Vision allows an individual to gather information quickly, incidentally, holistically, and at a distance in order to integrate this information with the other senses to understand the world. Limitations in visual access to the environment results in unique educational and developmental needs for students with vision impairments. The resources listed below may assist students with vision impairments to access areas of the curriculum, or may support the teaching and learning of skills. The list includes items with braille/audio input/output, teaching tools and adapted equipment:
| Title and Supplier |
Price |
Comments |
| A Survivor's Guide to Braille Music Notation Vision Australia |
Free | Print, braille and CD lessons designed to teach braille music reading and writing |
| Abacus - Crammer Equipment Solutions |
A$5- | 13 rod abacus with tactile markings for simple calculations |
| AllWrite Zygo Australia |
A$150 | PC: Talking word processor Speaks characters, words or sentences Spoken menus, toolbars and dialogue boxes Talking spelling checker Saves files as text or RTF |
| Audible Battery Tester Equipment Solutions |
A$40 | Vibrates with audible buzz to indicate the strength of the remaining battery |
| Backgammon - Tactile Equipment Solutions |
A$55 | Tactile board and pieces |
| Balls Equipment Solutions |
A$10-$100 | Balls with bells, direction finder Balls for basketball, cricket , goalball etc |
| Beetle Game Equipment Solutions |
A$15 | Dice game |
| Bell Basketball Package Equipment Solutions |
A$75 | Pachage includes regulation size and weight Wilson basketball with bells
inside that ring whenever the ball is in motion. Also comes with a buzzer
(goal locator) in a pouch that can be placed on the basketball ring to
locate it by sound, and an extra bell to attach to its net so that it
rings when the ball goes through it and you score! Requires one 9 volt battery. Colour: Red, blue and white striped. |
| BoardMaker Spectronics |
Standard A$549 Deluxe Bundle A$699 Multi-user licence available |
PC or Apple CD Make worksheets using grids, symbols words or drawings Print black & white or colour |
| Bold Lined Writing Pad Equipment Solutions |
100 sheets A$5 | Pad of writing paper |
| Bolinda Bolinda |
Various | Books in alternative format: audio tape, CD, large print Titles for children and adults |
| Braillable |
A$6 per A4 sheet |
Clear adhesive plastic for brailling adhesive labels |
| Braille Dymo Tape Equipment Solutions |
Clear or black A$6 | Sticks to paper, plastic etc |
| Braille Eraser Equipment Solutions |
A$12 | Wooden or plastic |
| Braille Frame Equipment Solutions |
A$15-$55 |
Hand frame for producing braille |
| Braille Keyboard Overlays Spectronics |
A$25 | Durable adhesive braille stickers for keyboard |
| Braille Paper Equipment Solutions |
500 sheets A$55 500 A4 sheets A$45 |
Suitable for Perkins, Mountbatten etc |
| Braille Primer (UEB) Round Table |
Free download to Round Table members | 2006 Unified English Braille code and updates |
| Braille Stylus Equipment Solutions |
Stulus A$8-$15 Frame & Stylus A$15 |
For producing braille by hand eg notes, phone numbers etc Plastic or wooden |
| Braille Swing Cell Equipment Solutions |
A$15 | Two hinged rectangular wooden blocks which can be used to represent a braille cell |
| Brailler (Perkins) |
A$1,250 |
Metal-bodies braille writer Lease per year A$150 |
| Braillin Doll |
A$90 |
Soft rag doll with six raised buttons on its chest that can be depressed
to form braille letters Designed as an interactive toy or teaching aid, it comes with a list of suggested activities |
| Braillon Thermoform Equipment Solutions |
500 pages A$135 | |
| Bumpons/BumpLoc Dots Equipment Solutions |
$A4-$5 | Various sizes and colours, square or round including transparent - used to mark every day items eg heater, oven, keyboard etc |
| C2 (Talking Compass) Sensory Tools |
A$150 | Palm-sized talking compass, digitised speech, bilingual, wide choice of languages, battery operated |
| Cane Equipment Solutions |
A$25-$75 Tips A$3-$20 |
Range of canes available - fibreglass, fold or telescopic and cane tips |
| Capsule Paper Quantum Technology |
100 sheet packs A4 A$164 B4 A$217 A3 A$328 |
Paper onto which images can be drawn or photocopied (thermoform sheets)
- A4, B4, A3 The paper is then heated to produce a raised line image (see PIAF) |
