RNIB

"Low vision care is a misunderstood service. I would love to see more awareness." We spoke with Paediatric Optometrist and UCL research associate Sheema Pirzada. In our quarterly newsletter, Bolder, she tells us about the work she does, what she loves about it and what tools she finds indispensable. This is a sneak peek of what you'll find in Bolder, RNIB's quarterly newsletter for #LowVision practitioners. Sign up for future editions: rnib.in/SignUpToBolder #RNIB #EyeCareProfessionals

Our team recently attended the Tesco Live internal staff conference to talk with 3,000 store managers like Lewis, raising awareness and celebrating inclusion for Tesco staff and customer's with disabilities. Tesco has achieved the RNIB Visibly Better Employer standard, showing their commitment to inclusive internal practices, and are continuing to work with us through sharing vacancies to job match skilled candidates with sight loss who are looking for work. Ultimately, their goal is to increase the number of blind and partially sighted people that they hire and retain at all levels of the business across the UK. Watch the video to see what Lewis, one of the store managers, learned after chatting with our teams! To find out more about our Visibly Better Standard, head to our website: https://bit.ly/46fgNWs [Video description: Lewis, a man with short hair and a neatly trimmed beard, talks to a member of our team off-camera, whilst at the Tesco event. He’s wearing a white polo shirt and his Tesco name badge, and stands in front of the RNIB team stand with relaxed, friendly body language as he talks.]

"It's cool to have a cane, Barbie's got one." 💗 Brand new Blind Barbie is out today! Debbie Miller explains the impact the doll could have on blind and partially sighted people and their families - especially the difference it could have made to her, growing up with sight loss. [Video description: Debbie speaking to the camera, overlaid onto a promotional photo of blind content creator, Lucy Edwards, holding the Blind Barbie doll. Debbie has long brown hair and wears glasses and a dark blue dress with a slim gold, metal belt cinching the waist. In the photo behind Debbie, Lucy has long red hair, wears a pink top and holds the Barbie proudly up for the camera. Barbie is wearing a purple tee and a slightly darker purple tulle miniskirt. She has long, brown hair, she is tanned and holds a red and white cane. Both Lucy and Barbie are smiling. Video transcript. Debbie says: One of the amazing things about Blind Barbie is that she has a long cane and certainly for children that have slight loss or for someone like me that doesn't use a cane yet but may have to in the future, it really helps to have a conversation, certainly with my children that it's cool to have a cane - Barbie's got one. The impact for this for me when I was younger would have been incredible. I didn't know anyone else like me, so I felt really, really different and if anything I wanted to try and hide the fact that I was developing sight loss. So having Blind Barbie representing for people with sight loss is so important. It would have made me feel more confident to own it and talk to other people about it.]

“Dare to dream!” In this episode of Conversations Between…Abi and Dave discuss the myths and misconceptions about being a blind musician, how Abi learns music and their craft. Watch the full video: https://lnkd.in/dE3X_X2n #SeeThePerson [Video transcript: Abi: I'm Ab Baker. Dave: I'm Dave Connolly. Voiceover: Conversations Between by RNIB. What advice would you give to a young musician with sight loss? Abi: Dare to dream and do what you want. You're gonna have people who are telling you you can't do this. You'll never do that. There will be a way. You may have to be prepared to think outside the box big time. You know, don't limit yourself in terms of what you're what you do. It can be done. Dave: And I think having that self belief is, is important. And that kind of desire to prove people wrong. Voiceover: RNIB See Differently]

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s first report shows how woefully ill-prepared the UK was for Covid-19. This is especially true when considering blind and partially sighted people’s rights. Today’s report sets out critical lessons to learn for the future. We know contingency planning didn’t adequately consider the needs of disabled people. This wasn’t only the result of a new, unknown virus, but systemic failures to act on the experience of past outbreaks when blind and partially sighted people’s needs had been raised as a concern. Despite the introduction of the NHS Accessible Information Standard, requiring health and care bodies to communicate with blind and partially sighted people in a format they can read, shielding letters were sent in formats people couldn’t read. This was unacceptable and we’re yet to be convinced it won’t happen again in a future emergency. Data shows that for some age groups, blind and partially sighted people were 40% more likely to die from Covid-19 than the general population. Four years on, we’re still waiting for research to find out why and how this increased risk could be prevented in future pandemics. The government and devolved administrations must implement the report’s recommendations quickly. They must also urgently improve their understanding of the effects of sensory loss and account for this in future pandemic readiness planning.

"brat summer" I whisper to myself as I add alt text to my images to make them accessible to blind and partially sighted people. [Image description: The words "alt text" against a vibrant, lime green background, mimicking the album cover art of charlie xcx's "brat"]

This #WorldEmojiDay, our message is simple: Please don't overuse emojis in your social media posts 🙏 Here is what putting emojis between each word sounds like to blind and partially sighted people using a screen reader. Annoying, right? So, only use one or two emojis per post. [Video description: A tweet from RNIB that says "this is what screen reader users hear when you over-use emojis" with the clapping hands emoji in between each word. A robot voice reads this out, which sounds like: "This clapping hands is clapping hands what clapping hands screen clapping hands reader clapping hands users clapping hands hear clapping hands when clapping hands you clapping hands over-use clapping hands emojis clapping hands."]

This #WorldEmojiDay, our message is simple: Please don't overuse emojis in your social media posts 🙏 Here is what putting emojis between each word sounds like to blind and partially sighted people using a screen reader. Annoying, right? So, only use one or two emojis per post. [Video description: A tweet from RNIB that says "this is what screen reader users hear when you over-use emojis" with the clapping hands emoji in between each word. A robot voice reads this out, which sounds like: "This clapping hands is clapping hands what clapping hands screen clapping hands reader clapping hands users clapping hands hear clapping hands when clapping hands you clapping hands over-use clapping hands emojis clapping hands."]

If you thought Jordan Pickford was mad when he had to save goals during the Euros, you should see us when we spot posts without alt text. Here's how to score points and add descriptions to your images: https://lnkd.in/eXG2Sgcd. [Image description: 'Us when we spot another post without alt text’. A meme style post of England player, Jordan Pickford, giving a side eye to the camera. He is waiting to go on the pitch before the England and Spain Euros Final.]

🦮 Don't forget! [Image descriptions 1. RNIB Tweet: "Note: we love that you're all really excited about new MP Steve Darling and his guide dog, Jennie, but just a little reminder to add alt text when you're sharing pictures of new MP Steve Darling and his guide dog, Jennie (lightbulb emoji). It's easy to do - here's an example!" Image in screenshot: Steve Darling MP and his guide dog, Jennie, at the beach on a sunny day. Jennie, who's a golden retriever with long, wavy, golden fur is standing on a wall, wearing her harness. She's roughly at the same level as Steve, who's stood next to her. He's wearing a suit and a maroon tie. They both have big smiles on their faces - Jenny has her tongue out, but Steve doesn't. There's a pier jutting into the sea in the background. 2. RNIB Tweet that shows only the picture with the image description visible in the picture. "Image description: Steve Darling MP and his guide dog, Jennie, at the beach on a sunny day. Jennie, who's a golden retriever with long, wavy, golden fur is standing on a wall, wearing her harness. She's roughly at the same level as Steve, who's stood next to her. He's wearing a suit and a maroon tie. They both have big smiles on their faces - Jenny has her tongue out, but Steve doesn't. There's a pier jutting into the sea in the background."]