Resources
Note: External links open in a new browser window.
Government
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
The EEOC is charged with eradication of discrimination in the workplace. This website includes information on antidiscrimination legislation for employers and employees.
U.S. Department of Treasury’s “Go Direct” Campaign
For those consumers still receiving their social security payments by paper check, the U.S. Department of Treasury is offering another option through a direct deposit program.
www.godirect.org external link
Town of Hempstead
www.townofhempstead.org external link
Nassau County Department of Senior Citizen Affairs
www.nassaucountyny.gov external link
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
Through a national network of cooperating libraries, NLS administers a free library program of Braille and audio materials circulated to eligible borrowers in the United States by postage-free mail. Included on the NLS website is a searchable catalog of accessible texts.
www.loc.gov/nls/ external link
NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities
Non-profit organizations
Abledata
ABLEDATA is a federally funded project whose primary mission is to provide information on assistive technology and rehabilitation equipment available from domestic and international sources to consumers, organizations, professionals, and caregivers within the United States. This searchable database is offered free-of-charge. Provides information on some 27,000 products, including many of interest to individuals with visual impairments.
www.abledata.com external link
Age-Related Macular Degeneration Alliance
www.amdalliance.org external link
American Council of the Blind
Consumer organization providing information and referral on all aspects of blindness, public education and awareness training.
American Foundation for the Blind
A national nonprofit that expands possibilities for people with vision loss. AFB’s priorities include broadening access to technology; elevating the quality of information and tools for the professionals who serve people with vision loss; and promoting independent and healthy living for people with vision loss by providing them and their families with relevant and timely resources.
American Printing House for the Blind
APH manufactures braille, large type, recorded, computer disk, and tactile graphic publications, as well as a wide assortment of educational and daily living products. APH also offers a variety of services to assist consumers and professionals in the field of vision, such as Louis, a database listing materials available in accessible media from organizations across North America.
Art Education for the Blind—Art Beyond Sight
www.artbeyondsight.org external link
Baruch College Computer Center for Visually Impaired People
CCVIP’s mission is to increase the freedom, independence, and productivity of people who are blind or visually impaired through the power of digital technology.
www.baruch.cuny.edu external link
Blindness Resource Center: The New York Institute for Special Education
Excellent resource for educators and employers. Particularly valuable for its sections on blindness, deaf-blind, low vision resources and vendor links.
Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service
Offers a diverse array of social services including vocational training and job placement; social support and mental health services for persons with disabilities; and child welfare and family support services such as foster care prevention, homemaker services, and group and family day care services.
Brooklyn Public Library
www.brooklynlibrary.org external link
CAST (Center for Assistive Technology)
CAST is an educational, not-for-profit organization that uses technology to expand opportunities for all people, including those with disabilities. CAST provides a particularly useful tool, BOBBY, free-of-charge on its website. With BOBBY, web designers can check their sites to see if and where there are obstacles to accessibility by persons with disabilities, including visual impairments.
Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New York
Various programs and services to help challenged persons live as independently as possible.
www.catholiccharitiesny.org external link
Closing The Gap
Closing the Gap is a not-for-profit organization that disseminates information on assistive technologies for classroom and rehabilitation use. In addition to its annual conference, Closing the Gap provides a wealth of information on its website, including a very comprehensive, searchable database of hardware and software.
www.closingthegap.com external link
Consumer Services Guide
A searchable directory of resources which can help you with consumer problems and questions.
www.consumerservicesguide.org external link
The Diabetes Resource Coalition of Long Island
www.longislanddiabetes.org external link
EASI: Equal Access to Software and Information
EASI is a not-for-profit organization that collects and disseminates information on uses of technology by persons with visual and other disabilities. Of particular interest is the organization’s electronic journal, Information Technology and Disablities, which is made available free-of-charge on the website.
www.people.rit.edu/~easi external link
Educational Vision Services
schools.nycenet.edu external link
The Family Center on Technology and Disability
The Family Center is a resource designed to support organizations and programs that work with families of children and youth with disabilities. FCTD offers a range of information and services on the subject of assistive technologies. Whether you’re an organization, a parent, an educator, or an interested friend, FCTD provides information to support efforts to bring the highest quality education to children with disabilities.
Fedcap
Fedcap helps people with all types of disabilities and barriers to employment join the workforce, while providing vital services to business and government.
Guggenheim Museum
Offers programs for hard-of-hearing and deaf individuals presented in American Sign Language; programs for partially sighted and blind individuals presented through verbal imaging and touch.
www.guggenheim.org external link
Hunter College of the City of New York
Offers a graduate program for teachers of students who are blind or visually impaired and teachers of students who have severe/multiple impairments; rehabilitation teachers; and orientation and mobility instructors.
www.hunter.cuny.edu external link
Job Accommodations Network
Excellent resource for employers seeking assistance in the provision of reasonable accommodations. Includes a Searchable Online Accommodation Resource (SOAR), which gives practical advice on specific disabilities and accommodations. Also offers an excellent series of links to disability legislation.
www.janweb.icdi.wvu.edu external link
Lavelle School for the Blind
A multi-cultural educational institution. The programs at Lavelle seek to educate the whole child through a combination of developmental and functional strategies. as the student progresses, the curriculum accommodates individual changing needs and educational growth.
www.lavelleschool.org external link
Long Island Center for Independent Living
Museum of Modern Art
MOMA regularly has access programs for people with special needs.
National Federation of the Blind
National consumer and advocacy organization providing public education about blindness. Offers literature, scholarships, referrals, and more.
National Industries for the Blind
NIB’s mission is to enhance the opportunities for economic and personal independence of persons who are blind, primarily through creating, sustaining and improving employment.
NARIC: The National Rehabilitation Information Center
NARIC is a federally-funded center that disseminates information on disability research. Numerous searchable databases provide references to journal articles, books and documents of interest to professionals seeking to learn more about persons with various disabilities.
Net Forum for the Blind
www.escwa.un.org external link
New York Eye and Ear Infirmary
The New York Public Library: Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library
talkingbooks.nypl.org external link
Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D)
RFB&D, the nation’s educational library for people with print disabilities, provides educational materials in recorded and computerized formats from kindergarten through postgraduate level. RFB&D’s materials are for all people who cannot effectively read standard print because of a visual, perceptual or other physical disability.
Tiresias
Provides guidelines on accessibility issues for all types of disabilities.
www.tiresias.org external link
United Way of NYC
www.unitedwaynyc.org external link
Voice Corps Reading Services
www.voicecorps.org external link
Books
Alphabet Kids—From ADD to Zellweger Syndrome: A Guide to Developmental, Neurobiological and Psychological Disorders for Parents and Professionals
Info and purchase on Amazon.com external link
Other Resources
Apple Computer Disability Information Page
Provides an overview of the accessibility features built into the latest MacIntosh products, as well as links to major vendors of software and hardware for visually impaired computer users.
www.apple.com/disability external link
Lensshopper.com
Largest and most comprehensive consumer guide in the U.S. for contact lenses. Free online eye care information and clinic directory.
www.lensshopper.com external link
Microsoft Accessibility Website
Microsoft’s Accessibility page provides a wealth of information, obviously geared toward its own operating system and applications software. Included here is technical information for people with visual and other disabilities, tips for information technology and other professionals, and more.
www.microsoft.com/enable external link
C Tech Low Vision Products
www.WeBehave.com
This parenting website external link has helpful hands-on tools for child behavior, potty training, and special elastic shoelaces external link for people with disabilities.
