This season Anthony Loeff medical volunteer is reporting software applications for visually impaired Most legally blind people 64 percent do not use computers.
The console-based Oralux Linux distribution ships with three screen-reading environments: Emacspeak, Yasr and Speakup. Only a small fraction of this population, when compared to the sighted community, have Internet access.
Access technology such as screen readers and Screen magnifiers enable the blind to use mainstream computer applications. The primary audience for such applications is those who have difficulty reading because of learning disabilities or language barriers. Experimental approaches in sensory substitution are beginning to provide access to arbitrary live views from a camera.
There are also open source screen readers, such as the Linux Screen Reader for GNOME and NonVisual Desktop Access for Windows.
Linux distributions for the blind include Oralux and Adriane Knoppix. A screen reader is a software application that attempts to identify and interpret what is being displayed on the screen. Approximately 20 percent of those deemed legally blind, by any measure, have no vision. This interpretation is then represented to the user with text-to-speech, sound icons, or a braille output. Web browsers, word processors, icons and windows and email programs are just some of the applications used successfully by screen reader users. The movement towards greater web accessibility is opening a far wider number of websites to adaptive technology, making the web a more inviting place for visually impaired surfers. While Apple Mac OS X includes VoiceOver, a more feature-rich screen reader. The open source GNOME desktop environment long included Gnopernicus and now includes Orca. Screen readers can be assumed to be able to access all display content that is not intrinsically inaccessible.
The Macintosh OS also comes with a built-in screen reader, called VoiceOver. Screen readers are a form of assistive technology potentially useful to people who are blind, visually impaired, or learning disabled, often in combination with other AT such as screen magnifiers. A persons choice of screen reader is dictated by many factors, including platform and the role of organizations like charities, schools, and employers.
The rest have some vision, from light perception alone to relatively good acuity. Later versions of Microsoft Windows include an Accessibility Wizard and Magnifier for those with partial vision, and Microsoft Narrator, a simple screen reader. Screen reader choice is contentious: differing priorities and strong preferences are common. Therefore functionality remains limited compared to equivalent desktop applications, the major benefit is to increase the accessibility of said websites. Increasingly, screen readers are being bundled with operating system distributions. Indeed, using a screen reader is, according to some users, considerably more difficult than using a GUI and many applications have specific problems resulting from the nature of the application. The latter developed in part by Knopper who has a visual impairment. Recent versions of Microsoft Windows come with the rather basic Narrator.
Americans young and old are fat - epidemically so - and with their obesity comes a wealth of risky medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart attacks and strokes. Diets don’t work as evidenced by the demise of such popular diet regimens such as Atkins and the lo-carb craze. And with the proven risk that obesity poses for diabetes, it’s become increasingly important for the health of our country that positive and lasting steps are taken to curb this problem called obesity.
This holiday season is when most people start their weight gain. With 20 million Americans living with diabetes and another six million totally unaware they have the disease, as well as countless more suffering from heart disease and high blood pressure, it’s time for a modification change that works and lasts. Positive Changes, the only network of behavior modification centers in the U. S., with two convenient locations in Orange County - Fullerton and Fountain Valley - uses hypnosis for a variety of disorders, particularly obesity.
Hypnosis: Long Shrouded in Mystery
Largely misunderstood, hypnosis has recently made a strong entrance into mainstream therapy as a viable treatment for all manner of disorders. According to Fullerton, CA Positive Changes owner Jim Proser, “We use hypnotherapy to treat obesity and all of the other issues associated with weight gain. In fact, this is by far our most popular treatment.”
Dieting Doesn’t Work.
It’s been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again each time expecting a different result. Yet millions of perfectly sane people start diets each year, hoping that this time will be different and that they will finally, magically, lose their excess weight for good. The sad fact is that most dieters end up gaining up to five additional pounds each year. Diets just don’t work which is why there are no diets at Positive Changes!
Research Proves Hypnosis Works
More and more people seeking a positive approach to long-term weight loss have sought out hypnosis with amazing results. Long-term success is the reason doctors in hospitals and private practice refer their patients for hypnosis.
As evidenced by recent studies published in medical journals, hypnosis has been shown to be a successful tool for weight loss. For example, in a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, subjects who completed behavioral treatment programs for weight management that included hypnosis lost significantly more weight than subjects whose treatment plan did not include hypnosis. The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology reported on a study of 60 women who were at least 20% overweight. The women who participated in hypnosis lost an average of 17 pounds while the control group lost only a half pound on average.
