This blog post is essentially an expansion of a very long thread about cane travel which I wrote on Twitter. Feel free to check out and engage with the original thread, though much of the content is the same. Cane travel, or orientation and mobility instructors, are tasked with the job of teaching blind people…
Author: Connor Scott-Gardner
Not Every Student Learns the Same way. We Need to Normalise this Difference
I often find myself saying “I failed my A-levels,” when what I actually mean is I got two c’s at a2 history and politics and a B in AS sociology. I also didn’t do well in English literature, psychology or economics. I took so many classes because I started year 12 with four subjects, English…
Working Blind Episode 9 – Matthew Johnson, Lawyer
Matthew Johnson has been blind since birth. He moved from Bermuda to the UK to attend a school for the blind, studied languages at university, and now works as a lawyer. Follow Matthew on Twitter. You can subscribe to Working Blind on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and TuneIn. If you like the show, consider making a…
Is Your Awareness Accessible? A Study of Content Posted on Twitter for Blindness Awareness Month
Introduction At the beginning of Blindness Awareness Month, which took place during October, I was left feeling frustrated and disheartened by the high level of inaccessible blindness content I saw being posted online. Each year it seems I speak out about the problem of inaccessibility within blindness spaces and every time I’m told it can’t…
Working Blind Episode 8: Lawrence Brown, Blind Musician
Lawrence has always been interested in music, but he started seriously playing in high school. From there he went to university, and he’s now a full-time musician. Find out how he did it. Check out some of Lawrence’s music: The Vitruvian Project and EEP on Bandcamp You can subscribe to Working Blind on Spotify, Apple…
Sharing Posts for Blindness Awareness Month Might Make You Feel Good, But Where is the Meaningful Change?
October is blindness awareness month, or so countless posts over on Facebook tell me. I forget about it for the most part, until I’m reminded by organisations who want me to support their campaigns, and friends and family who ask me to share their posts. I have come to the conclusion, after years of sharing…
I’m not sure any of us are ok, maybe all we can do is say it out loud
I keep a journal. Sometimes I write in it multiple times a day for weeks on end and then I don’t write at all for a month. But I keep it in some form. I’m sharing some of what I wrote in my journal today because even though it’s not happy or reassuring, maybe somehow…
How Artificial Intelligence is Describing Adult Content to the Blind
In recent years, several companies have developed apps or implemented technology which uses artificial intelligence to describe photos to blind people. In 2016 Facebook released a feature which auto-generates alt text for photos uploaded to the social network. A year later, Microsoft released Seeing AI, an app with multiple features, one of which is analysing…
The Student Loans Company Refuses to Comply with Discrimination Legislation. Their Unwillingness could Cost me my Education.
On July the 18th I published a blog post entitled Despite Covid19, Student Finance England Continues Discriminatory Application Process in which I outlined ongoing problems I was having obtaining a Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) application form in an accessible format. I’m a blind user of assistive technology and I required the form in a format…
Despite Covid19, Student Finance England Continues Discriminatory Application Process
As a disabled student, I rely on Disabled Students Allowance (DSA), in order to receive the support I need at university. Administered by the government through Student Finance England, DSA funds equipment and human support that disabled students require in order to receive an equal education. The application process however is far from equal. Whereas…