| Chinese Checkers - Tactile Equipment Solutions |
A$55 | Tactile board and pieces |
| Chess - Tactile Equipment Solutions |
A$54 | Tactile board and pieces |
| Clicker 5 |
|
PC and Apple CD Voiced word processor in which graphics, animations and sounds can be imported Display: onscreen keyboard Download free training tutorials from ATTO |
| Clothing Labelling Kit Equipment Solutions |
A$14 | Comes with instructions, puff paint etc |
| Colour Detector - Talking Equipment Solutions |
A$240 | Scanning device that announces colour eg “very light blue” |
| Compass Equipment Solutions |
A$120 - tactile A$150 - talking |
Tactile or talking available |
| Computer Games APH Kitchen's Inc TSBVI University of North Carolina Whitestick |
Links to websites with free games and games for purchase | Games for people with vision impairments, magazines dedicated to the
gamer with vision impairments, list of sites where you can download and/or
purchase games etc Yahtzee, Blackjack, Klondike, Connect 4, Educational Games, Word Puzzles, Sudoku, Battleship, Freecell, Memory, Simon, Word Scrabble, Yahtze |
| Co:Writer SOLO |
A$534 Multi-user licence available |
PC or Apple Works with any word processor Predicts word being typed, offers 9 choices User can hear each word, then choose Download free training tutorials from ATTO |
| Cricket Ball Equipment Solutions |
A$25 | Cane ball with bell |
| Curriculum Resources Teaching Company |
Free | Hundreds of links to whole texts, discussion notes, author information, essays, background, grammar etc |
| Die - Tactile Equipment Solutions |
A$6 (set of 2) | Tactual dots |
| Dominoes Equipment Solutions |
Tactual A$25-$30 | Tactual dominoes - double six or double nine, colour, indented tiles, black on white |
| Draughts - Tactile Equipment Solutions |
A$55 | Tactile board and pieces |
| Draftsman Quantum Technology |
A$330 Plastic sheets A$30 |
Portable rubber-backed drawing board Use plastic embossing film |
| Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 Edsoft |
Standard A$169.95 |
PC - voice recognition software Allows the user to dictate continuously in all Windows based applications Up to 160 wpm 98% accuracy Mouse control, format and edit by voice Will work with JAWS and other screen readers |
| Dymo Labeller - Braille Equipment Solutions |
A$60 Braille tape A$12 |
Produces braille labels |
| Enterprise2 Moon Translator Optek Systems |
A$550 | PC - Moon translation software Text can be produced in regular print and translated into Moon Editing can take place in regular print or Moon |
| Geometry Mat Equipment Solutions |
A$21 | Large rubber mat for producing tactual drawings |
| Goal Ball Equipment Solutions |
A$100 Light bell ball A$15 |
Large ball with bell |
| Graph Paper Equipment Solutions |
Embossed - A$12 | Graph paper tactile or bold lined - 2 cm squares Pack of 50 sheets |
| Green Lined Paper Incompetech SVRC |
Free | Create green lined paper |
| Handwriting and Maths Fonts for Schools School Fonts |
A$25 per font A$10 postage |
Different set of writing fonts for each Australian state Maths fonts include coins, 2D geometric shapes, die faces, 3D geometric shapes, fraction pies, clock faces, MAB shapes, digital numerals etc |
| IntelliBraille (Alternative Keyboard) Spectronics |
A$269 | Braille overlays with alphabet, contractions etc Required intellitools classroom suite and Intellikeys |
| Intellikeys (Alternative Keyboard) Spectronics |
A$499-$639 | Alternative keyboard for Windows or Apple and overlay maker Overlays provided or make your own Download free training tutorials from ATTO |
| IntelliTactiles (Braille Overlays for Intellikeys) Spectronics |
A$159 | Includes seven clear tactile overlays, printed manual and brailled manual |
| JAWS Tutorials ATI ATTO Freedom Scientific |
Free | Text or sound based tutorials and training materials |
| Jackson Models Jim Jackson or borrow from Family Planning Victoria |
Approx US$5,000 | Models of genitalia made of a latex-type material |
| Jot A Dot Quantum Technology |
A$350 | Manual braille note taker Plastic outerbody |
| Keyboard Stickers Equipment Solutions Spectronics |
Alphabet only A$10-$29 Full keyboard A$49 |
Vinyl keyboard stickers in combinations of black, yellow and white 5 sheets with 4 choices of styles |
| Language Master |