Hypnosis is not only a lot less challenging and more successful than traditional dieting, but it also makes maintenance easier and automatic. True to its name, Positive Changes offers programs specifically designed to empower and to bring about lasting positive changes.
According to Conrad Capreze of Placentia, CA, “I’ve lost 20 pounds in 3 months! Hypnosis has also helped me through processes in business to focus on all the things that I do. It’s even helped lower my blood pressure. I’ve recommended Positive Changes to my doctor and he is now sending his patients.”
Adds Jackie Salem of La Habra, who dropped 82 lbs in five months, “I’ve been overweight my entire life. My self-esteem was so low that I just gave up trying to lose weight. Dating was out of the question. I thought I would be alone and overweight the rest of my life. Hypnosis is a miracle that gave me my life and my body back. Now I have the rest of my life to look forward to at my normal and natural weight. My eating habits have done a complete 180-degree change and my cravings for sweets are totally gone! I’ve forgotten about snacking, and since I’ve been coming to Positive Changes, I now have more energy, I sleep better and I’m stress-free! In addition to this, I now wake up every morning and go to the gym! The best part is that in two months I lost 40 lbs, in three months I lost 50 lbs (and two dress sizes) and by the fifth month, I lost an astounding 82 pounds! I feel like I can do anything!” Positive Changes absolutely does create just that…positive changes in your life!”
Other Services and Contact Information
In addition to weight loss, Positive Changes has designed customized programs for other areas such as smoking, stress relief, phobia release, accelerated learning, success motivation, freedom from pain, nail-biting cessation, sales mastery, sports performance and more.
For more information, call 714-965-6999 for the Positive Changes office located at 9555 Warner Avenue, Suite A in Fountain Valley, email at fountainvalley@positivechanges.com; or 714-525-1700 for the Fullerton location located at 2443 E. Chapman Avenue; email at fullerton@positivechanges.com. The toll free number for both locations is 1-877-POSITIVE. The web address is http://www.positivechanges.com/
Have you got a few pounds to lose? Or maybe you have more than a few pounds to lose. When people think about dieting, they usually think about what they’re eating. In other words, how much of your diet consists of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. That’s a good place to start, but it isn’t the only thing we should be looking at.
Just as important as what we eat, is how we eat. Do you eat just because it’s that time of day? Or maybe you eat when you’re bored. Do you ever have an extra helping just because it tastes really good? How often do you keep eating, even after you’re full, just because the food is there? These, and other behavioral issues, can cause as much of a problem for us in our quest to lose those pounds as anything else. So, let’s look the challenge a little more closely, and from more angles.
There are all kinds of sensible diets that give us good guidelines regarding proper proportions of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Once we find a sensible diet that seems right for us, what are some of the other things we can do to help us succeed?
Look closely at the kinds of calories that you are ingesting. Did you know that by having a lite yogurt instead of a low fat yogurt, you can save up to 110 calories? Drinking a can of diet cola instead of a regular cola saves about 150 calories (and most cola drinkers have at least 2 cans a day, equaling 300 calories). Eating a hard boiled egg in place of a Power bar reduces your calories by 173.
If you replaced each one of those items in your diet for a week, you would save 4081 calories. That translates to the loss of over one pound per week just with those small changes. That translates to more than 50 pounds in a year. So, look for ways to make lower calorie substitutions for things that you like to eat. But, be careful with those choices, because things like “low fat” items are not necessarily lower in calories.
Most diets strongly suggest that we drink at least 64 ounces of water each day. If you drink a large glass of water about 10 minutes before each meal, it will help to make you feel full sooner. And, if you mix a fiber substitute into the water, it will not only make you feel fuller, it will help your body eliminate excess materials more quickly.
Another thing that many of us do that gets us in trouble with our dieting is how often we eat. Dieters often think that if they eat less frequently, it will help them shed the pounds quicker. Guess what? Almost the opposite is true. By eating less frequently, we are teaching our body that it needs to conserve energy by saving the calories we ingest for those times when nothing is being eaten. What will work better is to eat 5 or 6 smaller meals throughout the day so our body doesn’t feel the need to conserve extra calories.
In summary: analyze why you’re eating; look for healthy, low calorie substitutes; drink water before every meal; and eat more, small meals each day. These suggestions are not the only things you can do to help yourself lose weight. But, they will go a long way to making your weight loss goal more attainable.
©2005 Thomas D. Manfredi, MS
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Online fitness coach Tom Manfredi is the creator of the site fitness-after-50.com. He has a master’s degree in exercise physiology and over 20 years of practical exercise experience.
This site is designed with the mature adult in mind. Learn more by going to
fitness-after-50.com.
