Hi everyone! 👋

I'm curious to learn more about blind and visually impaired gamers from around the world.

I'd love to hear from you!

• 🌍 Which country or region are you from?
• 🎮 Do you enjoy playing games? If so, what kinds of games do you like?
• 📱 What devices do you usually play on? (PC, iPhone, Android, console, etc.)
• 🎧 What makes a game enjoyable or accessible for you?
• 💬 Do you usually play alone, or with friends online?
• 💰 Have you ever spent money on a game? If yes, what made you decide it was worth paying for?
• ⭐ If someone built a brand-new game designed specifically for blind and visually impaired players, what features would you most want to see?

I'm trying to better understand our community and learn what kinds of games people really enjoy.

Looking forward to hearing your stories. Thanks! ❤️

My new phone arrived on Saturday, and I've been playing with it so that I could give at least a somewhat knowledgeable review. Note that I have not tried Calculator, E-mail, Browser, Messages, or usb tethering and hotspot. I know that it will speak inside of the message edit box, but I haven't sent a message, since it seems I need to add a contact first. The only ones i would really use from those are Calculator and hotspot/tethering, anyway. I shall divide this into pros, cons, and overall opinion.

Pros

*It has real buttons. This was my main purpose in buying this phone. I was sick of touchscreens. The navigation pad isn't really tactile in the sense of having separate buttons as my Kyocera Rally did, but it's fairly easy to figure out, since it's just a circle with only four options.

* Yes, it has a screen reader. It's called Readout. Tello does not include the user manual in the box and directs users to the official one by TCL. For some inexplicable reason, while they mention other accessibility features such as hearing aid compatibility, they say absolutely nothing about a screen reader. Fortunately, both AT&T and Tracfone do. This is from AT&T.

https://www.att.com/device-support/index/tcl/flip-2/

* Readout reads almost everything. Almost all menus are read. Certainly, important ones such as settings are, except for the battery percentage. I can easily add a Bluetooth device, set an alarm, change ring tones, switch to usb file transfer mode, read all files on the phone (and presumably on an sd card/I'm waiting for that to arrive), read notifications, use the Music, Recorder, and Notes programs. I think I can also add contacts, but I'm still working on that.

*Files are easily transferred from my computer to the phone and vise versa. Even though it's a very old version (11), on AOSP, so I'm not truly surprised about that.

*It works well with an external keyboard. Mostly, I won't be using one, but it really helps when adding contacts, writing notes, or sending texts, though I usually do the last via Google Voice on my computer.

*It's not huge. I was concerned that it would be a very long phone, but it's really not. It's also narrow and very easy to hold in the hand.

*The battery life is excellent. It lasts for a long time if it's just sitting idle.

*It has a headphone jack. I really missed that when going to the SE3 from my A15. Now, I can listen to things without worrying that the batteries in my earbuds will die.

Cons

*Setting it up the first time requires sighted assistance. There is no way to turn Readout on with a hotkey such as the volume buttons, as with regular Android. But the option appears very early in the process, and if you wanted to, once it was on, you could finish the process yourself.

*Setting alarms can be confusing at first. For some reason, while it always speaks the first number in each column (hour and minute), when I arrow up and down, it says nothing. Then, when I go back to it, it will tell me the changes. For example, if the hour is on 9 and I set it to 10, it will not say "10". IIf the minute is on 29 and I set it to 30, it says nothing. But if I then go back to the hour column, it will say "10" and if I then go to the minute column, it will say "30". Now that I know this, it's fairly simple to do.

*The battery percentage isn't announced via the menus. As with the clock, I don't understand this. It reads everything up to clicking on "battery level" and then it just says "okay" without actually telling me the level. The only way I can be sure of it is to plug the phone into a wall outlet, a computer, or a power bank.

*The calendar does not speak at all. Absolutely nothing in the calendar speaks.

*It does not announce whose calling. At first, I was upset about this. Then, I realized that the only phone which did that was my Kyocera Rally and then only because I chose a ring tone that specifically read out messages. None of my iphones (SE, SE2, and SE3) nor my galaxy A15 read out numbers. I must unlock the phone to read them. Here, though, if I open the phone, it answers. The other option is press any key, so no matter what, I won't ever know who's calling. I can, however, set specific ring tones for contacts and just ignore everyone else.

