Blindness and Low Vision Support Group: Relevant Products, Organizations, and Websites
About
This page is meant to display specific products, services, organizations, and more that have been highlighted in our blindness and low vision support group meetings. Please note that this list does not cover every product or resource available, rather what has been discussed and what our members have found helpful. This page will be continuously updated as we learn more from the community.
Visit our main webpage here: Blindness and Low Vision Support Group Webpage
Organizations and Services
Frank Stein & Paul S. May Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation
The Frank Stein and Paul S. May Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation, run through Pacific Vision Foundation’s Pacific Vision Eye Institute, provides low vision evaluations and rehabilitation for people whose vision can’t be corrected with glasses, contacts, medication, or surgery (e.g., due to macular degeneration, glaucoma, or central scotoma). Evaluations, led by low vision specialist Annemarie Rossi, OT, run about 1.25–1.5 hours and result in a personalized treatment plan that can include visual skills training, adaptive device use, environmental modifications, and referrals to community and peer support resources. A written referral from a doctor or optometrist is required, and the center is located in Suite 430 of the Pacific Vision Eye Institute.
Contact: Phone: (415) 997-6521
Fax: (415) 430-9748
Email: bbrosig@pacificvisionfoundation.org (Blanca Brosig, assistant/scheduler)
National Library Service for the Blind and Disabled (NLS)
NLS is a free service provided by the United States Library of Congress that provides free access to reading material to those who struggle to read standard written print. By submitting an application, you have the opportunity to gain access to audiobooks, braille books, and other blind and low vision reading tools. Some library branches, such as the San Francisco Public Library at Civic Center, have in-person centers supported by NLS.
Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD)
Accessing BARD requires being a patron of NLS, which as a reminder, is completely free! Once signed up for NLS, signing up for BARD provides instant download access to books, magazines, and music materials in audio and electronic braille. BARD is also an app which you can download on your own personal device. This service was member suggested.
Libby
Libby is an app works through participating local libraries to provide free downloads of magazines, ebooks, and audiobooks through your personal device. This service was member suggested.
Adaptive Technology Services
Adaptive Technology Services (ATS) is a San Francisco-based organization that has spent over 20 years supporting people who are blind, low-vision, or otherwise disabled in living, learning, and working independently. Their services span assistive technology (assessments, JAWS training, custom scripting, installation, and tech support), independent living skills, orientation and mobility training, and ergonomic adaptations, delivered both in-person and remotely across Northern California. Clients include individuals as well as institutional partners such as the Department of Rehabilitation and the Veterans Administration.
Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Specialist: Gina di Grazia, MA, OTR/L, COMS, CLVT. Gina was one of our guest speakers during our July 2026 meeting, as such we have included her contact information here. Please note that she is not the only specialist available, nor is O&M your only service option.
- Email: gdigraziaats@gmail.com
- Phone Number: (415) 855-0314
Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB)
Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) is a national nonprofit whose mission is to drive research toward preventions, treatments, and cures for blinding retinal diseases, including retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and other inherited retinal conditions. They fund research grants and clinical trials, run the My Retina Tracker patient registry, and offer a free, open-access genetic testing program to help patients identify the genetic cause of their vision loss (often paired with genetic counseling to interpret results). They also support the community through local chapters, educational webinars, and fundraising events like VisionWalk.
Environmental Traveling Companions (ETC)
Environmental Traveling Companions (ETC) provides adaptive outdoor recreation for the blind and low-vision community through its Shared Adventure program, offering guided sea kayaking and whitewater rafting trips designed and staffed to be accessible regardless of vision level. Trained volunteer guides provide hands-on orientation, verbal cueing, and physical assistance so participants can safely navigate watercraft and terrain, making it possible for people with vision loss to experience wilderness and adventure sports that might otherwise feel out of reach.
Sterling Adaptives
Sterling Adaptives is a North Bay-based retailer supplying assistive technology for people who are blind or have low vision, including braille notetakers, video magnifiers, screen readers, and adapted computer systems. They offer free demonstrations, both in their Santa Rosa showroom and in-home, plus a full range of hardware, software, and peripherals for purchase or quote. It is worth noting that their products often fall on the more expensive side.
