RP, it's causes and effects, you will certainly want to visit this site.

• LCA - Leber's Congenital Amaurosis Home Page. This Blindness and Visual-Impairment website was created for the collection and dissemination of information about the genetic disorder called Leber's Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), a particularly severe form of RP. This site has become the de-facto central coordinating source of information on this disorder. It also provides links to general blindness and visual-impairment information and research, with input from others interested in LCA. if appropriate, join the international LCA Register.

• RPI - RP International, under the direction of Helen Harris, raises funds for RP research. It also offers referrals for personal counseling, psychological counseling, mobility training and more. RP International offers facilities for demonstrating the latest in visual aids for the partially-sighted. Here you can try the night vision scope, the talking computer, the Visual-Tek Reading Machine, the ultra-violet (UV) filtering sunglasses and many special lenses and magnifiers.

• The Bat Cave A fun site to visit, complete with it's own animated guide dog! Good RP links to follow.

Social Organizations

• Blind Ambition. Serves Orange County, Southern California, and it's surrounding communities. Rated as one of the finest social organizations of it's kind. "Join us -- just for the FUN of it!" Of course we're listed here -- this is our website you're visiting!

Technology: Hardware / Software

Microsoft / Windows Accessibility

• Catalog. Catalog of Accessibility Products for Microsoft Windows, Windows NT, Windows 95 and Windows 98.

• Downloads. Download free accessibility software from here.

• Microsoft Accessibility Home Page. (Universal Version.) Here's where you'll find out how to make your Windows-based PC more accessible and disabled-friendly. It's worth a try!

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Screen Magnification Software

• The Screen Magnifiers Homepage. Screen Magnifiers are developed for people with low vision. Screen Magnifiers can magnify the contents of the logical computer screen from 2 to unlimited times. Most magnification programs offer a maximum magnification of 16 times. On the physical computer screen, you get a portion of the normal screen. You can view the whole screen by scrolling over the screen using the mouse or the keyboard. While moving the mouse, the information on the screen changes. The Screen Magnifiers are specially developed for people with low vision, who can not read a normal screen. This group is relatively small. Maybe that is the reason why most Screen Magnification software is expensive. In some countries you can get the software paid for you by the government, or a social health organization. But this is not the case in all countries. On this site you will find information about Screen Magnifier software for MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, OS/2 and Macintosh. Among the products reviewed are: LP-Windows, Lunar for Windows, Magic, Magnum, ZoomText Xtra. Demo versions of many programs are available on this site for downloading and evaluation.

Tutorials

• Empowerment Zone. This site offers information, ideas, and software, and the theme of empowerment -- helping individuals and communities achieve self actualization and full citizenship.

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George Cassell

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E-Mail WebMaster, George Cassell

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