Reading

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Penelope MacLellan
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Joined: Mon 20 Aug 2012 10:04 am
Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
Vision: Contact lenses

Reading

Postby Penelope MacLellan » Mon 20 Aug 2012 3:26 pm

Hello everyone,

I came to the forum last year for computer advice - thank you all for your time and advice!

I am back again for somemore advice!

I am just going into to my 2nd year of a psychology degree having successfully completing the 1st year.

Last year my studies were interupted alot due to an eye ulcer, infection, dry eyes, and simple irritation due to my hard lenses, so spent alot of time lenseless and with blurred vision as my vision cannot be corrected with spectacles. I am in the process of being fitted with soft lenses so as to be able to rest my eyes when I am not studying in the evening but still have moderate vision so as to function.

My computer does have screen reader softwear (Read&Write version 10) but it's very mechanical/robotic, also it means I have to be by my computer if I want to 'read' anything, I get all my texts books in pdf form for these occassions that my eyes are not working. To be more mobile I want to get something that I can through in my bag when I'm running about doing activities with any of my 5 kids, for example an ipad or a kindle but I need some help with the technical side. The college support team suggested a laptop but that is hardle portable, and I trying to read entailed alot of 'scrolling' which means I am always worried I miss a page. It appears that with a kindle you do not 'scroll' but flick from page to page.

MY QUESTIONS ARE:
Do you flick from page to page on a kindle/ipad?
Does the kindle/ipad keep your place in a book?
Can you change the font size in a kindle/ipad?
Does a kindle/ipad have a screen reader? If so is it mechanical/robotic?
Do you get screen glare from a kindle/ipad?

I am a very slow reader, I would go as far as to say I find reading very labourious, I avoid it at all costs! I get dizzy whilst reading, loose my place if not using a ruler under the line I am reading, it's very draining on my eyes, and on days that I have had to do a lot of reading I usually end up with very irritated eyes resulting in me waking in the night rubbing the living daylights out of them...Is this normal for a person with KC? If so what can I do to stop myself from rubbing them?

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.
Penelope

Rose
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Posts: 21
Joined: Sun 18 Dec 2011 3:10 pm
Keratoconus: No, I don't suffer from KC
Vision: I don't have KC
Location: Wiltshire

Re: Reading

Postby Rose » Mon 20 Aug 2012 4:56 pm

Hello Penelope
Well done for getting to your second year.
I can answer some of your questions and hopefully someone else can give some more answers.

I use a keyboard kindle, which is still available.

To turn pages you click on a button at the side/edge of the Kindle.
It does save your place when you turn it off.
You can change the size of the font - it goes very large indeed.
It does have a screen reader, it is rather robotic and not every book has the ability to do this.
There is no screen glare at all; it is like reading a book. I know that there is screen glare on an ipad.

There is a touch Kindle where you swipe the screen to turn the page. However I do not know much about this version of the Kindle.

Amazon has very good detailed information about each of the Kindles. There are also comparison tables between the three versions.

Regarding rubbing your eyes I have learnt that this is very common for people with KC and is to be avoided at all costs. My son has been prescribed some eye drops to help stop him rubbing them. Perhaps you could ask for some.

Good luck on finding what you need.

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space_cadet
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Joined: Tue 12 May 2009 11:46 pm
Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
Vision: Other
Location: Leeds
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Re: Reading

Postby space_cadet » Mon 20 Aug 2012 5:39 pm

read and write is lowsy, get in touch now whilst uni isnt back with your head of disability services ask for a review of your disabled students assesment n ask for zoom text adn voice recognition software. If you let me know which uni you are with I probably know the student disabled officer who can offer lots of peer support (I am a active disabled student activist)

Lea x
May09 Diagnosed with KC, March 2010 after a failed transplant it has left me legally blind a long cane user (since 2010) who is blind in a once sighted world

Rose
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 21
Joined: Sun 18 Dec 2011 3:10 pm
Keratoconus: No, I don't suffer from KC
Vision: I don't have KC
Location: Wiltshire

Re: Reading

Postby Rose » Mon 20 Aug 2012 7:09 pm

Hi Space cadet
In your experience is someone with KC always recognised as 'disabled'. My son is going to uni next month, he has had both eyes treated with CXL. If he is registered within the uni as disabled; what benefits might he be entitled to?
Many thanks, Rose

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melissa
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Posts: 256
Joined: Tue 18 Dec 2007 3:08 pm
Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
Vision: Graft(s) and contact lenses
Location: South Africa

Re: Reading

Postby melissa » Wed 22 Aug 2012 8:48 pm

Hi Penelope,
I loved reading but also found it difficult when i developed KC. With my array of different contact lenses, the scratches, the ulcers and eventually the transplant... i almost stopped reading (other than work)... then i got a kindle keyboard.... now i read whenever i can.

i do sometimes take my lenses out and bump the text size right up and still manage to read before bed. i love the fact that it has no glare, as that has always been a problem for me on computer screens, and i am now reading faster and more naturally than ever. YAY for technology. it is very portable (and there are even smaller ones than mine) and it is great to be able to download a book anywhere in the world (on the 3G version). battery lasts me about 3 weeks (REALLY- as long as the 3G is off)
all of that said- i think the ipad is very popular too but i can't really review it except to say that it is more expensive, heavier and because it has a back-lit screen it has a dramatically shorter battery life.
i think the kindle is JUST a e-reader whilst the iPad offers so much more.... I think once my laptop dies i will get an ipad and have both!!!!
FYI i also downloaded the kindle app for my iphone and when i am stuck without my kindle i read on that (and it can sync your latest position in the book between all your devices)

For dry and itchy eyes- there are lots of drops out there- i use 'Cellu-Visc' which is a thick gel 'artificial tear' which seems to ease the itching... and try taking flax seed oil supplements which apparently increase the 'quality' of your tears. Secretly i still love rubbing my eyes, but do take special care not to not put pressure on the surface of my cornea- i tend to rub the corners (BUT THAT ISNT GOOD ADVICE I AM SURE--- YOU PROBABLY SHOULDNT RUB AT ALL)

Also- just a note not to give up with the contact lenses- there are many many different systems out there and you may have to try them all to find what suits you (like kissing lots of frogs!!!)... i wear a soft lens under a hard lens in my left eye (also known as piggy-backing) and am fortunate to have had a very successful graft in my right eye for which i only require glasses.... Keep trying for system that suits you....

hope it helps
melissa


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