by Brian Manning

Up to quite recently almost in tandem with the ads on TV or the radio, I knew that the season of goodwill was commencing with the predicted phone calls from the parents of young people who have low vision.  What will I get the little dear for Christmas?  What’s available for him or her or what can they use?

Unfortunately, twenty years or so ago the choices were quite limited.  I could suggest things like a tactile chessboard, braille playing cards, etc., but suffice to say that the options were boring, restricted, and uninspiring.

But then gradually things began to incrementally improve.

We had the development of the Symbian phone from Nokia with the Talks software.

Then Apple produced the iPod Nano on which we could load a prototype reader, which was the next step in enabling independent musical entertainment for young people with low vision.

Then about 14 years or so ago we had a big technical breakthrough.

Apple began producing devices with VoiceOver included soon followed by other Android options that contained TalkBack and all changed, changed utterly.

I no longer get lonely phone calls from frustrated parents mainly because to a large extent we are all shopping from the same yuletide trolly.

We have to a large if not full extent all become mainstreamed and what is in a young vision impaired Christmas stocking now can in certain cases be the same as their siblings.

If you want to order your child who has low vision or is blind something nice from Santa, you can get them a smartphone. You could consider a tablet with a large display, especially if your child has some residual vision. They tell me that most fashion-conscious teenagers now would not be seen outside the door without a smartwatch.

Why not think about an accessible music player or smart TV, and you can by the way get them a good media subscription with speech control settings and audio-described content.

We are now blessed with a wealth of choices and your options do not necessarily stop with the list of above ideas.

These are of course quite expensive alternatives but the key message here is that now they are exactly those possibilities whereas before they were just pipe dreams.

As a side issue, these innovations can be linked to greater standards of education, but especially at times like this the focus should be on the jollity and happiness of our little treasures, we need to enjoy ourselves as well!

Finally, if like me your interest is strictly avuncular and you just want to throw a few pounds at the child, just Revolut them.

The app is fairly accessible, and we all know how kids can spend money.

Does that mean that my phone is quieter this festive season? Unfortunately, no but parents are now armed with their own ideas and know exactly what to get Johnnie or Sinead, which just demonstrates how more embracing our world is becoming.