2007.33.21

Wide angle mobility light (WAML)

Oceanic Products

Black plastic cylindrical case with open handle scrwed to top; ribbed blue plastic lens ring secures General Electric 12v flootlight; blue three-position switch under handle; knurled black aluminum screw cap on reverse over a battery charging jack; two screw eyes in handle for spring hooks on black nylon webbing harness, adjusted with velco and black plastic buckles; cast into lens ring, "OCEANIC PRODUCTS".

H-9.5 W-5.125 D-9 inches

ca. 1995

Found in the AER Bledsoe Archives at the Maryland School for the Blind. Original source unknown. Bright hand held mobility lights were found to be useful for some people whose visual impairments resulted in effective "night blindness." Lights came in a variety of shapes and sizes with large units such at this at the large end of the scale. WAMLs were particularly useful for people with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), whose condition affected the rods, the cells in the retina that assist in night vision. The main drawback of the WAML was its weight and size. This one started out as a scuba dive light before adaptation.

Gift of Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired