A library involving tape-recorded books exists for the blind and visually impaired. According to the Library of Congress website, the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped allows you, if you are eligible, to borrow playback equipment free of charge. In the library are a collection of books and magazines that volunteers have recorded for the listening pleasure of a visually handicapped person.
Even if your level of disability doesn't make you eligible for the equipment on free loan, you can obtain a buying guide with a list of cassette players, with various speeds and prices. As the Library of Congress website suggests, knowing the playback speed of your recorder is especially important. The standard tape recorder speed is 1 7/8 inches per second (ips), while the National Library Service compatible speed is 15/16 ips.
A company known as IMED Mobility has developed technology that will make a physically disabled person's efforts getting into and out of the front seat of his vehicle much easier. The manufacturers of this turning seat have designed the product so that the seat can rotate forward, so that the person can safely lower himself by pressing the appropriate lever to exit the vehicle.
You can acquire a specialized van through a company such as IMED Mobility. The vans are not free, but such companies do offer financing plans or the opportunity to buy used vehicles. These vans come with features such as built-in wheelchair ramps, hand controls, lowered floors, and key-chain remotes.
With HotBraille, if you are a person who has recently lost his sight or are learning Braille for the first time, you can learn to braille basic words, including your name, by entering it into the provided field on the website's homepage. On the left-hand side of the website is a link, "Braille," which shares basic knowledge of the Braille system. Indeed, the most important element to acquiring new language skills is learning the letters. In the "Grade 2" link just below the "Braille" one, you learn the Grade 2 way of brailling, which uses more than 300 contractions. This tool facilitates speed reading and writing, especially in school or college situations in which students need to take notes.