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TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT....................................................................................................

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1.0 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................3-4

1.1 Overview.................................................................................................................3

1.2 Objectives of the study............................................................................................4

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW..........................................................................................5-10

2.1 The history of the device.......................................................................................5

2.2 BrailleNote............................................................................................................6

2.2.1 The Care of BrailleNote...........................................................................7

2.2.2 The Purpose of BrailleNote......................................................................8

2.2.3 The User of BrailleNote...........................................................................8

2.2.4 Advantages of BrailleNote........................................................................8

2.2.5 Disadvantages of BrailleNote...................................................................9

2.2.6 The Future of BrailleNote......................................................................10

3.0 CASE STUDIES.....................................................................................................11-12

3.1 Respondent 1..........................................................................................................11

3.2 Respondent 2..........................................................................................................12

4.0 FINDINGS..............................................................................................................13-16

4.1 Reports from respondent...................................................................................13-14

4.2 Opinion...................................................................................................................15

4.2.1 Observation..................................................................................................15

4.2.2 Reflection.....................................................................................................15

4.3 Future Gadget.........................................................................................................16

5.0 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................17

REFERENCE.....................................................................................................................18

APPENDICES...................................................................................................................19

PROFILE.............................................................................................................................3

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express the deepest appreciation to our English II lecturers, Madam

Sanisa Maarop and Mr Abdul Mutalib Embong Eusoff who have shown the attitude and

the substance of a genius: they continually and persuasively conveyed a spirit of

adventure in regard to research, and an excitement in regard to teaching. We would also

like to express our gratitude to our English II tutor, Madam Fatima Said. Without her

supervision and constant help this dissertation would not have been possible.

We would like to thank our group members, whose work demonstrated great team

work and always committed in doing this project. The cooperation given were

undoubtedly one of the reason we manage to finish this project on time.

In addition, thank you to our parents for the endless support given. They also gives

us financial support to help with the project. Last but not least, thank you to our classmate

who shared their ideas and comments on our work to help us improved. Without their

help, a project with high quality may not be able to be presented.

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1.0 Introduction

1.1 An overview

Based on the Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary, 8th edition (Turnbull,

2010), a gadget is defined as a small tool or device that does something useful; in

this case, to help the disabled in carrying their daily tasks easily and more

efficiently. For example, the hearing aid devices can be used by those who are

challenged in term of their hearing to listen better. Meanwhile, according to

Cambridge Dictionary Online (1999), gadget is defined

as small tool or piece of equipment that does something useful or impressive

On the other hand, Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary, 8 th edition

(Turnbull,2010) defines disability as a physical or mental condition that means

you cannot use a part of your body completely or easily, or that you cannot learn

easily. Based on WordNet Offline Dictionary (2001) disability is defined as the

condition of being unable to perform as a consequence of physical or mental

unfitness. These conditions may occur to a person either naturally from birth or

may be caused by accidents or diseases. For instance, a person may be born with

dysfunctional body parts which cause him or her to become crippled. In other

cases, they can also suffer from disabilities due to accidents, which cause

permanent injuries to their body parts or due to diseases such as high fever, stroke

and etc.

Holistically, gadget for disability can be defined as a tool or device which

can be used by those who are disabled to overcome their challenged states and

ease their daily works. An example of a gadget for disability is the walking stick.

Furthermore, the definition for visual disability based on The Free

Dictionary Online (Farlex, 2013) is a severe reduction in vision that cannot be

corrected using glasses or lenses and reduce a person’s ability to function at

certain or all tasks.

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1.2 Objectives of the study

In compliance with the matters stated, we have come up with a few

objectives for our study. The main aim of this study is to investigate how

technology improves people with disabilities to ease their life. As stated, we are

studying about gadgets which may improve and ease the lives of the disabled.

Our next objective is to study how the disabled deals with his disabilities

in the daily life by observing their daily activities and how they cater with their

problems despite their unfortunate conditions. Of course, they have their own

ways of coping with their daily problems as they have their disadvantages.

Last but not least, we also want to understand the hardships of the

disabled. As a human being, we should be thankful to God for creating us with

complete functioning parts. However, there are those who are not as lucky as us.

