Please be patient with these seemingly obnoxious TV ad-type questions for just a moment. We are not selling anything here... we just care about you!

Do your eyes hurt after several hours at the computer screen? Do you have astigmatism or merely wish you could see your software or operating system better? Can you envision Windows speaking to you instead of showing you microscopic icons and text commands that drive you silly? Do you wish you could personalize all contrasts and so forth? Are you getting headaches, or on an even more serious note, have you lost work because you couldn't see where something was on the screen? Has your child?

Do you have a child with vision problems? Impaired vision, low vision, and blind children have few realistic options to read. When our son was almost 10, he had been tested multiple times as years went by for impaired vision, learning disabilities, psychological trauma, and anything else we could dream up to check for - but he still could not read text without copious frustration and rebellious behavior! He was at his wit's end, and so were we. Completing yet another round of psych evaluations and personality disorder exams, we headed for our last resort: one more eye test. The doctor, as before, stated that Andre's eyes were difficult to assess. He could not get a consistent or accurate reading. We had heard the identical comment several times, prayed, and agreed this time we would vigorously request a referral to a retina surgeon for consultation and second opinion.

It was a long and daunting task to get an appointment, but that appointment was in complete silence and lasted roughly 45 seconds! The consultant snapped his light off abruptly, put it in his pocket, moved his apprising, piercing gaze from our son's eyes toward ours with a serious countenance and remarked flatly in his most gentle voice, "We have a definite problem here."

Those words were the beginning of an odyssey for us which surely you don't have time to hear, but our God is great, so let me submit to His will and put this succinctly:

If your child can't see very well, please recognize how vitally important computer use is for our children today. Not just for their homework, school work, or even their future, but to be productive people in life! If your parents can't see very well any longer due to age, ditto.

YOU, my dear, NEED ZOOMTEXT.

We can discuss clone programs, prices, scrolling around the monitor, or whatever you'd like to bring up. We have "tried it all, baby"! There is no comparison, so save those concerned but ill-directed efforts, get your little ones their help now instead of later, and praise yourself for ending your child's tribulation. Then you can spend your efforts helping your child get settings just how he needs them, and he can be on his way to reading happily!

PS - If your child is under the care of the state blind department or undergoing evaluation by a qualified doctor, I do understand Zoomtext may help you obtain their product best meeting your child's needs even if you start with a 30-day demo, without regard to your ability to contribute. If you are in need of Zoomtext, call and ask for help. If it doesn't work out, speak to your child's blind counselor. One phone call may make a difference



-- Product Review by: Karen Houston, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine