[blindlaw] Accessing Documents in an Office Setting

Sat Nov 17 15:43:43 CST 2007

Hi Aser,

I worked for the local prosecutor's office for several years during law  
school.  I occasionally used a live reader, but that was rare and only when  I 
needed a form filled out really quickly.  I relied on tools like the KNFB  
Reader, which takes a picture of a page and converts it to audio text (with ear  
buds of course so no one else heard what I was reading).  I also used a  laptop 
with Jaws and scanning software so I could fill out forms that were  available 
electronically or read longer motions and breifs.  I also used  two 
magnification devices, the PICO and the Traveller.  The Pico is  palm-sized and works 
like a portable CCTV.  It magnifies up to eight times  the standard print size, 
I think.  It was really useful when looking at  misdemeanor complaints, rap 
sheets, police reports, etc.  But it doesn't  work well when you need to write 
under it.  For those situations, I used  the Traveller.  It is also like a 
portable CCTV, though a little  bigger.  I think the screen size is something like 
6 x 6.  It has a  camera that can swing out and a sort of stand you can pull 
out to raise it high  enough to put a pen underneath it.  I also found the 
Traveller useful when  I was studying on the train for the Bar Exam because it 
was much more durable  than the PICO.  The PICO costs around $700, and the 
Traveller costs around  $900.  I got Rehab to pay for one, and I used scholarship 
money for the  other.  The KNFB Reader runs more expensive, but I'm not sure 
what the  going rate is anymore.  Any or all of these might be useful to you.

Good luck.

Ronza

In a message dated 11/17/2007 12:40:09 P.M. Central Standard Time,  
agtolentino at gmail.com writes:

Hello,
I was wondering if I could ask for guidance. I'm a 1L with  very
limited vision. I have pretty much decided that criminal  prosecution
is my calling. The problem as I see it is a very large volume  of paper
material requiring rapid attention; I think I can look forward  to
prepping a lot of misdemeanor cases. Judging from my skimming of  the
list archives, it seems the standard solution has become scanners  and
OCR; the deputy DA I addressed my concerns to, remarked that  their
office had employed a reader as a reasonable accommodation in  the
past. I was wondering if I could get your advice on what in  your
experience would be a more suitable solution. I would also  appreciate
any hardware/software recommendations you might have. I have not  been
very connected to developments in assistive technology and my  tendency
in recent research has been to favor options stressing portability  and
speed like ABISee's Zoom-Ex camera-driven OCR; are such  solutions
viable? Right now I use, JAWS in conjunction with electronic  textbooks
and handouts, a CCTV and help from readers.
I'm sorry for  ranging so widely and probably covering nothing that
hasn't been hashed out  before, but I would be grateful for any help
you could offer.

Thank  you  again,
Aser
_______________________________________________
blindlaw  mailing  list
blindlaw at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw

************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com
-------------- next part --------------
Hi Aser,

I worked for the local prosecutor's office for several years during law school.  I occasionally used a live reader, but that was rare and only when I needed a form filled out really quickly.  I relied on tools like the KNFB Reader, which takes a picture of a page and converts it to audio text (with ear buds of course so no one else heard what I was reading).  I also used a laptop with Jaws and scanning software so I could fill out forms that were available electronically or read longer motions and breifs.  I also used two magnification devices, the PICO and the Traveller.  The Pico is palm-sized and works like a portable CCTV.  It magnifies up to eight times the standard print size, I think.  It was really useful when looking at misdemeanor complaints, rap sheets, police reports, etc.  But it doesn't work well when you need to write under it.  For those situations, I used the Traveller.  It is also like a portable CCTV, though a little bigger.  I think the screen size is something like 6 x 6.  It has a camera that can swing out and a sort of stand you can pull out to raise it high enough to put a pen underneath it.  I also found the Traveller useful when I was studying on the train for the Bar Exam because it was much more durable than the PICO.  The PICO costs around $700, and the Traveller costs around $900.  I got Rehab to pay for one, and I used scholarship money for the other.  The KNFB Reader runs more expensive, but I'm not sure what the going rate is anymore.  Any or all of these might be useful to you.

Good luck.

Ronza

In a message dated 11/17/2007 12:40:09 P.M. Central Standard Time, agtolentino at gmail.com writes:
Hello,
I was wondering if I could ask for guidance. I'm a 1L with very
limited vision. I have pretty much decided that criminal prosecution
is my calling. The problem as I see it is a very large volume of paper
material requiring rapid attention; I think I can look forward to
prepping a lot of misdemeanor cases. Judging from my skimming of the
list archives, it seems the standard solution has become scanners and
OCR; the deputy DA I addressed my concerns to, remarked that their
office had employed a reader as a reasonable accommodation in the
past. I was wondering if I could get your advice on what in your
experience would be a more suitable solution. I would also appreciate
any hardware/software recommendations you might have. I have not been
very connected to developments in assistive technology and my tendency
in recent research has been to favor options stressing portability and
speed like ABISee's Zoom-Ex camera-driven OCR; are such solutions
viable? Right now I use, JAWS in conjunction with electronic textbooks
and handouts, a CCTV and help from readers.
I'm sorry for ranging so widely and probably covering nothing that
hasn't been hashed out before, but I would be grateful for any help
you could offer.
Thank you again,
Aser
_______________________________________________
blindlaw mailing list
blindlaw at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw
See what's new at http://www.aol.com?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001170 AOL.com
and http://www.aol.com/mksplash.adp?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001169 Make AOL Your Homepage
.