Krista is a 34-year-old woman with congenital nystagmus and underlying vision loss unknown. Legally blind since birth, her vision has greatly decreased over the past 10 years and her functional vision continues to be unpredictable and fluctuates greatly. Her vision has limited her ability to read both at home and at work; making independent viewing of her mail, paying bills, checking prescription bottles, reading food packaging, and other printed material very difficult.

Due to the eye strain caused by her visual impairment, she’d only been able to work part-time at most. Under the best of circumstances her income was barely sufficient, but enough to affect her eligibility for funding sources that might help her address her equipment funding needs. Enter IPAT’s Pedaling for Possibilities! In response to Krista’s application for assistance, she was able to get not only a Trekker Breeze to help her with her mobility, but also a RUBY handheld video magnifier to help her with her reading.  This Freedom Scientific product has allowed her to have the flexibility of magnification on the go, which is extremely important for her at work and being out in her home community. She particularly appreciates the ample 4.3 inch viewing screen and the ability to turn the LED lights off to limit the glare on the screen. Other features that have made the RUBY indispensable:

• She can change the text and background colors individually to suit her needs.
• The screen image stays crisp and clear with no motion blur, even when she quickly skims across long lines of text.
• She can store up to 15 freeze frame images for her reference.
• Lightweight – less than 8 ounces.
• The RUBY sits flat on her desk and has a flip out handle (which she uses most of the time.)

REMINDER: the IPAT Pedaling for Possibilities bike race is coming up next month and without your support Krista and many others would not be able to get the assistive technology support they need in their lives!