A$590-$627 | Hand held electronic organiser, mini QWERTY dictionary, thesaurus, grammar
guide, spellcheck, spelling games such as Hangman into which spelling
words can be typed Clear voice speaks words, letters |
| Large Print Keyboard Spectronics |
A$139-$175 | Upper or lower case available D ifferent types available including yellow on black |
| Light Sensor Equipment Solutions |
A$80 | Range of light sensors either audible or vibrating |
Liquid Level Indicator |
A$30-$42 | Hang unit on side of cup Audible and vibrating available Some versions have a “print locate” to assist detecting which side of a page has print |
| Locator Dots Equipment Solutions |
6 pack - A$5 | Locator dots |
| Ludo - Tactile Equipment Solutions |
A$55 | Tactile board and pieces |
| Magnifying Mirror Equipment Solutions View: Magnifying Mirror |
A$10-$20 | Mirror magnifies - compact and stand models available and some with
a light Magnification 2.5-7x |
| Maltron Singlehanded Keyboard Optek Systems |
Left or right handed A$975 Ergonomic A$1,050 |
PC - keyboard for use by one-handed typists |
| Mangold Exceptional Teaching Aids |
Various programs and teaching resources available See website for prices |
Tactile perception, pre-braille reading program, braille letter recognition, maths materials, raised-line coloring books |
| Math Flash APH |
US$24 | PC - maths problems with voiced instructions, drills and practice sessions Degree of difficulty can be individualised 6 years and up Input: Keyboard or mouse Output: Voice - human speech, print on screen |
| MaxTV HumanWare Quantum Technology |
A$128-$154 | Binocular telescopic glases designed for watching television 2.1 x magnification |
| Max Detail HumanWare |
A$154 | Binocular telescopic glasses designed for close work |
| Mimic - LED Display Quantum Technology View: Mimic |
A$455 | Attaches to Mountbatten Brailler to give LED display of student's brailled
work Also compatible with Braille Lite and Braille n Speak |
| Money Organiser Equipment Solutions |
Notes A$8 | Money organisation aids |
| Monopoly - Braille Equipment Solutions |
A$125 | Braille game |
| Music Marvellous Australian Independence Products Micro Marvellous |
A$670 | Based on Yamaha synthesiser, talking lessons for learning 20 tunes Senses notes, loudness, duration and gives feedback Instrumental backing available |
| OpusDots Lite Optek |
A$625 | PC: translation to braille music |
| Perkins Brailler |
Regular A$1,250 |
Operates manually Lease and repairs also available |
| Single user approx A$120 |
PC or Apple CD - series Self-paced interactive literacy program - P-4, K-4, 3-7, 4-tertiary Orally presented Phonics, Sound Blender, Speller, Grammar, Typing available |
|
| PIAF (Pictures in a Flash) Quantum Technology View: PIAF |
A$1,395 | Images can be drawn or photocopied onto a specially treated paper known
as capsule or thermororm paper The paper is then passed through PIAF to raise the image |
| Picture Braille for Windows Pentronics |
A$650 | Create black line drawings with braille labelling for tactile diagrams |
| Plastic Embossing Film Equipment Solutions Quantum Technology |
50 sheets A$20 | Used to produce tactile drawings via drawing kit eg Draftsman |
| Playing Cards Equipment Solutions |
Braille - A$16-$21 Large print - A$8-$16 Holder A$12 |
Tactual or large print |
| PM Story Books Edsoft S4E |
Each level approx A$200 Multi-user licence available |
PC: stories which may be suitable for students with low vision Stories read with Australian accents Each word highlighted as it is spoken Hear each word by clicking on it Word games and cloze activities 10 levels |
| Polymark Paint Fabric and craft shops |
Varies | Fabric/craft paint which dries (3 hours) to form tactile mark |
| Protractor Equipment Solutions |
A$10 | Tactile, semi-circular, yellow |
| Ruler Equipment Solutions |
Tactile A$7 | Tactile and large print available |
| Scrabble Equipment Solutions View: Braille Scrabble |
Braille A$105 |
Suitable for braille readers or people with low vision |
| Signature Guide |
A$1-$4 | Template used for signing name on, for example, cheques |
| Snakes and Ladders - Tactile Equipment Solutions |
A$50 | Tactile board and pieces |
| Sock Holders Equipment Solutions |
A$5-$10 |
Keeps socks in pairs during washing |
| Software for Education S4E |