They are those who had more tested and challenged. Hence, this is a great

opportunity for us to reflect ourselves and be thankful for what God has given us.

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2.0 Literature Review

2.1 History

A long time ago, before Braille was invented, mankind had already assigned a

way for the blinds to read printed text by touch. This method includes carving words onto

pieces of wood and using wax. This method, however, was not uniform back then. Later

on, another uniform method was invented by Valentine Hauy. He developed a system of

embossed printing and a writing frame which enables the blinds to read but yet, this

method was difficult as the letters were rather bulky, difficult to read, hard to create and

the student could not unable to write. Then, James Gall invented a kind of Roman, line-

type, embossed print for the use of St. John to publish The Gospel and this technique

quickly expanded and was widely used in the United States (D’Andrea,2009).

D’Andrea (2009) said that not long after that in Scotland, a competition was held by

the Society of Arts to encourage people to invent many kinds of tactile alphabets for the

blinds. Dr. Fry Alston had won the contest with his tactile alphabets based on print. Later

on, the Lucas type and the Moon Code were invented. These, somehow, contribute to the

development until Braille was discovered. Later on, a Captain of the French Army,

Captain Charles Barbier presents a system of 12 dots which represent sounds syllables for

soldiers to send and read messages in the dark. This method requires the sender and

recipient to memorize the sound of each combination of the dots.

Based on the brilliant communication method developed by Captain Charles Barbier,

a student who saw the presentation from him had an ingenious idea of how to improve

the method so that it can be utilized by blind students. The student was none other than

the famous Louis Braille, the man who came up with the Braille system for the blinds.

Unlike Captain Charles, Braille changed the system from 12-dotted into 6-dotted

(D’Andrea,2009). Hence, it is easier to be learned especially by those who are visually

challenged at that particular time. In addition, instead of the dots representing phonetic

sounds, he altered the system so that they represent real alphabets. By doing so, correct

spellings of words can be maintained.

Louis Braille had published his tactile system in which bears his name in 1829. In the

year 1834, he published the revised version of the system. 3 years later, in the year 1837,

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he published it once again. The revised version was better than the original one as it

includes numbers and also music code symbols. Unfortunately, Louis Braille had lost his

life to tuberculosis at the age of 43. The method was not recognized in France until 1854

although it had been used in L’Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, the school which he

taught in. Braille’s clever idea was then adopted and used in schools for the blinds in

other European countries. The Braille code was popularized in England by Dr Thomas

Rodes Armitage (D’Andrea,2009).

Eventually, Braille’s code spread throughout the world. It was acknowledged by

the Americans which had used it in many of their schools for the blinds. American Braille

code was developed. It then developed more and more, and spread wider across the

globe. Nowadays, we even have Braille codes for Arabic. More people can use this

method to ease their lives. Now, we can see how a simple idea from a student can bring

the visually disabled into a whole new level and perspective.

2.2 BrailleNote

According to Mason (2012), the BrailleNote are the updated model of the long-

standing BrailleNote line of notetaker. They are based on a system of applications known

as “KeySoft,” which have their own rich history in the market and are very popular and

well-known devices. The BrailleNote line is a fairly long-standing and regularly updated

product line, which gives it both advantages and disadvantages in comparison with other

products in the market.

The BrailleNote is a compact portable Personal Organizer with an ergonomic

Braille keyboard, a Braille display and a scroll wheel. The Braille display has 32 cells,

with each cell comprising 8 dots, allowing for both the display of 6 dots and 8 dots

Braille. Each cell of the Braille display has an associated cursor routing button. Four

thumb keys on the front of the BrailleNote BT supplement the Braille display and provide

convenient navigation control.

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You will also find an audio output socket for earphones and an input socket for a

microphone. A VGA port is also included. The BrailleNote also has synthesized speech

output that can be used in conjunction with the Braille display or on its own. The

BrailleNote runs on AC power or batteries. Indications of battery and charger status are

displayed on the Braille display and spoken.

Joslee claims (2013) that the BrailleNote BT has USB 2.0 host and client ports, a

Bluetooth transceiver, WI-FI capability, and ethernet port. It also has 8 GB of flash

memory that retains information indefinitely, even if the batteries run flat. The Secure

Digital (SD) card slot allows for additional storage, and the 3 USB host ports can be used

to plug in devices such as keyboards, embossers, printers, card readers, external hard

drives and USB thumb drives.

2.2.1 The Care of BrailleNote

The BrailleNote Apex BT can operate from its internal removable rechargeable

battery or from its AC adapter. The length of time you can run the BrailleNote BT from a

fully charged battery is typically over 12 hours before it becomes flat. Activities like

embossing, e-mailing and using ports or wireless connectivity increase the drain on the

battery. Storage cards and USB devices that draw their power from the BrailleNote BT's

battery also reduce the available battery life.

To ensure that the battery charges correctly, only charge in ambient temperatures

between 41 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit, that is, 5 to 35 degrees Celsius. If the ambient

temperature is too high, there is a risk that the battery will not charge. Like all

rechargeable batteries, as the BrailleNote BT battery ages, its capacity reduces. The

battery is designed to provide approximately 300 charge cycles before seeing a noticeable

reduction in capacity. To optimize battery life, it is recommended that you only recharge

when the battery is nearly depleted, followed by a full recharge. Note: to protect the

battery and reduce the number of charge cycles, the battery will not recharge if you start

recharging a battery that is almost fully charged (above 90%). (Joslee, 2013)

Apart from cleaning the case, the BrailleNote BT needs no special maintenance.

The internal battery should last typically 18 months before needing replacement. Keep

beverages like tea and coffee away from the BrailleNote BT. Periodically wipe the case

down with a warm damp cloth. Don't use any cleaning compounds.

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2.2.2 Purpose of the BrailleNote

According to Christensen (2009), the BrailleNote are built to be convenient.

Unlike a Braille display and android device or laptop, they are one single, portable unit.

Their battery life is generally far superior to those of laptops or other electronic devices.

They are simple to use and allow for an instant-on experience. Second, they are the

primary option available for people who want to read and write electronically in Braille.

Notetaker generally have better Perkins keyboards than do Braille displays that allow

users to write in six- or eight-dot Braille and most back-translation-via-screen-access

software, including what is available on other software now a day , introduces some level

of added complexity to the process of typing Braille.

2.2.3 The Users of BrailleNote

As we know, BrailleNote is used by the blinds. They are really pleased with the

function of this machinery has many very flexible functions. They can also do some

adjustments to the settings to suit their conditions and favors. “The prompts are simple

and adequate” (Joan-Paul Ryan, N.D). The device is convenient and very practical to be

used by the users.

2.2.4 Advantages of BrailleNote

Advantages of this device is that in the world of notetaker it is the simplest to

learn and use for many consumers because of the very comprehensive context-sensitive

help available at any point in this suite of programs. Furthermore, its functions are

extremely consistent. Things work the same way from one program to the next with quite

reliable functionality, which cannot always be said for the competition. It’s very popular

in schools for a number of reasons, but one of the greatest is this consistency in its layout

and functionality as well as its sheer longevity in the marketplace.

One of the BrailleNote’s standout features, which may not be recognized for its

brilliance at first, is the book reader application. It allows a user to open a file for review

and know that he or she won’t damage it. It almost always remembers the user’s place,

and it allows a user to set options for reading the file that will stay with that file whenever

it is opened in that application. It is that simple, which may not sound like much, but for

serious readers or those who are often interrupted in their reading, it’s very convenient,

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and it’s pleasant to know that you will not come back to see surprises in your file because

of unintentional key presses. The book reader is also the application used for reading

DAISY books, and it allows a user to bookmark and even leave text notes in the book for

later perusal. These features are useful for anyone, but students or others who are

studying material for later examination will find it extremely useful.

The hardware is fairly competitive since it offers much of what users would

expect in a modern mobile device. Wireless, Bluetooth, and compatibility with a fairly

large number of third-party peripherals (keyboards, monitors for visual use, and storage

cards) make it a fairly flexible device in spite of the fact that this class of devices is

limited by its hardware and software.

