Rehabilitation for The Visually Impaired in Taiwan

September is about to come, but temperature in Taipei is still high. The heat and thundershowers in the afternoon are parts of our daily life. For people with visual impairment, it’s inconvenient to travel to the TDTB and attend rehabilitation courses, especially under such weather condition. But they simply refuse to take weather conditions as excuses.

From June to August 2018, major activities/events in this Association are listed as followed:

1. Computer Courses: From June to August 2018, the TDTB has offered 10-day/51-hour group courses. In these courses, we discussed with visually impaired people how the Microsoft Word & Excel should better work with NVDA screen reader. We also talked about how to buy daily necessities or book tickets on the Internet. We introduced the NVDA screen reader to visually impaired students, and we showed them how to type in correct Chinese. More than 80 participants benefited from these courses.
2. Individual Training: The TDTB has delivered 488 hours of one-on-one lectures to individuals with visual impairment form June to August 2018. In these tailor-made courses, we worked with visually impaired people/students and tried to solve their problems with computers or smart phones.
3. Computer Skill Competition: In order to inspire the importance of computer skill among visually impaired communities, the TDTB held a competition in August 2018. We invited 13 visually impaired adults and 13 visually impaired students gathering in this competition. The competition had two parts: data searching on the Internet, and Chinese Typing. Biggest winner is a 15-year-old/9^th grade visually impaired student, who took home with him the grand prize of USD 360.
4. Vocational Training: The 2018 TDTB vocational training started in March 2018. From June to August 2018, visually impaired trainees learned how to work with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other application software. We now have 12 visually impaired people receiving their training every day in this association. The training will be completed in early-November 2018.
5. Experience Sharing: From June to August 2018, the TDTB held three experience sharing gatherings. We invited three speakers to share their experiences on overcoming visual disabilities. Over 60 visually impaired people benefited from these lectures.
6. Mental Health: During this period of time, this Association has arranged more than 45 hours of psychological counseling, as well as a 10-week group therapy for more than 15 visually impaired people and their families. We also organized one outdoor activity in June 2018, and invited more than 30 visually impaired people and volunteers to explore a historical site in the Taipei City.

Links:

• Official website of the TDTB