Inside Hadley's Historic Building Is The Epicenter Of Technology And Distance Learning For People Facing Vision Loss From Across The Country And Around The World

CHICAGO, July 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- For more than a century many have known Hadley as a top charitable organization serving those with visual impairments. Hadley's iconic building, resembling a mid-20^th century school, has been nestled in a Chicago suburban neighborhood for the past 60 years.

Yet few know Hadley was never a "school" in the traditional sense, with no classrooms, chalkboards or school buses shuttling children back and forth. Even fewer know the early history of Hadley which was founded as a correspondence school in 1920 providing braille lessons delivered by mail through the U.S. Postal Service.  

By the early 1960's Hadley was exploring new approaches to distance learning, producing plastic braille books and audio recordings all from its suburban location, for distribution across the country. In the ensuing decades, Hadley added film and video production to its array of media channels to enhance the learning experience.

With the advent of the internet in the 1980's, e-learning quickly became a staple of remote education. Leaders at Hadley point out that they had a 100-year head start on the distance learning phenomenon. "We have been engaging with learners remotely for a century, there are a lot of best practices we pioneered, particularly in the technology realm, to create personalized learning opportunities that empower those with vision loss to thrive at home, at work and in their communities," said Julie Tye President and CEO of Hadley. 

Today Hadley, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is the nation's leader in distance and online learning for those with visual impairments. Behind Hadley's historic exterior is an impressive array of state-of-the-art media production technology, including a digital recording studio and advanced sound and editing suites where they produce videos, podcasts, braille booklets, and online workshops for thousands of visually impaired learners each year from all 50 states and more than 100 countries, all at no cost.

In recent years Hadley has seen an explosion in the number of those who could benefit from its help. As life expectancy rates increase, and baby boomers age, it's projected that the number of older Americans facing vision loss will double by 2050, with macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy as the leading causes for vision loss among aging seniors. 

To learn more about Hadley's history and the free resources available for those with vision loss, click here.  

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www.hadley.edu