Another feature which may be of interest to some users is that the BrailleNote

offers a game application that allows users to play text-adventure games. It’s not strictly

necessary, but games are certainly a nice touch, especially since notetaker are often used

as much for entertainment as for educational or vocational pursuits. (Mason, 2012)

2.2.5 Disadvantages of BrailleNote

Having looked at the advantages of the BrailleNote family of devices, it is time to

turn our attention to some of the less positive aspects of the device. First, though the

consistency of the brand is mostly positive, in one area it is less so. The BrailleNote

devices are all the same shape and size. Therefore, if all you have is a BrailleNote 18, or

even a VoiceNote, it will weigh nearly as much and be just as large as a 32-cell notetaker.

A number of people are interested in the pocket-sized notetaker, but HumanWare does not

offer anything to suit such a user. Another area where consistency can work against a

BrailleNote user is that occasionally the global exit and help commands can override

commands intended for the host device when the BrailleNote is being used as a Braille

display. This is especially apparent in iOS devices.

Next, the BrailleNote is not able to open .DOCX files. Since programs that create

these files have been around for five years now, this is becoming an increasing problem

for BrailleNote users. Finally, an important point to consider when purchasing a

BrailleNote is the fact that as of now HumanWare is the only company still charging for

software upgrades for its notetaker. This may change as the landscape shifts, but for now

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it is an important factor to consider. Having said this, students who need access to

NIMAS files, those who wish to take notes on DAISY material, or those who have been

using a BrailleNote product for a long time and who are happy with the features and

functionality provided by the device will find the BrailleNote Apex a strong competitor

for consideration as a new notetaker.

2.2.6 The Future of BrailleNote

The BrailleNote is an extremely portable, versatile organizer designed with blind

users in mind. The keyboard is quick and responsive and KeySoft is highly intuitive,

particularly for a braille user. You can read and write documents, e-mail messages, and

even iPhone texts in the comfort zone of contracted braille and have them translated for

you on the fly. You can read books encompassing a variety of formats and sources, listen

to music and podcast, record lectures, listen to the radio, search the Web, keep your

calendar, and manage your contacts. With available additional packages, you can have a

fully function GPS device, dictionary, and tutorial on the Nemeth mathematics code but if

all these features could be combined together in more variety of size , it could attract

more visual impaired to use it , for example a lot number of people are interested in the

pocket-sized of notetaker.

In addition, the BrailleNote has been produced by only few companies, resulting

in the price of BrailleNote is more expensive for the consumer to afford. Therefore, with

a lot of cooperation from others company in producing the BrailleNote , it could help the

users to own the BrailleNote itself with affordable price. Last but not least, with

development of the BrailleNote toward the technology, someday the BrailleNote could be

produced in touch screen, so that the visual-impaired people could experience better

technology like us.

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3.0 CASE STUDIES

Respondent 1

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Name : Md Lazim bin Bidin

Date of Birth : 8 May 1955

Age : 58

I/C Number : 550508-08-5487

Contact Number : 012-5448119

Qualification : SPM

Time : 11.30am

Date : 2/11/2013

Respondent 2

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Name : Sarida binti Aziz

Date of Birth : 23 July 1967

Age : 46

I/C Number : 670723-07-5528

Contact Number : 012-5448119

Qualification : SPM

Time : 11.34am

Date : 2/11/2013

4.0 FINDINGS

4.1 Reports from Respondents

Respondent 1

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The person we interviewed is the visually impaired person himself; Md.

Lazim bin Bidin. He was born normal, but fall ill which caused him to lose both

sight forever. He realized his life would not be the same anymore, thus, struggles

to live as normal as he can. He was also the Chairman of the Association for the

Blind in Kulim back in 1990’s.

He was schooling at St. Nicholas School for the Blind. There, he learned

how to read Braille. Braille is divided into two; normal and contraction. The

normal Braille is where they write each letter to spell a word while the

contraction are words and affixes that are shortened so that they take up fewer

cells.

He uses a Brailler to aid him in his daily life. The white cane is used when

he wants to take a walk at unfamiliar places. The Perkins Brailler is used to type

in Braille. It costs about RM2000 but luckily for him, it was provided by an

association. He learned the typing skill during his school time.

For him, the gadgets are really helpful as they become medium of

communication not only between the blind but also with other normal people.

