Medford (OR) Mail Tribune profiles Karen Barlow, a legally blind, independent businesswoman who teaches computer skills to the visually impaired in the Rogue Valley. Barlow's business, Barlow's Computer Training, has contracts with several organizations, including the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics.

The Mail Tribune adds, Barlow is one of 50 vendors demonstrating adaptive technologies and other aids to employment at this week's "'Options for Success' conference.

Sponsored by the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, the seminar's theme is "attitudes for success." Advocacy, referral, work-incentive programs and inspirational speeches fill the sessions, which began Tuesday morning.

The goal is to improve the self-esteem and promotional skills of disabled persons eager to join the workforce, said Kristi Hyman of OVRS.

Posted in: Blindness, Rehabilitation, Technology, vision