Appleton Visually Impaired Support Group

05/27/2026

Vision Connection
May 2026 Newsletter

Newsletter
Attendees: Judy, Amy, Bernie, Austin, Kristi, Lois, Dorothea, Dee, Marilyn, Rick, Tom, Marion, Jane, Linda, Phil, Dawn, Rod

Rick – Script talk attaches a disk to bottom of your prescription bottle that explains what the prescription is, dosage, etc. You can use the Script talk app on your phone or the machine that comes with the program. You need to check with your pharmacy to see if they provide it. The machine is provided by Script Talk. When you are done using it, return it to Script Talk. Contact Script Talk by calling
Envision America 1-800-890-1180. If your pharmacy doesn’t support Script Talk, call Envision America and they will contact your pharmacy. The iPhone app works fairly well. Rod utilizes the quick scan function.

Austin’s experience with Valley Transit II. They offer Valley Transit II – para transit, it’s ADA certified. You must call well in advance for Sunday rides. Valley Transit must approve special requests if you need help getting in and out of the vehicle or to get to a specific location at the place being dropped off. Make the Ride Happen is very busy right now and is asking people to call Valley Transit II. You must be registered with Valley Transit in advance of using it and the cost is about $4 per one way ride. You can schedule about 2 weeks in advance. Being ADA certified qualifies you for Valley Transit II vs needing to take the bus. To get ADA certified, you must apply at Valley Transit and answer their questions. Once you have your ADA Certification you’ll get a card showing your certified.

May’s presentation: The group listened to “Staying on Top of Your Health Then Vision Changes – Hadley Presents”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHIum_S_fks

In June, in place of our regular meeting we are planning on having an ice cream social. Sharon Salm will bring some of the ice cream and toppings to celebrate her birthday. The club will furnish a little more ice cream and toppings. Prior to the social, we will have introductions and an open discussion. We will also create a list containing contributions that each will be bringing to the July Picnic.

Picnic in July: in June we will finalize who will bring what food. You can use a glass bowl but not glass glasses, cups or bottles. Think about what food you want to bring to pass so you can sign up during our ice cream social. The picnic will be at Telulah Park on July 14th at 12:30pm in the big pavilion with the kitchen.

August – No meeting, Enjoy the rest of your summer.

Below are Hadley Presents videos that may be of interest to you. These were found in the Top Tech Tidbits weekly newsletter.
The Blind Life | YouTube.com | May 13, 2026
Sitting down with Joan Jaeger, Sam from The Blind Life highlights the emotional challenges surrounding vision loss and how support networks can make a difference. The conversation spotlights Hadley’s new Coping and Adjusting Together workshop series, underscoring the importance of peer connection and mental health within the blind and low vision community.

From Access Information Newsletter:
“It’s Finding People That Do Understand” | Hadley | May 23, 2026
As Mary’s vision worsened, the life she’d always known began slipping out of reach. She wasn’t sure where to turn or what might help. But a chance meeting changed things for her in ways she now hopes to pass on.

Talking bathroom scale:
Rod thinks that this scale is the same one that he has. The scale is most accurate when you ignore the first reading if the scale has been moved.

The Blind Life | YouTube.com | May 13, 2026
Showcasing the latest in accessible health tech, Sam demonstrates how a talking bathroom scale empowers low vision users to track weight independently and confidently. With audible weight readouts and intuitive features, Sam evaluates how such devices enable safer, more accurate daily monitoring at home.

Adjusting to Vision Loss: 5 Tips for Family Members
https://viplunch.wordpress.com/adjusting-to-vision-loss-5-tips-for-family-members/

If anyone has feedback they want to share about our monthly meetings, please communicate your feedback with Rod at [email protected] or 920-585-7443.

Next Meeting
The Appleton Visually Impaired Support Group will meet on Tuesday June 9th at 12.30 -2.30 p.m. in the meeting room at 425 N Linwood Ave. Appleton.

If you need transportation to any of our meetings, please contact Rod Maccoux @ 920-585-7443 or via email: [email protected].

Look us up on our page and/or our website.
page: Appleton Visually Impaired Support Group
Website: Appleton Visually Impaired Support Group
Email: [email protected]

8 likes. "Staying on Top of Your Health When Vision Changes - Hadley Presents"

05/15/2026

Attention blind and visually impaired:
Come use multiple senses to explore the beauty of nature in a calm and accessible environment. Space is limited, so, sign up now.

Join retired High Cliff State Park Naturalist Cindy Mueller for a guided nature therapy walk along the accessible Butterfly Pond Trail at High Cliff State Park on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, from 10:00–11:15 a.m.

05/11/2026

If you’ve given up the car keys due to vision loss, did you know you might qualify for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) services to get around safely and affordably?