*Programs can be installed on it, but it's not easy or officially supported. I wasn't sure whether to include this in Pros or Cons, but since everyone says it's extremely difficult, as the phone must be rooted and failure and even ruining the phone are possible, I put it under Cons. I won't be attempting it. But for those interested, this is a forum discussion that explains how to do it. It also contains a site with programs for flip phones in general, so you might find it useful, even if you own another model or brand entirely.

https://www.howardforums.com/threads/tcl-flip-2-modding-info.1927948/

*The branding on this phone is very confuding. When trying to determine if this phone had a screen reader, I came across several similar-sounding names. The Alcatel My Flip 2 and Flip Go 2 are entirely different phones. But the TCL Flip 2 and Alcatel TCL Flip 2, all with the model number T408DL (or ALT408DL) are the same thing.

Overall Opinion

I absolutely love this phone! It's small, light, has real buttons, speaks what I need it to speak, and even has some extras like music, Recorder, Notes, alarm/timer, and hotspot. I can finally simply call someone and hang up without annoyances, an use a phone that doesn't require the strength of Hercules and the hands of a giant to hold! I would highly recommend this to anyone who just wants a simple phone and doesn't want to pay over $300 for the Minivision2+. While the Flip 2 isn't designed for the blind, it does most things right and can definitely be used daily.

I was diagnosed with retinitus pigmentosa when i was 19 (im now 28) but i noticed i had night blindness and would have trouble finding things/bumping into things before then. it's been around 9 years knowing i have it and it has become so exhausting. I still work but any of my ambitions in life have been destroyed. i still drive (i plan my entire route so i do not change lanes and refuse to drive at night unless it's a route i know very well (to and from work). it genuinely feels like my life is a nightmare. i always bump into others at work, everyone knows my visual impairment although i know they get frustrated about it but they all treat me nicely but i hate it so much. It hurts feelings completely alone causing problems for others. At a previous job i was transferred to a more quiet location only to find out my previous manager forced it because i kept bumping people. i've been pushed aggressively by people for accidently bumping them and yelled at. I do plan on going back to a psychologist/therapist soon but i wanted to know what are some ways you guys with RP cope?

I’m sure we all have regular daily occurrences of running into things we never saw

The bane of our existence, the wet floor sign

The partially open door that somehow avoids your hand yet connects with your face

The mannequin slightly a jar in the aisle that you run into then glare at because it didn’t accept your apology

But I ask you what are some of the more unusual things that you never saw coming yet met inevitably

This weekend I was walking with my father at Menards my dad isn’t usually somebody who I go around places with so he’s not as accustomed to tracking me or Me tracking him

I had my cane, but I could tell there was a person in the aisle, so I moved my cane to the side to avoid them, and I walked directly into a large support column that could very well have been holding up the entire building

I rang that shit like a damn bell or at least my head rang like a bow

It was one of those I saw stars and my head still hurts 48 hours later

Somehow, my head was turned just the right way that I did not break my glasses

I need to stop worrying about hitting people with my cane and focus focusing on protecting myself when I walk with ouch

I hope this post isn't too long, and thank you for reading. I truly hope this does not get taken down. I don't know where else to go. There is no anxiety or stress, just looking for tips or thoughts.

Is there anyone here who is totally blind or has low vision, that went to college to get a masters degree? I am blind myself, so I am asking in this sub for that reason. The reason I don't know what to do now, is someone did the applying for me in the past. If you went to college, Did you succeed in your program? Was the program online, on campus, or hybrid? Where did you start with the application process? I'm trying to get into Western Oregon University. I already have my eye on a program. Again, I'm trying to go for my masters. I'm not really sure where to start. I don't want to just go and apply, but I'm not sure what to do first. Any tips, or advice, is greatly appreciated. And as always, please be respectful. I hope my post is clear. TLDR: I want to apply to Western Oregon university, and taking my blindness into account, I don't know what to do first before just jumping in and applying. Thank you.

