UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi, I haven't been here much lately as I've been busy working at my placement, but something came along last week that could hopefully prove very useful to other people here.

Basically I'm currently on a placement through a graduate recruitment/training agency, but as it is not an actual job (yet), I was informed by the Job Centre that I am not eligible to receive funding for a bigger monitor etc. through "Access to Work".

However, I was told to contact "Action for Blind" to see if they could help.

It turns out Action for Blind People were responsible for providing a monitor, scanner and special software to another person at the agency I've been attending.

I was a bit dubious as to whether I would qualify as I'm not registered partially sighted or anything and my placement is as a (one eyed) graphic designer!

I spoke to them on the phone and they arranged to visit me in the work place. The person who came to visit me asked me a few questions to assess my needs and provided me with a HUGE monitor there and then, on loan for 12 months!

It has made a real difference, it's fantastic!

I'd never heard of them previously, but it turns out Action for Blind People are a national charity, with a large quantity of equipment available for loan as well as offering other services. So there are probably other people on here who could benefit from there help but were not aware of them.

Their website is http://www.afpb.org
and telephone number is 0800 915 4666

Hope someone finds that useful.

Rob.

Rob, these are the people we invited to give a talk at our 2003 conference (written up in our 2003 Conference report) and our Keratoconus at Work leaflet draws on their advice. I know other people on this forum have benefited from their help. As you say, despite their name, they deal with all levels of sight difficulty. So certainly worth approaching.
John, if we haven't already got a link to their site in our links, is it worth including there?
Anne

Rob

Thats really good news!..Has it made a big difference to you in terms of you doing your job?

J

The link to them is already there... on the new-look pink Links page.

Rob, I'm so glad to hear you got helped by AFBP.

But I'm more concerned that you were told you couldn't get funding through Access to Work. Was this because it is ""only"" a placement and not (yet) an actual job?
Rosemary

Rob

well done on the contact with AFBP

What was the problem with Access to Work, was it that your placement was not considered a "workplace'?

Andrew

Sorry, I should have checked more thoroughly to see if they were already mentioned on here.

The Jobcentre said I would qualify for Access to Work once the placement becomes actual employment, but not in the meantime. (I'm currently on New Deal). Bit of a catch 22 situation there.

The disability officer did give me the contact info for Action for Blind People's Liverpool office though.

It's a small start up company I'm working for so resources are a bit tight at the moment.

My boss immediately swapped out a 15" LCD screen for a 17" one he had, he's been good about it all.

I was only hoping for a 19" monitor as they tend to be the same resolution as a 17" (1280x1024) only physically bigger, I ended up with a 24" widescreen!

I told them a 19" would suffice, as I wouldn't want to deprive someone who needs one that large more than me! But was told it was OK, apparently they currently issue the 24" model as standard.

They also offered special software, however I explained that on the whole I manage OK, I just zoom into Photoshop etc a bit more than most people.

The irony is the monitor is so big that the computer I use can't make full use of it, as it only has integrated graphics that doesn't even offer widescreen resolutions! So I've just been using the middle of the screen for now - my boss is hoping to sort out a graphics card soon.

Even as things are it's a big improvement, for a few hours my old monitor was sat next to the new one and it looked tiny!

It's made a real difference. I can view an A4 page at almost actual size without zooming in. Using MS Word's "Page Width" zoom option, which I had often been using up until now (as part of my job I've been converting letterhead artwork etc. into branded stationary templates) is now ridiculously large!

I should add that the monitor is on loan to me personally, not the company, so if for some reason I go elsewhere, the monitor comes with me.

Rob.

I hope that you do not have to wait long before the placement becomes a job! JobCentre Plus will then weigh in with heafty contributions to any alterations your employer may have to make.

They got me a new computer, new monitor and some fancy software that I did not need because MacOSX comes with embedden 'universal access' protocols.

They also got me a video magnifier that reads books etc and gives me the text at a magnification of my choice direct onto my comptuer screen. I can then split the screen between the magnifier and my computer.

Very clever!

All the best

Andrew

Sorry, Rob, that wasn't supposed to sound like a rebuke! It's always good to hear of positive experiences, particularly when we have several members whose employers aren't very enlightened. So I hope your post will encourage others to try all avenues to get what they need for the workplace. Sounds as though you're well on the way to a permanent job. Good luck!
Anne

LOL 24Inch Screen!....Take your DVDs in and let them run in a box!! in the corner lol