UdeMnouvelles: Improving the Quality of Life of People Who Are Blind

I joined the School of Optometry at the Université de Montréal as an assistant professor in January 2024, having previously taught there as a course lecturer. The university offers the only Graduate program to train vision rehabilitation professionals in Canada, available in English and French, and provides a unique, exciting and collaborative environment to advance blindness and low vision research. UdeMnouvelles marked the appointment with a profile written by Catherine Couturier, Natalina Martiniello: améliorer la qualité de vie des non-voyants. The article is in French.

The piece sets out the research program I brought to the School: Advancing adult braille learning and literacy, non-visual access to information and technologies, and inclusive participation for people who are blind or low vision. The article touches on the experience of learning braille in adulthood, the role of refreshable braille displays and other emerging access technologies, and the inclusion of vision researchers who are themselves blind or have low vision.

It closes on a statistic that centers much of this work: unemployment among adults who are blind or low vision remains at a staggering 70 per cent, highlighting the importance of addressing stigma, promoting proactive accessibility and ensuring equitable access to non-visual information (including braille literacy).