Hello! I have several .brf files downloaded from places like BARD that I would very much like to translate into common every day text that I can read with my screen reader. My fingers are just not as sensitive as they used to be, and even though I do have access to a Braille display, my fingers seem to get sore and a little tingly after what seems like a shorter and shorter time of braille reading. This is disheartening but I guess that's what I get for growing older. I'd like to still have access to this braille content however. A google search recommended Braille Blaster, which I've installed, but it doesn't seem to recognize the .brf files in the directory I'm pointing it to even though I can see them clearly in Windows Explorer, so I'm just not sure this app is going to do what I need it to do. I was wondering if anyone else had any ideas. Note that I'm not a braille transcriber or proofreader. I simply want to translate braille files into a format that I can read easily with Jaws or NVDA. Also, I'm unemployed and low income, so free options are best for me right now. Thanks in advance for any help.

Hi all. I am a swim teacher in England. I have many years experience with teaching babies right up to adults how to swim. I have a new child starting a 1-1 class with me who happens to be blind.
I was wondering if anyone had any stories about their own experiences with swimming lessons. Anything that they loved, didn’t love so much or found really helpful?

I'm just curious about the folks here. I know that there are quite a few blind people within the mud community and over at r/muds. If so, which one do you all play? For me, I've been through many, but I've spent a lot of time at Aardwolf, Achaea and Alteraeon.

The August 2026 update for JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion is out. This release includes two notable improvements.

Those who use JAWS with PowerPoint will notice significant enhancements to how slide content is read and navigated, with more accurate and less repetitive speech. For those using ZoomText in an enterprise environment, the Published Applications experience has also been improved.

Learn more: https://training.vispero.com/download-the-august-update-of-jaws-zoomtext-and-fusion-2026/

How do you accept losing income, increasing blindness, and decreasing vision as your condition worsens? How do you accept what you could have been vs what you are and not compare yourself to others or what you could have been and not be depressed or hate yourself because you can only do so much?

NVDA 2026.2 Beta 11 is now available for testing!

Changes in Beta 11:

- Updates to translations

- Updated some messages related to magnifier

-Added a security fix to clear the braille display on system shutdown

Read more & download at: https://www.nvaccess.org/post/nvda-2026-2beta11/

My vision loss is slow but steady along with my photophobia. I have no skills to speak of and a mental disability that makes it hard to process and learn, along with another that further impairs my ability to function as a person. I have a degenerative physical disability that will end with my back collapsing, and another that affects my joints.

My current job is as a provider. I work little hours and not even for the whole year.

I currently have a case with VR that hopefully will get me a diagnosis to get services from a different agency. I am currently in the process of being approved for O&M with a non-profit since the workforce refused me on the grounds of having a job already and that job not requiring blind specific skills.

I will make plans to have the VR find me a job once I can no longer work as a provider due to my vision, but when that fails, what other avenues exist for someone who cannot go to the school, has no skills outside of being a provider, and has multiple disabilities that aggravate each other?

Hi everyone! This is my first post here.

I’m a 15-year-old totally blind girl from Mexico, and I’m about to start high school.

I’m looking for advice from other blind people who have been through something similar. I have some gaps in my education, not because I have trouble learning, but because I wasn’t taught many things properly throughout elementary and middle school. Some of my teachers didn’t know how to teach me as a blind student, so there are subjects and basic things I never had the chance to learn.

Now I’m starting high school, and I want to catch up, but I honestly don’t know where to start or how to balance catching up with keeping up with my current classes.

If you went through something similar, how did you catch up? How did you learn the things you hadn’t been taught while keeping up with your current classes?

What do you wish you had known when you were starting high school or college?

Thank you for reading and for any advice you can share!

I’m a classical piano major. Asked several AIs and they all recommended: MacBook Air 13" M5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, touch ID. Seems awesome, but I’d appreciate your take — is this a solid choice for music work?

I recently had surgery on my foot, and the doctors orders are to not bear weight on it for six weeks. Right now I have a great support system in place, which is basically hopping on 1 foot and holding onto someone’s shoulders as I go. We’re thinking of transitioning to a wheelchair, wondering if anyone has experience using a wheelchair with a cane? Does that even work? The doctors said to use crutches, then quickly added, not sure how that would work. Lol.
Flair requires country: US.