Respondent 2

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The person we interviewed is the caretaker for the disabled. Her name is

Sarida bt Aziz, the wife of the disabled. She is partially blind as she is suffering

from cataract.

She said that her husband is very independent. It is not hard to take care of

him. She is able to use all the gadgets in their house, so she can monitor her

husband when he uses them. Similar to her beloved husband, she is also able to

use the Brailler. She learned it back when she was at school as she studied in an

Integrated School for The Blind.

When her husband was the Chairman of the Association for the Blind in

Kulim, she used to help her husband to type letters using the Brailler addressed

to the other members of the association. She also helps her husband to put the

papers in the Brailler and check what his husband had written. Although she is

only partially blind and able write like normal people, she is more skillful in

using the Brailler.

Her hope is to ease her husband and children as much as she could. She

wants her husband to have a normal life in spite of his disability.

4.2 Opinion

4.2.1 Observation

From the interview, we realized that the inventions of different types of

gadgets are very useful as they give aid to the disabled. It gives them the chance

to live a normal life and be a part of our community without being discriminate.

However, most of the gadgets were invented in the old days by different

people. Each gadget have its own function, thus, it creates problem for the user

as they need to be equipped with different gadgets to utilize its function.

Nowadays, the gadgets has been developed and upgraded so that it they

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become more user friendly and usable by everyone. It is no longer a problem for

the blinds to use the Brailler / BrailleNote.

4.2.2 Reflection

We have seen the fate of the disabled. Thus, we should be very grateful

because God had created us without any defections whatsoever. Next, we should

not whine and complain about things that we have now because there are people

who are less fortunate than us.

Furthermore, we also should not discriminate and insinuate the disabled

people because who knows, we might suffer from the same fate as they are

suffering now and only then, we will know what they feel. We should treat

everyone, no matter how that person is, disabled or not, rich or poor, equally and

never mistreat them.

4.3 Future gadget

The innovation or improvement for BrailleNote in the future is there will be mini

sized BrailleNote that is easier to carry anywhere. There is also a place to insert SIM card

and the BrailleNote can be used to make calls. The BrailleNote has the function to

recognize the voice of the user for safety and ease of usage. The BrailleNote also will be

improved in term of the random access memory. The BrailleNote also can receive radio

signal, so, the user of the BrailleNote can receive news updates through the radio and also

the user can spend time listening to the radio. The BrailleNote will come with a detector in

bracelet form. It is used to detect the whereabouts of the BrailleNote so, if the users do not

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remember where they put the BrailleNote, they still can find it. The detector will be water

proof so, user can where it anytime and anywhere.

In the BrailleNote, the software should be increase for the use of the BrailleNote’s

user. There is also a higher capacity of storage to store documents, files, songs and other

things that want to be stored by the user. There also iNavigator that will be installed in the

BrailleNote that can act as GPS for the users. Games also will be stored in the BrailleNote.

The game is mainly based on the sense of sound and touch, so, although the user’s sight is

not functional, they can still play the games and also improve their sense of hearing and

touch.

5.0 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, gadgets for disability are invented to help the disabled to perform tasks

in their daily life independently. Nowadays, there are many different types of gadgets in

the market depending on its function such as BrailleNote, hearing aid, and the step-hear.

The invention of BrailleNote is very convenient especially for the visually impaired

person (Christensen, 2009). The BrailleNote is invented to assist the disabled to read and

write in Braille (Joslee,2013). The BrailleNote provides a medium for the visually

impaired people to get involve in writing and literature.

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In the future, the development of the gadgets will allow disabled people to have a

life like a normal person. To the society, the development of visual aid in the future will

improve the communication and understanding of a visual impairment person to read any

information. This will leads to the increase of global economy as more source of man

power is available. The development of this device will also cause a lot of new company

to rise and compete in creating a better quality of visual aid device. Meanwhile, the

hearing aid device business such as visual device factory, visual device shop and visual

device repair service will improve greatly. Thus, providing the job opportunities to the

society in the future.