See website | Many educational programs can be purchased cheaply through this fund Available to educational institutions in Victoria |
| Spur Wheel Equipment Solutions |
A$40-$85 | Various including ordinary, upward embossing, hooked etc |
| StarSpell 2 |
A$179 Multi-user licence available |
PC - look, say, cover, write, enter own words Input: QWERTY Output: Voice Display: Full screen, large text size Download Speaking StarSpell for Word97 (free) |
| Study Guides for VCE Books Helen McAlley |
Approx A$20 each | Study guides on 60 minute audio tape eg Angela's Ashes,
The Handmaid's Tale etc 60 titles Includes character development, issues etc |
| Tack-Tiles Tack-Tiles View: Tack-Tiles |
Price varies depending on purchase | Blocks with braille cells which will fit on regular lego boards Can buy packs eg alphabet, contractions, word signs, maths, magnetic, games etc Starter set - 320 tiles See website for more information |
| TACTUS Keyboard Spectronics |
A$120 | PC keyboard with tactual boxes for the left and right hands and the numeric keypad |
| Talking Computer Games APH Kitchen's Inc TSBVI University of North Carolina Whitestick |
Links to websites with free games and games for purchase | Games for people with vision impairments, magazines dedicated to the
gamer with vision impairments, list of sites where you can download and/or
purchase games etc Yahtzee, Blackjack, Klondike, Connect 4, Educational Games, Word Puzzles, Sudoku, Battleship, Freecell, Memory, Simon, Word Scrabble, Yahtze |
| Talking Word Puzzles APH |
US$49 | Word puzzles that talk |
| Tape Measure - Talking Equipment Solutions |
A$195 | Talking tape measure (builder's) |
| Tatrapoint Quantum Technology |
A$995 | Metal-framed manual braille writer Light weight and robust Dymo tape clips for embossing dymo tape |
| Teacher's Manual for Adapting Science
Experiments for Blind and Visually Impaired Students Videncentret |
Free download | Information and example science experiments |
| Test Taker Quantum Technology |
Teachers edition A$900 Student copy (5 users) A$600 |
Reads out test to student |
| Tic Tac Toe / Noughts & Crosses - Tactile Equipment Solutions |
A$25 | Tactile board and pieces |
| Tiresias Fonts |
Free download | PC and Apple Clear, bold font |
| Thermometer - Talking Equipment Solutions |
A$19-$75 | Fever and indoor/outdoor available |
| Toccata Optek Systems View: Toccata |
A$1,725 | PC - translation to braille music Scan print music for embossing in braille Can also place notes on blank music score and hear through computer speakers |
Trail-A-Bike |
approx A$400 | Attachment for an ordinary adult's bicycle which seats children from 3 to 9 years |
| Trekker HumanWare |
A$2,590 | Stand alone GPS access for urban and rural areas worldwide Can pinpoint location, learn about local attractions, get directions Produces vocal and written notes |
| Uno Equipment Solutions |
A$25 | Braille card game |
| Watch |
Talking A$30-$60 Tactile A$41-$185 |
Various styles - talking, tactual and vibrating Clocks and timers also available |
| Wikki Stix Windmill Equipment Solutions View: Wikki Stix |
Varies depending on set purchased eg hot neon colours A$16-$21 | Bendable sticks used for making tactile outlines |
| Write:OutLoud SOLO Spectronics |
A$169 |
PC or Apple Talking word processor, talking spell checker Speaks letters & words, talking toolbar Choice of voices Multisensory: see & hear at the same time Change colour - text & background |
| Writing Guide Equipment Solutions |
A$4 | Provides straight lines for handwriting |
| Writing with Symbols 2000 - Australian Version Spectronics View: Writing with Symbols |
Single user A$399 Travelling licence available |
PC Input: QWERTY Output: Voice and symbols Display: Full screen, onscreen grids, variable sizes |
| WYNN (What You Need Now) - Reader Quantum Technology |
A$509 |
Voice output Text is highlighted when spoken |
| WYNN (What You Need Now) - Wizard Quantum Technology |
A$948-$1,138 |
Voice output Has all the features of WYNN Reader and can scan print and convert to electronic text (OCR) |
| ZoomCaps Equipment Solutions Spectronics |
A$29-$39 | PC or Apple: stickers with large clear letters for keyboard White print on black or black print on white |
| ZoomText Tutorials ATTO Freedom Scientific |
Download text or MP3 files from the Freedom Scientific or ATTO website for free | Download complete tutorial or modules |