Blindness

UK sources of information and / or support

 Action for Blind People

A national UK charity which aims to enable blind and partially sighted people to enjoy equal opportunities in every aspect of their lives through work, leisure, housing and support.

 A-Z to Deafblindness

Formerly known as Deafblind Link. Help to blind, deaf people and especially deafblind people, and those who provide specialized services for those who are deafblind.

 British Computer Association of the Blind

To promote the special needs and interests of the visually impaired who either work in the computing field or have an active interest in computing.

 Calibre

Aims to enrich the quality of life of blind, partially sighted and print disabled adults and children. Calibre does this by providing a FREE service of unabridged books recorded on normal cassette tapes, playable by all who have a cassette player.

 COTIS - Confederation of Tape Information Service

A self-help group of tape recording services, cassette libraries etc both large and small. Provides support and advice through its guidelines and self-help tapes which include guidelines and technical hints on recording, presentation, reading skills, labelling and packaging.

 Deafblind UK's Scottish Website

Learn about Deafblind UK's work in Scotland, Guide/communicator service, Usher Syndrome Project in Scotland and Deafblind Manual.

 Electronic Aids for the Blind

A charity which aims to help people with sight loss communicate electronically including the provision of electronic equipment to people of all ages.

 Guide Dogs for the Blind Association

Their mission is to provide guide dogs, mobility and other rehabilitation services that meet the needs of blind and partially sighted people.

 Henshaws Society for Blind People

A leading edge charity providing care and support for people of all ages who are blind and partially sighted across northern England and North Wales.

 Jewish Braille Institute (US site but worldwide coverage of services)

JBI International (established in 1931 as the Jewish Braille Institute of America), is a not-for-profit organization that provides materials in Braille, on audio cassette and in large print to the blind, visually impaired and reading and physically disabled worldwide. All services are free of any charge.

 Listening Books

A charity that provides a postal audio book library to people throughout the UK who have difficulty holding a book, turning a page or reading in the normal way.

 National Federation of the Blind of the United Kingdom

An organisation of people who are blind or partially sighted who campaign for better service provisions and an enhanced quality of life for all visually impaired people.

 National Library for the Blind

Largest braille lending library in the UK.

 Parents of Visually Impaired Children

Self-help online group for parents. Website aimed at parents ofvisually impaired children. Lots of information on organisations,resources, articles, parents experiences, education e.t.c. There is alsoan active email group for parents of visually impaired children (andthose at risk of sight loss) as well as visually impaired parents.

 Playback

Provides professional-quality recorded material to blind and visually impaired people. Newspapers, magazines, tape library and reading service.

 Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB)

Aims to help people get on with their lives, despite their difficulties, by offering practical support and advice.

 RNIB Talk and Support

Talk and Support is an exciting range of services for people with sight problems in the UK. The services are available from the comfort of their own home, using the telephone. Talk and Support services provide opportunities for people to continue to socialise, learn, share information and support each other.

 Royal London Society for the Blind

An international provider of education, training, and employment for blind and partially sighted people.

 Royal National College for the Blind

The UK's leading college for people who are blind or partially sighted. Based on a large residential campus where students prepare for a wide range of nationally recognised academic and vocational qualifications. RNC's students are drawn from all over the UK and overseas.

 Seeability

SeeAbility works with adults who are visually impaired and have other disabilities (such as learning disability, physical disability, head injury , mental health difficulties ) to explore their potential, develop skills/independence and enhance the quality of their lives.

 Seeing Dogs Alliance

During 2002, The Seeing Dogs Alliance was relaunched with the sole aim of providing an alternative source of dogs to guide blind people.

 Sense, The National Deafblind and Rubella Association

Sense, the world's largest organisation working with and campaigning for deafblind people, their families and professionals who work with them.

 Sense Scotland

Sense Scotland is part of the UK National Deafblind and Rubella Association and assists people who are deafblind, or who have sensory impairment and other difficulties who need special help with communication, information, learning and mobility.

 SPECS (Specific Eye Conditions)

SPECS is a not-for-profit organisation which provides support to a wide range of organisations dedicated to helping people with eye conditions. Works in partnership with support groups and professionals to raise awareness and develop co-operative working. The web site acts as a directory for patients, parents and clinicians who are looking to find both information and support.

 St Dunstan's

Cares for blind ex-servicemen and women and aims to restore quality of life to those who were blinded in the First and Second World Wars, and all conflicts between and since, as well as peacetime accidents.

 Soundaround

Soundaround is a monthly 90-minute cassette programme for participating listeners. Visually impaired may receive Soundaround free.

 Talk and Support

Talk and Support offers a range of services for people with sight problems in the UK. The services are available from the comfort of their own home, using the telephone. Talk and Support services provide opportunities for people to continue to socialise, learn, share information and support each other. They offer two services:

• Tele Befriending - social groups over the telephone
• Tele Support - information and discussion groups

 Talking Newspaper Association of the UK

A registered charity which provides national newspapers and magazines on audio cassette, floppy disk, email, CD-ROM, or through a Bulletin Board Service for blind, visually impaired and disabled people.

 Typetalk

Typetalk, a service from RNID and BT, offers services to anyone who has hearing difficulties. It isis available to anyone, and can be used at home, in the office or when you are on the move. There is a complete range of accounts to suit all needs.

 Voluntary Transcribers Group

This is a band of volunteers who turn text into braille.

 Wales Council for the Blind

Enabling and empowering visually impaired people.

 Wireless for the Blind

Supplies radios, cassette players and TV sound recievers to the registered blind.

 National Association of Local Societies for Visually Impaired People (NALSVI)

The National Association of Local Societies for Visually Impaired People promotes and supports the work of the UK network of independant local societies for blind and partially sighted people.

Further sources / more detailed information

Some non-UK sites

The following list popular non-UK health information sites with content aimed at the general public. They are mainly from the US. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included but these large sites are comprehensive.

• Non-UK disease / illness sites
• Non-UK self-help / support group sites

More detailed medical information

The following list online sources of more detailed medical information, mainly from the UK. These sites are mainly aimed at health professionals, but are of interest to all. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included, but information about most medical topics can usually be found.

• PatientPlus - hundreds of medical reference articles provided by Patient UK.
• Evidence Based Medicine - such as from Clinical Evidence, The Cochrane Library, etc.
• Database of UK Clinical Guidelines - from NICE, SIGN, Clinical Knowledge Summaries, etc.
• Medline - abstracts available from thousands of journals.
• Sites listing free online medical textbooks and journals.
• Sites listing free medical images - pictures, atlases, anatomy, skin diseases, etc.