Light of Darkness PH

04/09/2025

How the Visually Impaired Use Mobile Phones and PCs

At first glance, it may seem almost impossible for someone who can’t see to use a glowing screen. After all, how do you tap buttons or read tiny text if you can’t rely on your eyes?
But here’s the surprising truth: technology has advanced so much that people with visual impairments can scroll, swipe, shop, and even binge-watch just like anyone else. The secret? They use sound and touch as their eyes.

Key Tools: Voice and Touch as Their Superpowers

Every modern phone and computer comes with accessibility features that feel almost magical once you see (or rather, hear) them in action.

✨ Screen Readers – This is the real game-changer. Instead of reading with their eyes, they listen. A robotic but fast voice reads out everything on the screen—icons, menus, even emojis.

On Android, it’s called TalkBack.

On iPhones and Macs, it’s VoiceOver.

On PCs, popular ones are NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) and JAWS (Job Access With Speech).

✨ Braille Displays – For those who read Braille, there are external devices that turn on-screen text into tiny, tactile dots. It’s like turning your phone screen into a Braille page—perfect for faster reading and precise navigation.

A Day in the Digital World

The beauty of these tools is that they don’t just make devices usable—they make them empowering. Here’s how:

🛒 Online Shopping and Banking – From buying groceries on Lazada to paying bills through mobile banking, accessibility features make these everyday tasks seamless—as long as apps use clear, descriptive labels.

💬 Social Media and Communication – Posting on Facebook, tweeting, or sending voice notes on Messenger and WhatsApp is part of daily life. When they share photos, they add alt text (short descriptions), so screen readers can paint a picture with words.

🎧 Entertainment and Learning – Spotify playlists, YouTube videos, and even Netflix shows with audio descriptions bring stories to life. For students and professionals, online research and e-learning are just as accessible.

More Than Just Gadgets

At the end of the day, it’s not just about how people with visual impairments use phones and PCs—it’s about what these tools mean for them: freedom, connection, and independence.
Technology doesn’t erase disability, but it does prove that with the right innovations, limitations can turn into possibilities.

21/08/2025

Agreed.

20/08/2025

Exactly. This is one of the things often other people tends to kinda, misunderstood about us. I forget who it was, and when it happened, but I told that person that I still see, it's just that, my eyes are my nose, ears, and other senses aside from sight.

The thing here is that, sighted aren't the only one don't want to use these words. I'm not saying everyone of us, but there's other visually impaired doesn't want to use them as well.

The conclusion here? It is already stated on the post. 😂

~JB

It is totally okay to use the words see, look and watch when talking to someone who is blind. These are not uncomfortable words for the majority of us who are blind. We do see, look and watch only differently.

You look at a garden and see a beautiful pink rose. You smile as you admire how pretty it looks.

Please let me share with you how I see that same rose using no vision.

I go right up to the flower and gently feel the soft and many velvet like, petals. At the same time I breathe in and smell the sweet floral scent. While I am there smelling I continue to gently feel the stem and thorns while listening to the bumblebees buzzing from flower to flower around me.
I do not see the pretty pink flower the same way as you but I see it equally beautiful but different.

I use touch to identify objects instead of my eyesight. When I know what something is, as I touch it I in turn, am seeing that object. If I touch something and do not know what it is. I learn what it is, what it does and I feel it and understand what it is. The next time I see (touch) that item I will know exactly what it is.

When I am looking for my lipstick in my purse I move my hand around inside my purse until I feel the lipstick. When I apply my lipstick I do not look in the mirror as I can not see my image clearly. I roll up the lipstick and gently feel it with my fingers so I know I have not rolled it too high to break. I then hold the lipstick and with my middle finger I guide the lipstick to my lip feeling my lip first. I then apply the lipstick and can feel it is even by pressing my lips together and moving my jaw to feel a even glide of gloss over my lips.

I watch T.V. Shows and movies just like you only I turn on a feature called audio description built into the settings already on Telus Optic T.V. And Netflix. What is audio description? It is a feature in which you can turn on in settings and a narrator describes what is visually happening on the screen. So I watch the same shows and movies as you, only I watch it a bit differently.

