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What Resilience Actually Looks Like on an Ordinary Tuesday

Usher Syndrome Awareness Day — 19 September 2026 When people talk about resilience, they often picture the dramatic moments. They picture someone standing on a stage, completing an enormous challenge or succeeding despite everything placed in their way. Resilience becomes something visible: a powerful speech, a finish line or an achievement that can be photographed and shared. Sometimes resilience does look like that. But most of mine happens on an ordinary Tuesday. It begins before I have even left the house. I make sure my cochlear implant processors are charged and that I have the technology I will need for the day. I check that my phone and other devices are accessible. I lay out my outfit not only so that everything coordinates, but also so that each item is easy to find when I need it. None of this looks particularly remarkable from the outside. It is simply preparation. However, when you live with Usher syndrome, preparation can be the difference between a day that feels managea...
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Roger Touchscreen Mic vs Roger Select: A Comparison

Noisy environments can be challenging even for people without a hearing impairment. So what about those of us with a hearing device? Although these do provide access to sound, there are still situations where understanding speech clearly is hard, especially when there is a lot of background noise or when the person speaking is further away. That’s where Roger equipment saves the day! I personally use two types of Roger microphones based on the situation: the Roger Touchscreen Mic and the Roger Select. Yes, both can send someone’s voice directly to my cochlear implants, but that doesn’t mean they are both suited for the same task. Therefore, I don’t necessarily take them everywhere I go. So, What Actually Is Roger? Before I start comparing the two, I should probably explain what Roger actually is! Roger is a range of wireless microphones made by Phonak which can be used alongside hearing aids and cochlear implants. Instead of relying on the microphones on my cochlear implants to pick up...
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LED Flash for Alerts

Did you know that on most devices there is a feature hidden within the accessibility settings that can either flash the camera torch or briefly flash the screen whenever you receive a notification? The notification could be anything: a text from a friend, an incoming phone call, an email, a social media message or even a game update. The type of notification doesn’t matter. You didn’t? Well, you’re in the right place to find out more. Let’s take a closer look. What Are LED Flash Alerts? LED flash alerts are an accessibility feature designed to provide a visual notification when your device receives an alert. Instead of relying solely on sound or vibration, your device uses either the camera flash, the screen, or both to get your attention. For many people, this feature is simply a useful alternative notification method. However, for Deaf, hard of hearing and Deafblind users, it can be an incredibly valuable accessibility tool. Why Is This Feature Beneficial? Being Deafblind, it can som...
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Orientation and Safety at Home

Your home is meant to be your sanctuary. This is especially important for those of us who have any kind of disability, not just a hearing or visual one. However, this only works if your home meets your personal needs. So how can we ensure a home meets the needs of a DeafBlind individual? Let's imagine for a second, dear reader, that you are in our shoes. Put on a blindfold (more extreme, I know) and some ear defenders or earplugs, then try to navigate your home. Do you realise how much you rely on cues from those senses? Was an object in your way? That's what it can feel like for many of us. Unpredictable. Especially if there are other people in the home. Toys, furniture, shoes and bags all seem to magically grow legs and position themselves perfectly for us to trip over. For many of us, these seemingly simple things can make navigating our own homes feel startlingly similar to navigating busy public streets. The good news is that simple tricks and habits can dramatically incre...
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Making Board Games Accessible for Visually Impaired Players

I recently came across an interesting statistic in an article. Apparently, by the end of 2026, the board game market is projected to reach $17.45 billion. Yet despite this growth, many accessible games for visually impaired players still stick to the more traditional options: Chess, Monopoly and card games. Often, these adapted versions are also significantly more expensive than the standard editions. So how do we play typical editions of board games? Well, the good news is that there are several tools and techniques that visually impaired players can use to make many mainstream board games more accessible, often without needing to buy specially adapted versions. Let’s go through some of them. Magnification Tools Often the simplest method is additional magnification for players with some usable vision. Portable electronic magnifiers, phone cameras or dedicated accessibility apps on mobile devices can help players zoom in on playing cards, boards and game instructions. Even something as...
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Be My Eyes: A How Too

Have you ever been trying to do something only to need some extra help of the visual kind? It could be reading a label, trying to use an unadapted appliance or even to access the treat behind that pesky advent calendar door. Good news. There's a multitude of tools that can help. One of the most known and widely used is Be My Eyes . This guide will explain what it is, how it works and how to use it. What is Be My Eyes? Be My Eyes is a free accessibility app available on iOS, Android and Windows devices designed to connect people with visual impairments to sighted volunteers via live video calls. There is an additional AI powered feature allowing users to take or share a photo and receive a detailed generated description. You can even ask specific follow up questions to the AI about the photo. How it Works Be My Eyes offers two main ways to get help depending on the situation. Calling a V olunteer Open the Be My Eyes app Select the option to call a volunteer Wait to...
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Assistive Tech or Spy Device? Let's Talk About Rodger

Noisy environments can be challenging even for people without a hearing impairment. So what about those of us with a hearing device? Although these do provide access to sound, there are still situations where understanding speech clearly is hard, especially when there is a lot of background noise or when the person speaking is further away. That’s where Roger equipment saves the day! I personally use two types of Roger microphones based on the situation: the Roger Touchscreen Mic and the Roger Select. Yes, both can send someone’s voice directly to my cochlear implants, but that doesn’t mean they are both suited for the same task. Therefore, I don’t necessarily take them everywhere I go. A Quick Recap on Roger I've actually spoken about Roger before in Assistive Tech or Spy Device? Let's Talk About Roger, where I explained what the system is, why I use it and, most importantly, why the mysterious device I put in the middle of a table isn't spying on anyone! So I won't go...
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