REFERENCES

Christensen, L, B. (2009). RoboBraille - Braille Unlimited. Retrieved October 8, 2013

from

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://194.250.9.196:8080/sites/

default/files/article_-_robobraille_-_braille_unlimited_synref.pdf&safe=strict

D’Andrea, F, M. (2009). The Braille Code: Past-Present-Future. In The Educators.

Retrieved October 9, 2013 from http://www.icevi.org/pdf/educator_january_2009.pdf

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Joslee. (2013). Technical Specification of various BrailleNote models. Retrieved October

8, 2013 from http://www.braillenoteusers.info/articles/introductory-material/Technical-

specifications-of-the-BrailleNote

Joslee. (2013). Hardware Compatibility List for BrailleNote. Retrieved October 8 2013

from

http://www.braillenoteusers.info/articles/introductory-material/Hardware-Compatibility-

List-for-BrailleNote

Joslee. (2013). Scroll Wheel Explained. Retrieved October 8 2013 from

http://www.braillenoteusers.info/articles/introductory-material/Scroll-Wheel-explained

Joslee. (2013). Supported File Types under Word Processor. Retrieved October 8 2013

from

http://www.braillenoteusers.info/articles/wordprocessing/Supported-File-Types-under-

Word-processor

Joslee. (2013). File Types Supported on the BrailleNote. Retrieved October 8 2013 from

http://www.braillenoteusers.info/articles/file-and-folder-management/File-types-

supported-on-the-BrailleNote

Joslee. (2013). Storage Devices that work with BrailleNote. Retrieved October 8 2013

from

http://www.braillenoteusers.info/articles/introductory-material/Storage-devices-that-

work-with-BrailleNote

Joslee. (2013). BrailleNote Command Summary. Retrieved October 9 2013 from

http://www.braillenoteusers.info/articles/help/BrailleNote-Command-Summary

Joslee. (2013). Recording and Playing Voice Memos. Retrieved October 10 2013 from

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http://www.braillenoteusers.info/articles/media-player/Recording-and-playing-Voice-

Memos

Mason, A. (2012). Braille Notetakers-Determining Your Perfect Fit. Retrieved October

10 2013 from

https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm12/bm1206/bm120604.html

(2010). Gadget. In Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary, 8th Edition. Retrieved October

9, 2013. Oxford University Press.

Disability. (2013). In Cambridge Dictionary Online. Retrieved October 7, 2013 from

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/disability

Visual Impairment.(2013). In The Free Dictionary. Retrieved October 7,2013 from

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Visual+Impairment

APPENDICES

Respondent 1

Can you tell me about yourself?My name is Md. Lazim bin Bidin. I am 58 years old.

Where do you live?I live at No 52, Kg Baru, Ayer Panas

You were schooling at?I went to St. Nicholas School for the Blind in Penang. I also went to Sekolah Menengah Khas Setapak, Kuala Lumpur. What is your current profession?Reflexology massager

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What is your previous profession?I used to be the Chairman of the Association for the Blind in Kulim. I also used to work in box factory, Kulim Packaging Sdn Bhd. But now, I am too old to do that kind of work.

Do you have kids? Are they also facing the same disability?I have five children. Two boys and three girls. All of them are perfectly normal.

Are you blind from born?No, I was born normal. Just like other people

What makes you become disabled? Is it an accident or illness?I become ill, and it caused me to lose my sight.

Can you tell us more about the incidence?When I was four, my right eye was infected. It turns white. My parents took me to the hospital. The doctor wanted to perform operation on me to prevent the disease from spreading to my left eye. However, my parents disagree. At the age of eight, the disease starts spreading to my left eye. It turns all red but we did not go to the hospital. One day, I followed my sister for rubber tapping. After that, I took a bath in a hot spring near the estate. Suddenly, my eyes began to swollen. My parents rushed me to the hospital. There, the doctor told me that both my pupil were already blown up. Now, I’m totally blind.

So, how do you feel about this disadvantage? At first, it feels like my life is already over. I was in deep grief. However, everything happens for a reason. After some times, I realized that God have better plan for me. I am becoming more grateful with my life and how I live it. I don’t think my disability as disadvantage, but I took it as a challenge.

