Perhaps many people do not realize that 80% to 90% of the information we receive every day is obtained through our eyes. Friends who cannot see clearly or even cannot see at all can only compensate by touching and listening. In this world we are used to, there are many obstacles that they cannot overcome.
Some people may think that it is only a very small number of people. But in fact, the number of this group is not small at all. According to the latest statistics, the prevalence rate of moderate and severe visual impairment in our country has reached 5.31%, 2.7 times the number of blind patients. On average, one in 20 people needs to use auxiliary equipment to see the world.
Visual impairment is not equal to blindness. According to the definition of visual impairment in the International Classification of Diseases, In the best corrected vision, the better eye is less than 0.3 and the worse eye is not less than 0.1, which constitutes grade 1 visual impairment. The lowest diagnostic standard of blindness, that is, the definition of grade 3 visual impairment, is that the best corrected vision of the better eye is less than 0.05, the best corrected vision of the worse eye is not less than 0.02, or the worse eye can see the number of fingers at 1 meter.
What is the difference between them? Grade 1 visual impairment, After the eyesight is corrected, it is about equivalent to the myopia patients with more than 600 degrees after taking off the glasses. Within 1 meter, they can barely see the face clearly. If the words on the screen are very large, reading can also be free from obstacles. The blind with the best eyesight can only see the blurred shadow. Those with poor conditions can only feel the light change and even live in the dark.
There are many reasons for visual impairment. In our country, the main reason is cataract, retinopathy ranks second. Other reasons include glaucoma, trachoma, corneal opacity caused by corneal diseases, congenital or hereditary eye diseases in children, ametropia that can be improved by wearing glasses, etc.
In order to reduce the misfortune caused by visual impairment, International and national health agencies have been working hard. Since 1999, WHO launched the “Vision 2020, Enjoy the Right to See” campaign, which aims to eradicate avoidable blindness globally and identifies cataract, trachoma, river blindness, child blindness, ametropia and low vision as the focus of action. China has successfully controlled the high incidence of trachoma after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and has carried out cataract screening and surgery after the reform and opening up.
Just as the occurrence of visual impairment is reduced by preventing and treating diseases that cause visual impairment, It is also important to provide suitable aids for people who already have visual impairments. In Finland, people with visual impairments diagnosed by doctors can get free aids such as guide sticks, tape recorders, computer aids and guide dogs. For the convenience of people with visual impairments, some mobile phones are equipped with optional screen reading function. The most widely used of these is VoiceOver in iOS.
To be honest, I haven’t tried VoiceOver properly, Because I don’t need it. Until one day, Dr. Clove received a long private letter on his microblog, It listed 8 incompatibilities between [Doctor Clove App] and VoiceOver. So on that day, colleagues from the whole product group tried [Doctor Clove App] with VoiceOver function on, and experienced the feeling of using mobile phones with ears. They could only sigh with emotion that it was really not easy for visually impaired users. Therefore, they decided to improve the App, which was launched during the 11th.
You can also feel, Turn on the settings-general-auxiliary function of iOS device, turn on VoiceOver, and then use your mobile phone. You will find it extremely inconvenient to use the mobile phone only with ears and fingers, but for visually impaired patients, such technological improvement has brought them great convenience. To borrow a passage from Mr. Gu Linglei, who sent us a private letter at the beginning:
[The development of science and technology is changing with each passing day. Ten years ago, When the visually impaired can only use their cell phones to make phone calls, Even when texting cannot be completed. Probably never would have thought that 10 years later, because of Jobs’ genius design, Let’s also use touch-screen mobile phones like ordinary people, and even need and rely on it more often than ordinary people. The emergence of various applications not only meets the needs of ordinary people, but also greatly facilitates and improves the life of the visually impaired.
For ordinary users, It may be just one more usage scenario, but it is of special significance to visually impaired users. Since visually impaired users cannot see the drug packaging and instructions, Dr. Clove can provide us with great convenience when living independently. With it, we no longer need to find someone to help us read the drug name and instructions.]
I am writing this article in the hope that everyone can know more about the visually impaired. Not to let everyone sympathize with them, but to hope that everyone can help them lead a barrier-free life as much as possible.
For example, it happens that you are also an Internet product manager, so together with the development of your home, study < > and make your own application compatible with VoiceOver, then you have made your own contribution to the barrier-free life of the visually impaired. I can guarantee that this is more fulfilling than persuading the leader to add 10 new function points to you. Because your conscience is comfortable.
If it is an ordinary person, how should we treat the visually impaired groups around us? Pack up your sympathetic eyes and look at the following ten articles:
1. Each visually impaired person is an independent individual with his own personality and expertise.
2. Talk directly to him and express it to him with voice. Avoid using eyes, actions, etc. to convey your information.
3. There is no need to deliberately avoid the use of the words [see] because he is visually impaired.
4. If you meet a visually impaired person, you should take the initiative to introduce yourself and your friends to let him know who you are.
5. Tell the other party before leaving and don’t let him speak to the air.
6. Ask each other what they need before giving help.
7. Don’t half open and half closed the door. Make sure the passage is unimpeded and let him know the location of the furniture. If the location changes, tell them immediately.
8. The way to lead him to sit down is to put his hand on the back of the chair and he will know where to sit.
9. If you walk with him, let him grab your arm, and he can know whether you are walking on a flat road or a staircase through your movements.
10. If you want to tell him the direction, you should not say [here] or [there] with your finger, but clearly say [left] or [right].
Of course, if you find some applications are quite suitable for visually impaired people, please do not recommend them with reservations, such as [Dr. Clove].
Please remember, give them what they want, not what you want.
I would like to thank Mr. Gu Linglei for his valuable suggestions and hope to receive more feedback to help us further improve.