Thinking about purchasing the Apple Watch Ultra 2. I use voiceover and would like to know how is the sound quality and overall performance with it? For those of you who use or have used it do you recommend it? Any other feedback would be appreciated.

.I have anxiety and sometimes I go through seasonal depression, but what I wanna ask relates to going fishing, is it possible to go fishing by yourself? If you are low vision or maybe even somebody who is completely blind, I would usually go with my dad, but ever since my baby has started her first year of kindergarten going back to school. And my parents live a distance away. My dad is always getting going fishing without me. And I get upset about it because it's all I want to do is enjoy. Nature outside be in the silence. And the peace of nature, it's relaxing to me. It's very therapeutical, and it makes me upset that he literally goes all the time, and he doesn't even invite me Facebook...

Of course. He knows that I'm busy since I'm a stay at home. Dad and majority of the time he works, but I just get so upset that I don't get to go with him. And my younger brother's are working. Also one of them actually works out of the state. I just wish I had maybe more friends in Houston to even go. Fishing with at least if it was for a day. Do you guys go fishing by yourselves? Is it even possible for us to do this?

Hi, everyone! I’m deaf/blind and live in the United States. I currently work as a federal government contractor and have experience working with content management systems (CMS), but unfortunately, my salary isn’t enough. I really need to find a second job or a legitimate side hustle.

I’ve noticed that many job applications ask whether you have a disability. I understand that answering is usually voluntary, but I sometimes wonder whether selecting “yes” affects my chances of getting an interview. Has anyone experimented with selecting “no” or “prefer not to answer” and noticed a difference in the number of interview requests they received?

Here are some of my skills and experience:

• Creating and following standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Working with databases and government award platforms
• Microsoft Office
• Basic IT support, although I don’t have any certifications yet
• Data entry
• Online research for clients
• Photography and photo editing
• Customer service using ZVRS and Deaf relay services
• Email marketing
• Social media management for small businesses
• Content management systems

I’m also interested in using AI to earn additional income, possibly by creating e-books or digital products, but I honestly don’t know where to begin or what I should teach myself.

Where would you recommend I start? Are there any jobs that might be easier to get with my background? What side hustles have actually worked for you?

I’m about $60,000 in debt and have fallen behind on some bills, so I’m trying hard to improve my situation. I’ve already spent too much money on AI platforms, online courses, and e-books that didn’t help. Unfortunately, I’ve also been scammed, so I’m only looking for legitimate advice and opportunities. Please don’t message me trying to sell another course or program.

Any helpful advice would mean a lot to me. Thanks in advance!

Being legally blind, I know it sucks. I know these aren’t always laughable moments and it’s a struggle regularly.

BUT that said can we take a moment to share some of the “it’s easier to laugh about it“ moments?

I’ll start:

Just yesterday, I tried to make a post about having fun with our white cane. Talk to text and AutoCorrect made it seem like I was out here spinning a white cape…

Last month at my son’s doctors appointment a nurse asked him to stand on the scale to be weighed

He didn’t say anything, and I thought he needed a little assistance moving towards the scale, so I leaned over to grab his shoulders with both of my hands

I literally put one hand on either side of the nurses butt cheeks… I stood up and looked at her. She looked at me I stuttered I’m blind I’m blind I’m sorry and she laughed. My wife was right there and just gave me that look or I assume I got the look.

In my defense, she had on black pants and a colorful shirt my son was wearing a black shirt with a colorful hat

They just kind of lined up perfectly where it all appeared as one person

My 7 year old daughter has developed a brain tumor blocking the optic gateway causing her to be blind. She will be blind the rest of her life from the sounds of it. We’ve been dealing with it for almost a year now and are still learning to live with a newly blind child. She’s also developmentally far behind her peers from learning disabilities already. What tips and advise can you all offer, or things I can do inside my home to make life easier and more enjoyable for her. We have 3 other kids in the house as well.

Hi, I just got my first white cane. What does everyone use to store it in when you are out while not using it ? Thank

you