05/10/2026

05/04/2026

Vision Connection
April 2026 Newsletter

Newsletter
Attendees: Austin, Amy, Bernie, Sharon, Nancy, Dorothea, Nancy, Marsha, Marilyn, Dee, Jane, Dawn, Rod

Happy Birthday to Bernie and Rod!

Gardening Tips:
1. Raised beds make gardening easier for elderly people.
2. Corn starch in cool water will help boost house plants that are looking a little dumpy.
3. Learn plants by feel.
4. Use Aloe to relieve burns.
5. Use Fish Emulsion to help fertilize plants.
6. Maybe Seeing AI can identify plants.
7. Spider plants love sun and do well in the house.
8. Don’t put plants in a sunny window if the temperature is going to change drastically over the course of the day.

White cane safety day and pedestrian safety month is still being discussed. More to come on this.

Amy has taken over the VIP page for Dawn. If there’s anything you’d like to see on facebook, please contact Amy. Thank you Amy for taking that off my plate.

The Appleton Visually Impaired Support Group By-Laws and Constitution has been modified to change the officer election month from January to November providing new officers a chance to start the new year with their programming agenda. Elections will still occur in the odd numbered years. This change was voted on and approved by the group in January 2026 by members of the VIP group. If you’d like to read it, please let Rod or Dawn know and they will provide you with a copy.

Contributions and discussion for tips on losing your vision was good. Do we need to further discuss some of the topics in more depth for further clarification? Let Rod know which topics you’d like to have further discussion on.

Dawn has a Dyson lamp on her desk that works well. The light brightness and color (white to yellow) can be adjusted for your needs. It can also be motion sensitive. There is an arm that swings away from the main base to direct the light in a 360 degree field.
https://www.dyson.com/lighting/desk-lamps/solarcycle-morph-cd06/black?utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=organic

Amy has reserved the pavilion at Telulah Park for our July picnic. The picnic will be help on July 14th at 12:30. More to come on food to bring.

Here’s the list of the 22 2026 members of the Appleton Visually Impaired Support Group. If your name is not on the list or you have membership questions, contact Rod.
Amy, Austin, Bernie, Dawn, Dee, Dorothy, Jane, Judy, Kristi, Lois, Marcia, Marian, Marilyn, Myra, Nancy K, Nancy P,
Nancy S, Phil, Rick, Rod, Sharon, and Tom.

Rod has a 32” Sony TV and some cordless Panasonic phones that we want to give away. Let us know if you or anyone you know would be interested.

Adjusting to Vision Loss: 5 Tips for Family Members
https://viplunch.wordpress.com/adjusting-to-vision-loss-5-tips-for-family-members/

If anyone has feedback they want to share about our monthly meetings, please communicate your feedback with Rod at [email protected] or 920-585-7443.

Next Meeting
The Appleton Visually Impaired Support Group will meet on Tuesday May 12th at 12.30 -2.30 p.m. in the meeting room at 425 N Linwood Ave. Appleton.
May meeting topic:
Staying on Top of Your Health When Vision Changes - Hadley Presents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHIum_S_fks

If you need transportation to any of our meetings, please contact Rod Maccoux @ 920-585-7443 or via email: [email protected].

Look us up on our page and/or our website.
page: Appleton Visually Impaired Support Group
Website: Appleton Visually Impaired Support Group
Email: [email protected]

8 likes. "Staying on Top of Your Health When Vision Changes - Hadley Presents"

04/19/2026

https://wcblind.org/2026/04/insurance-quandary-for-volunteer-drivers-leaves-nondrivers-without-access-to-community/

Unfortunately, strict insurance requirements for volunteer drivers are causing many drivers to leave their programs.

04/09/2026

This is a great resource for connecting with others who are blind or visually impaired.

Consider checking out one of the Council’s two monthly virtual low vision support groups! This month's meetings:

Trailblazers Low Vision Support Group
Monday, April 13
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Free
Online via Zoom

Open to everyone in Wisconsin! This month, a representative from Leader Dogs for the Blind will join the group to talk about guide dogs and the other programs they offer. Contact Brent Perzentka at [email protected] or 608-237-8112 to get the Zoom link or call-in number.

Supernovas: College and Working Age Vision Support Group
Tuesday, April 21
7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Free
Online via Zoom

This group is devoted to topics of interest to college and working age adults under 45. To learn more, contact Jim Denham at [email protected] or 608-237-8104.

Image (Credit: Leader Dogs for the Blind): A woman in a blue shirt sits on a bench with a yellow Labrador retriever beside her in a wooded area.

04/04/2026

https://wcblind.org/2024/07/dont-say-over-there-how-to-be-a-better-describer-for-someone-who-is-blind-or-low-vision/?fbclid=IwdGRjcAQ-Z7RleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeC7JSueovxPtXQ3IrqhBXLfoIbuFNh6k91E-OkaQicE6d-NUMpsB6aIthVrg_aem_jdcWomJTJf6_uv7hGYAT_w

The most important thing to do when learning how to be a better describer is to ask the person how they want something described.

