At Independent Living Aids, LLC (ILA) we pride ourselves in always looking for new products to help our customers. Sometimes, these products are everyday products in which we find a real application for people with low vision. Products like an Air Fryer, Cobra Color Changing Light, and the ScanMarker Air, have not been developed for the low vision user, but these products have crossover appeal and functionality for these consumers. Instead of the usual blog, this week we will look at new products from our 2020 catalog in each of the six outlined categories.

Assistive Technology

We carry a wide range of assistive technology products for the visually impaired and blind, including assistive technology software, screen magnifiers, readers and scanners, and much more. New items in this category include: TV and Audio Listener Amplifying Headphones (or page 91 in the catalog): TL200 TV Listener Amplifying Headphones pairs wirelessly with either your television or mobile phone to amplify TV shows, phone calls and music. This allows the user to amplify the television volume, while others in the room listen at their preferred level. Can also pair with a smartphone to receive and amplify cell phone calls as well as music played from the phone. Has a 30' headset range. Children’s Large Button Keyboard (or page 86 in the catalog): Compatible with either a Mac or PC. Has oversized buttons and color-based mnemonic system to reinforce reading skills. Envoy Elite Digital Recorder (or page 90 in catalog): Rugged, water resistant, and solar powered recorder with tactile buttons. Includes a flashlight and FM radio with 5 preset stations. Built in MP3 player can play downloaded MP3, WAV, or WMA files. Unit has a built-in speaker and earphone jack. Has an 8 GB internal memory with a microSD card slot.

Healthcare

ILA sells a wide variety of healthcare products and aids, including talking scales, bathing and bathroom aids, glucose meters and diabetic aids, pill and medicine organizers, and much more. New items in this category include: Talking Wrist Arm Blood Pressure Meter (or page 57 in catalog): One touch operation. Includes a 2-person memory storage with 90 measurements each. Averages the last 3 measurements. Has your choice of English or Spanish voice. LCD display with 3 color backlighting. Comes with WHO classification indicators. Talking Upper Arm Blood Pressure Meter is also available. Talking Oral Medical Thermometer (or page 57 in catalog): Talking oral medical thermometer delivers spoken results in 8 seconds and can give results in Fahrenheit or Celsius. Speaks in 6 languages, including English and Spanish. Large digital display has .75" high digits. Voice can toggle off. Talking Scale- English, Spanish, German (or page 58 in catalog): Attractive tempered glass scale has a 440-pound capacity and can speak results in 5 languages, including English, Spanish, and German. Results can be reported in pounds or kilograms.

Hearing

We sell a wide variety of hearing products for the deaf and hard of hearing, including alerting systems, amplified phones and accessories, clocks and timers, TTY products and much more. New items in this category include: Tactile Talking Clock with Bedshaker (or page 73 in catalog): This clock speaks the time and date in a male voice with adjustable volume. Clock face opens to reveal a tactile analog face. Time can also be spoken on demand. Includes a wired pillow shaker. Alarm combinations of vibration, audio, or both. Vibrating Dual Alarm Clock (or page 75 in catalog): Place this vibrating dual alarm travel clock tableside or under your pillow to ensure that you awaken, on time, as needed. Set up to 2 alarms to buzz, vibrate, or both. Clarity Big Button Phone with 35dB Amplification (or page 82 in catalog): A terrific phone for both the hard of hearing and those with low vision. Moderate amplification combined with large, back lit high contrast buttons make it a great solution for many.

Household (or Daily Living Aids on website)

ILA sells a wide variety of daily living aids, including durable medical equipment, kitchen and cooking aids, safety and security products, reachers, and much more. New items in this category include: George Foreman Grill (or page 47 in the catalog): The George Foreman Grill features a non-stick surface for cooking burgers, pork chops, and virtually any food fast and evenly. The simplicity of the design makes it an excellent cooking aid for visually impaired users. Cooking for yourself is easy with few hassles and pans. Grease will cook off the food and drip into a tray below for a healthier meal. Chefman 3.5L Air Fryer (or page 47 in catalog): Cooks food with a crispy fried texture, without deep frying. Cook, bake, roast and “fry” with an adjustable temperature range of 175°-400°F. Food cooks quickly and safely, self-contained in the cooking basket. Easy to use manual temperature dial and 60-minute timer. Can cook from frozen. Basket is dishwasher safe. ScanMarker Air (or page 50 in the catalog): The ScanMarker Air allows you to scan a single line of text using the ScanMarker "pen" and send that text to either your smartphone or computer, using either Bluetooth or USB connectivity. You can scan either directly into the ScanMarker app or to an external application such as Word. Within the ScanMarker app, scanned text can be read back to you, without the need for a voiceover function. Scanned text can automatically be translated into one of 40+ languages.

Mobility

We carry a wide selection of mobility products for independent living, including walking canes, rollators and walkers, and support and transfer aids. New items in this category include: Offset Handle Cane (or page 63 in catalog): Handle is equipped with a soft foam grip. The offset handle centers user’s weight over the strongest part of the cane. Adjustable handle height from 30” to 39.” Cane has a 300-pound weight capacity. Padded Bath Safety Seat with Backrest (or page 66 in catalog): Has an adjustable seat height from 14”-18.” The seat dimensions are 16” wide and 11.5” deep. Weight capacity is 300 pounds. Vertical Bath Bar (or page 66 in catalog): Bar extends 14” above tub edge to provide extra stability when getting in & out of tub. Made of steel construction with vinyl coating and protective rubber cushions. Fits tub walls up to 6” wide and secures to tub in minutes.

Vision

ILA sells a wide variety of low vision aids, including magnifiers, electronic magnifiers, sunglasses, magnifying lamps, talking products, reading glasses, and more. New items in this category include: Travel Size Atomic Talking Alarm Clock (or page 6 in the catalog): Setting buttons "lock" after setting so they don't get pushed during travel. Unit speaks the time, date, and day. Provides verbal feedback during setting. Mercury 6 Electronic Magnifier with OCR (or page 19 in the catalog): You get 2 fabulous devices in one with the Mercury electronic magnifier and OCR (Optical Character Reading) reader. Use its touch-based 5.5" HD screen to have magnification from 3X to 40X while in live mode. Use touch or voice commands to control magnification or color settings. Switch to OCR scanning with one touch. OttLite Cobra Color Changing LED Lamp (or page 27 in the catalog): Color changing LED desk lamp offers 3 levels of lighting, from warm light to cool light to natural daylight (3,000K, 4,000K and 5,000K.). Select the color that is best suited for your needs. Dimming feature controls brightness, with a maximum of 500 lumens. Flexible arm and head adjust from 24" to 9" in height. Built in USB port on the base is great for charging personal devices like smartphones and tablets. If you are unable to find a specific item or have a new idea for something we may not yet carry, please contact us. We are available by phone(1-800-537-2118) and through our contact us page from the main website. To see what’s currently on sale at ILA please sign up for our newsletter, view our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, or visit our website.