Are you using any tool or gadget to help you in your daily life?Yes, I use quite a few. I have the white cane. I can use Brailler, hand phone, and also a customized laptop.Can you tell me about the usage of the white cane?Well, I got this white cane from my school. They provide each of the students there with white cane as it is a symbol for the blind.

Do you often use the white cane?Previously, not that often. I can walk without the white cane at the usual place I used to go. For instance, in this village, I can take a tour independently around the village without getting lost. But now, with the cars and the entire vehicle, it is dangerous to walk around without the white cane.

What are the advantages of using the white cane? Of course, it helps detecting any obstacles in front of me. It prevents me from knocking onto the walls and other objects. When civilians saw a person holding the white cane, they would give help to us. It is very helpful.

Can you tell me about the Brailler?In my school, they taught us Braille and provide each student with Perkins Brailler. It looks like a typewriter; the function is the same, except that it is in Braille. It cost more than RM2000. I got this from the welfare because I could not afford it.

What about the customized laptop?

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That laptop, I bought it for my wife. It cost us RM1600. It is similar to the normal laptop but the difference is, when you type a letter, it will produce the sound. In our school, we also learn the typing method. When the sound is produce, we can detect any mistake that we made easily. Toshiba launched it few years ago.

You said that you also use hand phone. How do you manage to do so?It’s actually pretty easy. I just memorized the number on the keypad. I used the old design hand phone which has keypads, not the touch-screen, because it is easier to detect the keypads with my finger.

Respondent 2

Could you tell me about yourself?My name is Sarida bt Aziz. I am 46 years old.

What is your relationship with Respondent 1?I am his wife.

Is it true that you are half-blind?Yes, I am.

How is it possible?Well, I suffered from cataract. Before this, I cannot see at all. After I had a surgery, I am able to see well, but not as clear as others.

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What is your occupation?Massaging, same as my husband.

Where were you schooling at?I was schooling at Integrated School for The Blind. I learned how to write and read Braille there.

Do you get help from any association?Yes, since we both have our disable (OKU) card, some associations provides help to us. For example, my first daughter is in a boarding school. So the government support all her expenses there.

How do you feel about your life?Well, I am very grateful to meet my husband. We met during work. He is very independent person. It is not hard to take care of him. We are also blessed with children and all of them are perfectly normal. They understand our situation and help us. Truthfully, I am very happy with my life.

So, basically you know how to use all the gadgets that help your husband?Yes, I know how to use all of them. I used to write letters for my husband back when he was the Chairman of the Association for the blind. I also help him to put the papers in the Brailler and check what my husband had written.

What do you think about the gadget used by him?All the gadgets are very useful. The Brailler helps us to communicate with blind people from all around the world. If there is a formal occasion, my husband can use it to type a letter to the blind. The customized laptop from Toshiba helps us to communicate with normal people. Of course, those who are not blind do not understand Braille. So, in order to prevent any miscommunication between the blind and the normal, the laptop is very effective gadget.

What about the hand phone?Hand phone is one of the most important gadget in our daily life. People cannot live without a hand phone. Even, children have their own phones. Hand phone can becomes really handy whenever we need to contact each other. If he got lost in his way, he can call me and informed it to me. The phone is also used for work. When he was the chairman of Association for the Blind, he needs to contact a lot of people. Every day, he had meetings with different people. So it is very useful to have a hand phone of his own.

Is it hard to get the gadget?For the Brailler, my husband had to send a request letter to the welfare association asking sponsorship for the Brailler. He then has to write a letter of gratitude to the association for the Brailler as a proof that they had accepted it. Most of the gadgets are costly. So I would say, it is pretty hard to get. Furthermore, most of them are imported from other foreign country, so it is hard to find in Malaysia.

From your point of view, do you think the gadgets have any lacking that can be improved?Well, the Brailler is very big. It’s really hard to bring it from place to place. Both my husband and I are old, so it consumed a lot of energy from us.

Other than that, is there any lacking in the gadget?If someone text my husband, he could not read it. So he has to call other people to read it for him. If hand phone can produce sound and read the text for him, it would be great.

What is your hope?

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I hope that I can ease my family so that they can live a normal lives although my husband and I are disabled.

The Alphabets written in Braille using Perkins Brailler