“I was born deaf and registered blind when I was 14. The condition I have is Usher Syndrome Type 2a. I am severely deaf and have only a very small tunnel of vision in my right eye now so I was concerned not just about the [Apple Watch’s] face size but how busy it would appear to me and also if there would be an uncomfortable glare,” Molly Watt blogs for MollyWatt.com. “I should explain that I wear two digital hearing aids and communicate orally – not everybody with usher syndrome communicates orally and there are not two people with the condition the same, but there are similarities.”
“On the same day I got my watch Mum received hers too. This benefitted the trial use of communication between us. Just by selecting the button underneath the digital crown, you reach your favourite contacts,” Watt writes. “To contact any of my favourites, which are already selected on my iPhone, is incredibly easy. Either speak into the Apple Watch or just sending an ‘emoji’ is also very easy. The speech to text is very impressive… Mum has certainly found benefit in the ‘tap’ for getting my attention when I am in my bedroom without my hearing aids on, I feel the nudge to get a move on or she wants my attention for something. There is a vibration when a text message is received too – Prominent Haptics is definitely awesome for me as a deafblind person.”
MacDailyNews Note: Usher syndrome is responsible for the majority of deaf-blindness. It occurs in roughly 1 person in 23,000 in the United States, 1 in 28,000 in Norway and 1 in 12,500 in Germany. – Wikipedia: Usher syndrome
“Before getting my Apple Watch I would have my phone either in my hand or a pocket nearest to my hand I would rarely feel the vibration from my iPhone and often missed messages. With the Apple Watch on my wrist, I am being notified via Prominent Haptics without issue and I really like that,” Watt writes. “So far for me the most useful App on the Apple Watch is Maps – on my iPhone I can plan my journey from one destination to another, for me it will be on foot with Unis my guide dog. This is where Haptics really come into its own – I can be directed without hearing or sight, but by a series of taps via the watch onto my wrist – 12 taps means turn right at the junction or 3 pairs of 2 taps means turn left, I’m still experimenting with this but so far very impressed – usher syndrome accessible!”
Read more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Molly is amazing — and so is her Watch!
[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]