Websites and Other Aids
Learning, Sight, & Sound (LS&S)
LS&S is a catalog website made for those who have visual impairments or are hard of hearing. They supply a yearly catalog filled with all the products they found to be useful and helpful.
Learn and Try Tool
A very helpful website made for a variety of people with disabilities to cater to their own accessibility needs. This website offers easy ways for you to filter through products and accessibility features so that you can find what would specifically help you.
Audiom
Audiom is a web-based platform meant to be integrated with other websites or apps in order to provide spatial mapping information in an accessible way. This includes the use of a visual map, with real-time auditory descriptions, and screen-reader accessible text. This was in part designed by Brandon Biggs and James Coughlan here at Smith-Kettlewell.
The Blind Life
The Blind Life is a YouTube channel made by Sam, a member of the blind and low vision community. He covers a range of topics, from accessible technology and design reviews to learning how to read sheet music with low vision. He is a great resource for those looking for tips and tricks to go about their daily lives. This channel was member suggested.
Balancing Exercises
During one of our meetings, we covered the importance of balance for fall prevention. As part of this meeting, we performed some balance exercises together, which are now linked below
- Calf (gastrocnemius) stretch
- Heel raises
- Standing hip flexor stretch
- Sit-to-stand / squat
- Standing weight shifts (can also perform seated)
- Tandem balance
Products
Lighting and Reading Tools
- One of our most discussed tools, this high-power portable flashlight was originally made for people doing handy-work
- LED light makes them long-lasting and reliable
- Pocket-sized and portable
- Member suggested
- A high-power flashlight, described by members as offering very bright light for a small(ish) size
- Directional lighting, including light aimed towards your feet for safer walking
- Waterproof and impact resistant
- Member suggested
Cadence Braille Tablet by Tactile Engineering & Touchable
- A high-refresh-rate braille tablet that allows for you to keep up with visual displays in real time; a screen you can touch
- Portable and rechargeable, offers an easier way to learn and use braille to its fullest
Visors
- A simple hat that keeps lighting consistent and reduces glare
- Can be purchased from many places, some more affordable ones are listed below
- Member suggested
Eyewear Technology
- Works best in tandem with a white cane, aids in detecting upper-body obstacles
- Marketed as lightweight, waterproof, and discrete
- Based in Switzerland, international shipping will be more costly
- Detects object you are looking at and automatically adjusts focus and stabilizes the image
- Based in Japan, main website is in Japanese (English option available), but there are listings on eBay as well
- Designed to combat night blindness and narrow fields of view
- Introduces color in low-lighting settings, creating greater contrast sensitivity
- Based in Japan, main website is in Japanese with no workable in-website translation available; may be difficult to acquire if not fluent in Japanese
- Aids primarily in central field vision loss (ex: macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy)
- Utilizes real-time camera recordings of what you are looking at and projects a better-optimized image onto screens within the ‘lenses’
- One of the more expensive options on this list, though veterans can apply for full cost coverage
- Meant to be paired with Meta Glasses with the overall goal of aiding in socialization
- Offers haptic feedback on a wristwatch-like device in response to nonverbal social cues (i.e., smiling and waving)
- A VR headset meant to be used alongside your smartphone
- Aids primarily in magnification and image stabilization, made specifically for Macular Degeneration, Retinosis Pigmentosa, and Glaucoma
- Requires a paid app subscription
- Deep integration with Be My Eyes for hands-free connection to sighted volunteers, and Meta AI for describing your surroundings
- One of the most affordable eyewear options
- Wide-scale privacy concerns, may carry its own unique stigma
Other
Anti-cutting gloves
- Gloves designed to prevent cutting injuries in a variety of activities
- Can be purchased from many places, some more affordable options are listed below
- Member suggested
While everything listed here functions as individual products, some helpful websites and brands (also listed in other sections) are Learning, Sight, & Sound and Sterling Adaptives