In Touch

Dave Steele was diagnosed with the hereditary condition retinitis pigmentosa five years ago. He found translating his grief and loss into poetry was cathartic for him, and quickly discovered that it helped others who were also coming to terms with visual impairment. The Colorado Center for the Blind in the United States, run by the National Federation for the Blind, offers a nine month course to people who want to learn skills for living life as a visually impaired person. At the end of the course, they must pass a final assessment. It's called 'The Drop' and involves being driven to an unknown location, handed a phone on which they can only make emergency calls and told to find their way back to the Centre. Danielle Montour completed 'The Drop' back in September. She tells us how it helped her to become more comfortable with her blindness. And Chris Fisher went from being fully sighted and studying for his pilot's licence to, four weeks later, being totally blind. Chris, always good with maintenance and building things, turned back to what he knew before losing his sight, and has built a commercially viable business as a wood turner. Chris shows Tom Walker around his workshop. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Lee Kumutat Reporter: Tom Walker

Last week we reported on the concerns of some listeners that changes to the software Apple uses on its iphones and macs could compromise their privacy. We reported that by showing that a screen-reader was being used on a website, it could reveal that the person browsing was visually impaired. They'd released scant information about this new feature at the time, until the day after our broadcast. They then published a blog, with more details clarifying the new feature was not automatically enabled. Ben Mustill-Rose updates us on this development. Is reading someone's personal mail for them a data breach? Do you have to stay in a dog-friendly area in a pub if you are a guide dog owner? We clear up some legal misnomers with Cloisters barrister Catherine Casserley. And Yuen Har Tse who successfully won a discrimination case against Aviva tells us why winning the case isn't exactly a straightforward victory. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Lee Kumutat

In the latest version of Apple’s software for both iPhones and Macs, a feature has been included that tells websites a screen reader is being used. A screen reader is software that takes information from the screen and turns it in to digital speech or braille. This new feature is turned on by default. While it can be turned off, some blind people argue it shouldn’t be on by default as they don’t want websites or their developers, knowing they are blind. Ben Mustill-Rose is a developer who’s blind working at the BBC. He explains how the feature works and what his, and others’ concerns are. Beyond Sight is a project challenging the tendency for architects to prioritise the visual above all else. As part of this, UCL is offering a week-long summer school to visually impaired people interested in becoming architects. The course will cover how design can incorporate other ways of imagining and creating space. We speak to Mandy Redvers-Rowe one of the course coordinators and to Carlos Mourao-Pereira a blind architect. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Lee Kumutat

Retina UK formed in 1976 as a voluntary organisation and is now helping to fund and develop treatments for genetic eye conditions. But for the first time in its history, it is conducting a wide-ranging piece of research into the lives of people who have genetic sight loss. Chief Executive Tina Houllaghan explains why. Tom Walker meets a keen blind archer from west Wales, who says the sport helped him out of his depression. And the Milton Mountaineers celebrate 50 years of gaining summits with a climb up Mount Snowdon. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Lee Kumutat

Richard Kramer, the chief executive of Sense, a charity that supports people who have a hearing and visual impairment, tells Peter White about his concerns over the delays in appointing a minister for disabled people, following the resignation of Sarah Newton MP nearly a fortnight ago. Peter White talks to Kerry Fielding, a visually-impaired woman from Blackpool, who is experiencing significant delays with her application to Access to Work for specialist equipment to enable her to take up a new job in customer services. Peter also speaks to Thomas Panek, the president and CEO of Guiding Eyes for the Blind. Instead of being guided by sighted runners, Thomas recently completed the United New York half-marathon using a relay of three guide dogs. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Tom Walker