What is the only Long Island event where people can learn about assistive technology and other daily living resources that enable them to live independent and productive lives? It’s the “See For Yourself 2014 Assistive Technology and Resource Fair for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired” on Saturday, May 17 from 10am to 4 pm. The Fair will be held at the Suffolk Cooperative Library System located at 627 North Sunrise Highway in Bellport, New York.
Millions of Americans are living with vision loss. Macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts, diabetes (the leading cause of adult onset blindness in the United States) and other eye diseases can lead to the loss of independence and force people to live in a supervised living environment or institutionalized settings. Vision loss can also lead to unemployment and require people to depend on various types of social services, often resulting in living below the poverty line. The Fair has become particularly important as there are few services, and virtually no accessible resources in alternative formats available on Long Island for people living with vision loss and other print disabilities.
See For Yourself 2014, hosted by the SCLS Outreach Services department, is free and open to the public. Exhibitors and vendors will provide information on a wide-array of resources and offer hands-on demonstrations of various types of assistive technologies designed for people living with vision loss including reading machines, computers with voice, large print and braille, and magnification devices.
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Also at the Suffolk Cooperative Library System is the Long Island Assistive Technology Center. The Center offers demonstrations of adaptive hardware and software for people living with visual or learning disabilities. If you have questions about the Fair or would like to make an appointment to visit the Technology Center, contact the SCLS Outreach Services department at 631-286-1600, ext. 1354 or by email at valerie@suffolknet.org
