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- “My mother loved the TIC service for many years! It brought her joy.” - “Thank you for the weekend convention programming.” - “I am a huge and enthusiastic fan of TIC!” - “I am an occupational therapist and give information about your wonderful service to clients in the community. You are a great resource!”
Our Listeners
Our Listeners
There are 150,000 persons in Massachusetts who are unable to read the printed word. This can be due to low vision or blindness, or the mobility impairments of advanced age, injury, birth defects, or disease. Among blind citizens, the American Foundation for the Blind estimates that there are 77,000 blind residents over the age of 75, and 30,000 over the age of 85. TIC’s service is available to anyone who needs it.
The Talking Information Center (TIC) treats its consumers with dignity. TIC involves listeners in program decisions through a statewide Listener Advisory Committee and ongoing listener surveys. TIC is dedicated to educating the public-at-large about the positive contributions that are made by those with visual impairments, every day, in every segment of our society.
Listening Audience
- TIC serves over 23,000 elderly and disabled listeners statewide.
- The greatest challenges facing people with visual impairment are literacy issues, maintaining independence, unemployment (70%) and paralyzing isolation.
- Other listeners may suffer from AIDS, Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, stroke, paralysis or other physical illness that makes holding a publication or turning pages impossible.
- Visual loss is the number-one health problem facing an aging society. Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the number-one cause of blindness.
- The potential number of people needing this service in Massachusetts is estimated at 150,000.
- Only 5% of the blind population can read Braille.
- There are no daily newspapers printed in Braille.