So it is totally ok to say the words see, look or watch us to or in-front of us. If someone tells you these words make them uncomfortable, then you know to be mindful when around that person. Every person who is blind or legally blind is a unique individual. All of you who have sight are also unique individuals. We are all people just our body or brain work different for some of us.

Gina Martin

We are able to recieve stars onour content and 100% goes to the Youth aDAPT program to support schools for free.

Are you looking for a key note speaker on inclusion and accessibility? Please reach out to book a 15 minute free consultation. DiverseAbilities.ca

Photo description
Gina is leaning over to touch and smell the roses.

19/08/2025

Paunyaya mula sa "Light of Darkness (LOD)"

Maligayang araw, mga kapatid! Bagong linggo na naman, at inaanyayahan namin kayong dumalo sa aming lingguhang devotion tuwing miyerkules ng gabi, 8:30PM.

Para makadalo, download TeamTalk-5 on your devices using the links below.
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dk.bearware.gui
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/ph/app/teamtalk-5/id1069487751
Windows or other operating system/devices: https://bearware.dk/?page_id=353

At kapag nakapag-download na, pindutin ang F2 para sa windows, add new server entry para sa iOS users, at new server para sa android users, at ilagay ang mga informations na ito sa bawat field upang makapag-connect.
Server name: Online Tambayan
Domain name/IP address/Host address: filtalk.org
TCP&UDP ports: 10316
Username&password: guest
O i-click ang link na ito upang maka-join: https://filtalk.org/teamtalk/tnl/

See you, mga kapatid!

18/08/2025

Paunyaya mula sa "Light of Darkness (LOD)"

Maligayang araw, mga kapatid! Bagong linggo na naman, at inaanyayahan namin kayong dumalo sa aming lingguhang devotion tuwing miyerkules ng gabi, 8:30PM.

Para makadalo, download TeamTalk-5 on your devices using the links below.
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dk.bearware.gui
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/ph/app/teamtalk-5/id1069487751
Windows or other operating system/devices: https://bearware.dk/?page_id=353

At kapag nakapag-download na, pindutin ang F2 para sa windows, add new server entry para sa iOS users, at new server para sa android users, at ilagay ang mga informations na ito sa bawat field upang makapag-connect.
Server name: Online Tambayan
Domain name/IP address/Host address: filtalk.org
TCP&UDP ports: 10316
Username&password: guest
O i-click ang link na ito upang maka-join: https://filtalk.org/teamtalk/tnl/

See you, mga kapatid!

Welcome here!

13/08/2025

Magandang araw, mga kapatid!

Miyerkules na naman, at inaanyayahan kayo namin na dumalo sa aming gaganaping weekly bible study ngayong alas otso trenta ng gabi.

Upang makasali, download TeamTalk down below.

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dk.bearware.gui
iOs: https://apps.apple.com/id/app/teamtalk-5/id1069487751
Other operating system: https://bearware.dk/?page_id=353

And input these server informations to join:

Server name: Online Tambayan
Domain name/IP/Host address: filtalk.org
Ports: 10316
Username&password: guest
Or click this link:
https://filtalk.org/teamtalk/tnl/

See you, mga kapatid!

11/08/2025

Not All Blind People Read Braille

When people learn that someone is blind, a common assumption is, “Oh, so you must read braille!”

While braille is an incredible tool for literacy and independence, the reality is that only about 10% of blind or visually impaired people use it.

How Come?
1.Many lose vision later in life, after already learning to read print.

2. Braille can be time-consuming to learn, especially for those with other health conditions that affect touch.

3. Technology like screen readers, audio books, and voice assistants offer alternative ways to read and access information.

Braille is still essential for many, especially for labeling, reading in noisy or quiet places, locating specific rooms, and maintaining strong literacy skills but it’s just one of many tools available.

Understanding this helps break down stereotypes and reminds us that blindness is not “one size fits all.”