Audiobooks provide more than entertainment for many people. For the blind and visually impaired, audiobooks can also provide a colorful world for their imagination. In the same way those with sight are brought into another world where their own cares and disabilities no longer matter, blind individuals can experience a journey to a land where everyone and no one has sight; a place both full of color and completely invisible. In America, it’s often easy to access audiobooks to your taste. We even have special audiobook players for the visually impaired. However, in other countries, such as Taiwan and Turkey, there is less handicap awareness and the blind are often left stranded in their own worlds of darkness.
In Turkey, people with disabilities are often overlooked. Neither educational systems nor building construction are built with the handicapped in mind. People who can not see don’t have access to vital learning materials that are readily available in America. Audiobooks, however, are changing that. Not only are they helping the visually impaired to see in a whole new way, they’re giving them the tools they need to improve their education and livelihood. In Taiwan, the story is similar. The blind can find themselves lost in the dark – something no one wants to experience. But often, because of audiobooks and materials for the handicapped that are becoming more and more available, their stories end happily. No matter where you live – America, Turkey, or Taiwan – or what situation you’re in, audiobooks can bring you light.