03/28/2026

🎬 Check out this inspiring story about an all-blind theatre group! 🎭

A Los Angeles theatre company led by blind actors is redefining accessibility in the arts, proving vision loss isn’t a barrier to performance or independence.

03/27/2026

Vision Connection
March 2026 Newsletter


Attendees: Rod, Phil, Linda, Amy, Bernie, Sharon , Nancy, Dorothea, Marion, Tom, Marilyn, Rick, Dee, Kristi, Austin, Lois, Judy, Jane, Dawn

Many thanks to Lois for her suggestion to talk about tips that others utilize in their daily lives. It generated a lot of great tips and discussion between members.

Tips/Suggestions:
· Grow your sense of touch while you still have vision, so you are used to utilizing touching as your vision gets worse.
· ASK for help. People are always willing to extend a helping hand, but they don’t know you need it unless you ask them for help.
· Utilize your children’s help – don’t be afraid to ask them.
· CCTV – use for reading and writing, if interested talk to Jean Kenevan for information regarding them.
· To identify items like the buttons on a microwave or oven, use sticky bump dots, and puffy paint if you want to make lines. On stairways and hallways, use grab bars and railings to ensure you don’t slip or fall.
· Blindness effects other people, not just you. Be gracious to your caregivers.
· Pen Friend, record on a label what an item is, place label on item and then point Pen Friend at the label. The pen will read what is on the label. Pen Friend is available at the Council for the Blind in Madison: https://store.wcblind.org/shop/search?search-term=pen%20friend
· Don’t limit yourself, you can do way more than you think you can.
· Use a door keychain flashlight it can help locate the keyhole in your door.
· If you have a question, write it down or call and ask somebody right away so you don’t forget what the question is.
· Get a disabled parking sign from the State of Wisconsin: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/dmv/vehicles/dsbld-prkg/discards.aspx
· Get savvy using technology. Use Seeing AI. Seeing AI is a free Microsoft app that uses artificial intelligence to narrate the world for people who are blind or have low vision. It operates by utilizing a phone camera to read text, scan documents, identify products, describe scenes, recognize faces, and detect currency or light. The app is available for iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play).
· Put rubber bands on all your favorite sodas in your refrigerator to make sure you get the soda that you want.
· Use theblindkitchen.com for handy products for your kitchen: https://theblindkitchen.com/
Phil described the Meta Glasses and how he uses them. The glasses will describe a room of people, snowmobile trail in northern Michigan, history of different places in the world, will tell you what the can from the cupboard is, will read even the smallest print. The glasses are available from Inside Vision in Oshkosh and Appleton. Most eye doctors have them. Best Buy sells them. Use them with Be My Eyes app on an iPhone. Base price is about $500. Phil does have a prescription in his and cost him about $900. His phone streams phone calls thru the glasses. He can send text messages and emails using them. There are various brands that make meta glasses. Meta is the app, not the glass frames. The battery life lasts all day. The charger is a glass case that you plug in. The more you ask it to do, the more that battery goes down. If you have more questions regarding the Meta glasses please reach out to either Phil at (920) 205-0268 or Austin at (920) 414-2980.

We discussed our member growth and that we are outgrowing the way we use the tables now. The decision is to use less tables and arrange the chairs in rows. If we are working on a project, we will have to figure out how to arrange the tables. No one really wants to move to another location. The Linwood Apts. has a beautiful room and it’s convenient for folks.

White cane safety day – We’re not sure what level of involvement that the group wants to commit too.
Ideas suggested:
· Educating driver education staff - Austin
· Educating students in the classroom what it’s like living with a visual impairment – Phil, Austin
· Contacting a news agency to reach a broader audience.
We will continue this discussion next month.

The Wisconsin Council of the Blind is offering a presentation discussing three apps for reading printed text aloud. The presentation is on Zoom on April 2, from 4:00 to 5:00.

To register for this class, contact Access Technology Specialist Jim Denham via email at: [email protected]
no later than Tuesday, March 31.

Adjusting to Vision Loss: 5 Tips for Family Members
https://viplunch.wordpress.com/adjusting-to-vision-loss-5-tips-for-family-members/

If anyone has feedback they want to share about our monthly meetings, please communicate your feedback with Rod at [email protected] or 920-585-7443.

Next Meeting
At our April meeting we will discuss gardening tips that people have. Please think about what you do and come willing to share and discuss. The meeting is on Tuesday April 14th at 12.30 -2.30 p.m. in the meeting room at 425 N Linwood Ave. Appleton.

If you need transportation to any of our meetings, please contact Rod Maccoux @ 920-585-7443 or via email: [email protected].

Look us up on our page and/or our website.
page: Appleton Visually Impaired Support Group
Website: Appleton Visually Impaired Support Group
Email: [email protected]