|
American Foundation For The Blind
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is an American non-profit organization for people with vision loss. AFB's objectives include conducting research to advance change, promoting knowledge and understanding, and shaping policies and practices. Kirk Adams, formerly the first blind president and CEO of The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. has been AFB's president and CEO since May 2016. The AFB's main headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia. History AFB, with the support and leadership of M.C. Migel, a philanthropist who was moved to help the large number of veterans blinded in World War I, was formed in 1921 to provide both a national clearing house for information about vision loss and a forum for discussion for blindness service professionals. Its founding, made official at the convention of the American Association of Workers for the Blind in Vinton, Iowa, was also intended to spur research and represent the needs of people with vision loss in the US government. AFB's ear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-profit Organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in contrast with an entity that operates as a business aiming to generate a profit for its owners. A nonprofit is subject to the non-distribution constraint: any revenues that exceed expenses must be committed to the organization's purpose, not taken by private parties. An array of organizations are nonprofit, including some political organizations, schools, business associations, churches, social clubs, and consumer cooperatives. Nonprofit entities may seek approval from governments to be tax-exempt, and some may also qualify to receive tax-deductible contributions, but an entity may incorporate as a nonprofit entity without securing tax-exempt status. Key aspects of nonprofits are accountability, trustworthiness, honesty, and openness to eve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Design
Universal design is the design of buildings, products or environments to make them accessible to people, regardless of age, disability or other factors. It addresses common barriers to participation by creating things that can be used by the maximum number of people possible. Curb cuts or sidewalk ramps, which are essential for people in wheelchairs but also used by all, are a common example of universal design. The term ''universal design'' was coined by the architect Ronald Mace to describe the concept of designing all products and the built environment to be aesthetic and usable to the greatest extent possible by everyone, regardless of their age, ability, or status in life. However, due to some people having unusual or conflicting access needs, such as a person with low vision needing bright light and a person with photophobia needing dim light, universal design does not address absolutely every need for every person in every situation. Universal design emerged from sli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Health And Disability Rights Organizations In The United States
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organization''– ''Basic Documents'', Forty-fifth edition, Supplement, October 2006. A variety of definitions have been used for different purposes over time. Health can be promoted by encouraging healthful activities, such as regular physical exercise and adequate sleep, and by reducing or avoiding unhealthful activities or situations, such as smoking or excessive stress. Some factors affecting health are due to individual choices, such as whether to engage in a high-risk behavior, while others are due to structural causes, such as whether the society is arranged in a way that makes it easier or harder for people to get necessary healthcare services. Still, other factors are beyond both individual and group choices, such as genetic disorders. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lighthouse Guild
Lighthouse Guild is an American charitable organization, based in New York City, devoted to vision rehabilitation and advocacy for the blind. Its mission statement is "To overcome vision impairment for people of all ages through worldwide leadership in rehabilitation services, education, research, prevention and advocacy." Formerly known as Lighthouse International, it merged with Jewish Guild Healthcare and as of January 2014 became known as Lighthouse Guild International, with the name eventually shortened to Lighthouse Guild. History During a trip to Florence, Italy, at the turn of the 20th century, sisters Winifred and Edith Holt learned of a free service that provided concert tickets to blind schoolchildren. Inspired by the notion, the sisters established the similar Lighthouse Free Ticket Bureau in New York City in 1903. The organization was incorporated in 1906 as The New York Association for the Blind and offered home counseling and instruction program for the visually im ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baby Boomer
Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the Western demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the mid-20th century baby boom. The dates, the demographic context, and the cultural identifiers may vary by country. The baby boom has been described variously as a "shockwave" and as "the pig in the python". Most baby boomers are children of either the Greatest Generation or the Silent Generation, and are often parents of late Gen Xers and Millennials. Late baby boomers can also be the parents of older members of Generation Z. In the West, boomers' childhoods in the 1950s and 1960s had significant reforms in education, both as part of the ideological confrontation that was the Cold War, and as a continuation of the interwar period. In the 1960s and 1970s, as this relatively large number of young people entered their teens and young adulthood—the oldest turned 18 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy (also known as diabetic eye disease), is a medical condition in which damage occurs to the retina due to diabetes mellitus. It is a leading cause of blindness in developed countries. Diabetic retinopathy affects up to 80 percent of those who have had both type 1 and type 2 diabetes for 20 years or more. In at least 90% of new cases, progression to more aggressive forms of sight threatening retinopathy and maculopathy could be reduced with proper treatment and monitoring of the eyes The longer a person has diabetes, the higher his or her chances of developing diabetic retinopathy. Each year in the United States, diabetic retinopathy accounts for 12% of all new cases of blindness. It is also the leading cause of blindness in people aged 20 to 64. Signs and symptoms Nearly all people with diabetes develop some degree of retina damage ("retinopathy") over several decades with the disease. For many, that damage can only be detected by a retinal exam, and has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye remains open, with less common types including closed-angle (narrow angle, acute congestive) glaucoma and normal-tension glaucoma. Open-angle glaucoma develops slowly over time and there is no pain. Peripheral vision may begin to decrease, followed by central vision, resulting in blindness if not treated. Closed-angle glaucoma can present gradually or suddenly. The sudden presentation may involve severe eye pain, blurred vision, mid-dilated pupil, redness of the eye, and nausea. Vision loss from glaucoma, once it has occurred, is permanent. Eyes affected by glaucoma are referred to as being glaucomatous. Risk factors for glaucoma include increasing age, high pressure in the eye, a family history of glaucoma, and use of steroid medication. F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macular Degeneration
Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, some people experience a gradual worsening of vision that may affect one or both eyes. While it does not result in complete blindness, loss of central vision can make it hard to recognize faces, drive, read, or perform other activities of daily life. Visual hallucinations may also occur. Macular degeneration typically occurs in older people. Genetic factors and smoking also play a role. It is due to damage to the macula of the retina. Diagnosis is by a complete eye exam. The severity is divided into early, intermediate, and late types. The late type is additionally divided into "dry" and "wet" forms with the dry form making up 90% of cases. The difference between the two forms is the change of macula. Those with dry form AMD have drusen, ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reader's Digest
''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wife Lila Bell Wallace. For many years, ''Reader's Digest'' was the best-selling consumer magazine in the United States; it lost the distinction in 2009 to '' Better Homes and Gardens''. According to Mediamark Research (2006), ''Reader's Digest'' reached more readers with household incomes of over $100,000 than ''Fortune'', ''The Wall Street Journal'', '' Business Week'', and '' Inc.'' combined. Global editions of ''Reader's Digest'' reach an additional 40 million people in more than 70 countries, via 49 editions in 21 languages. The periodical has a global circulation of 10.5 million, making it the largest paid-circulation magazine in the world. It is also published in Braille, digital, audio, and a large type called "Reader's Digest Larg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis Braille
Louis Braille (; ; 4 January 1809 – 6 January 1852) was a French educator and the inventor of a reading and writing system, named braille after him, intended for use by visually impaired people. His system is used worldwide and remains virtually unchanged to this day. Braille was blinded at the age of three in one eye as a result of an accident with a stitching awl in his father's harness making shop. Consequently, an infection set in and spread to both eyes, resulting in total blindness. At that time there were not many resources in place for the blind, but he nevertheless excelled in his education and received a scholarship to France's Royal Institute for Blind Youth. While still a student there, he began developing a system of tactile code that could allow blind people to read and write quickly and efficiently. Inspired by a system invented by Charles Barbier, Braille's new method was more compact and lent itself to a range of uses, including music. He presented his work ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a piece of American legislation that ensures students with a disability are provided with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is tailored to their individual needs. IDEA was previously known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) from 1975 to 1990. In 1990, the United States Congress reauthorized EHA and changed the title to IDEA. Overall, the goal of IDEA is to provide children with disabilities the same opportunity for education as those students who do not have a disability. IDEA is composed of four parts, the main two being part A and part B. Part A covers the general provisions of the law; Part B covers assistance for education of all children with disabilities; Part C covers infants and toddlers with disabilities, including children from birth to age three; and Part D consists of the national support programs administered at the federal level. Each part of the law has remained largely t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
