Ed, at age 62, discusses his eye condition, called choroideremia, a progressive genetic disorder. He talks about creating and adapting his home office space, including the importance of computer technology to his working and everyday lives.



Transcript of Video

NARRATOR: Ed Brock, Age 62, Choroideremia

Ed Brock, a balding man with a gray beard and mustache, sitting near a bookcase.

About My Eye Condition

ED: I have an eye disease that’s called Choroideremia, that’s a genetic eye disease that only affects men. It’s pretty rare.

NARRATOR: Ed sitting on the floor, his guide dog resting on his leg.

ED: Once you get it you’re totally and completely blind in about five to eight years or so.

Customizing Your Home Office to Suit Your Eye Condition

NARRATOR: Pictures of Ed at his desk using a printer and computer.

ED: I have a fairly minimal home office. It has a computer. It has a printer, and in my case it’s a black-and-white printer because I don’t see color very good. I have a scanner and then, good task lighting to see the keyboard.

Screen Reading Software Makes a Huge Difference

NARRATOR: Ed working at his computer using a video magnifier, adjusting his monitor.

ED: The best thing for me is screen reading software, and in my case I can’t see big areas of the screen, so I got to the point where I couldn’t find the cursor on the screen, and at that point I had to pretty much give up using the mouse.

Technology Empowers the Visually Impaired and Eases the Strain on Caregivers

NARRATOR: A picture of Ed and his wife sitting on bench with his guide dog.

ED: I’ve figured out that I can order a lot of things over the internet that would have become errands for my wife nights and weekends. So I’m getting things from UPS on — you know, several times a week, and that’s — you know, that’s very convenient.

Offering Words of Inspiration

NARRATOR: Ed looking through a file drawer and typing at the computer.

ED: Well, I can tell you it was hard at the very, very beginning of my training, and I was really slow. But being slow is a lot better than not having access to the computer and not having access to the entire world of the Web.