Please join us and our panel of low-vision specialists and patient advocates for a live webinar with Q&A at 5:00 pm, EDT on Thursday, May 27, LOW-TECH : HI-TECH / LOW VISION SOLUTIONS 101.
We will be talking about a range of techniques and assets you can use to improve your home and work-life from simple low-tech methods and products to advanced optical and electronic technologies.
Delaram Shirazian, OD will introduce some of the high-tech resources for low vision such as cell phone applications, wearable devices, and implantable devices.
Dr. Shirazian is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor at SUNY College of Optometry. She teaches the patient-doctor communication portion of the first-year curriculum at the college, is the instructor of record of the Low Vision/Ocular Disease Micro-Credential program, and she works with patients and students in primary care and low vision rehabilitation clinics.
You can view Delaram's webinar on low vision rehabilitation on our website.
Award-winning documentary filmmaker and producer Joseph Lovett ( "Going Blind: Coming Out of the Dark About Vision Loss" ) has glaucoma. Over years of slowly losing his sight, he has become an important voice for public awareness of blindness, vision loss, and vision rehabilitation.
“Prior to producing "Going Blind," the world of blindness and vision rehabilitationwas a secret world to me. Even now, I don’t pretend to be an expert but my understanding about this area is that information about it is woefully inadequate. The biggest concern I have is that not enough people are being referred for vision rehabilitation.”
Joe will talk about patients’ access to information and low-tech solutions that are available on your phone or computer.
Olaya Landa-Vialard, PhD is the Director, of the APH ConnectCenter. She will introduce some of the APH resources including Getting Started 2020: A Guide for People New to Vision Loss, A Guide to Vision Loss for Family and Friends, and their Peers Advisor Program.
Olaya received her doctorate in Special Education with an emphasis in Visual Impairments/Blindness. She has been a bilingual educational diagnostician, bilingual teacher, Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments and Blindness, a university professor, and Fellow of the National Leadership Consortium in Sensory Disabilities through the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education.
Mika Pyyhkala leads the nationwide digital accessibility team at Envision's new Workforce Innovation Center based in Wichita, KS. The team advises organizations on digital accessibility of websites, mobile applications, kiosks, documents, and other digital assets. The Workforce Innovation Center also operates an accessible products hotline, talent network, and produces the Accessible Toolbox Podcast.
Mika serves on the executive boards of the Association of Blind Citizens and the National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts. In these roles, he has focused on emerging technology, technology civil rights, and transportation issues.
He has represented the blind community for several years at the Department of Transportation in the agencies Air Carrier Access Act forums with an emphasis on technology and civil rights. He worked with GogoAir, one of the largest providers of in-flight Wi-Fi, to make the service accessible to blind travelers.
Andy Burstein is a co-founder and the CEO of Accessible Pharmacy Services for the Blind. He has run two separate healthcare marketing firms and is a specialist in healthcare marketing and accessibility. Accessible Pharmacy Services for the Blind is a comprehensive, home delivery pharmacy service specializing in the needs of the blind and low vision community. It was founded by blind and sighted experts in the areas of accessibility and medicine and we are the only provider of its kind.
Andy will be reviewing basic medication management and diabetes management solutions for individuals who are blind or are experiencing vision loss. Accessible Pharmacy's collection of interchangeable high-tech, low-tech and no-tech packaging, labeling, and concierge solutions are free for patients. Patients can try a combination of solutions every month until they identify the ones that best assist them with their medication.
