How to Live a Great Life with Vision Impairment

What does it mean to live with a vision impairment? Having a vision impairment rarely means no vision at all. Individuals living with visual impairments, however, will have decreased vision to the point of making it difficult to engage in work, leisure, or social environments. According to VisAbility (2019), there are four common conditions that cause three quarters of vision impairments in Australians:

• AGE RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION is the leading cause of vision impairment in individuals over 40 in Australia. It is the vision that allows us to see straight ahead which is affected, causing difficulties with reading, writing, looking at detailed objects and the perception of colour in objects. It is common to experience visual distortion and dark or empty spaces in the visual field. There are two types of macular degeneration; dry eye or wet eye, however, dry eye is the most common type. Dry eye age related macular degeneration is the slow loss of vision at the centre of the eye.
• CATARACTS cause clouding of the clear lens of the eye which leads to blurred vision, glare sensitivity, distortion, or double vision.
• DIABETIC RETINOPATHY is caused by damage to the blood vessels in the retina, which is located at the back of the eye. This damage is caused because of diabetes and creates blurred or blotchy vision, making it challenging to see others faces.
• GLAUCOMA is especially common when there is a family history of eye disease. Glaucoma affects the nerve which connects our eye to the brain, causing a loss of peripheral vision (side vision), blurred vision and difficulties adjusting to darker environments.

So, what is out there for me? There are endless aids designed to increase print size, contrast, and lighting, supporting visual impairments. These can be small enough to fit in handbags, making them easily portable for use out in the community, or there are options for larger desktop or stand items for use in the home. The following is a short list of just some of the visual aids available (click on the links for more information):

UV shields/fit-overs: As mentioned above, some visual impairments cause glare sensitivity, and these visual aids are designed to protect the eyes from the glare of sunlight. There are multiple colours and protection percentages available and are designed to be worn over prescription eye wear.

Tactile (touch) markings: These come in the form of paint or stickers and can be placed around the home making it easier to locate commonly used controls. For example, they could be placed on the “on” or “volume” control of the TV remove.

Watches/clocks: These may look like a standard watch, however when they are pressed, they will read the time aloud. This makes it easier to manage medications, appointments, or social commitments. There are different options available, including a neck pendant.  Click here for a link to clocks.

Talking products: There are multiple options available here such as bathroom scales, kitchen scales, temperature readings, calculators, or alarms. This allows for continued engagement in many daily activities including cooking, leisure and/or self-care. Click on the links to learn more.

Magnifiers: There are many options here to improve independence in multiple activities, for example reading books or the newspaper and making a phone call from an address book.

Other examples of available aids include large print calendars making it easier to keep track of appointments and daily activities, writing pads with darker lines that stand out making it easier to see, large button landline and mobile phones to allow for independence in making phone calls and different computer software that can magnify or read the print aloud.

Please refer to the following references or seek guidance from your treating Occupational Therapist for further information on visual impairments and the different aids available:

1. The Royal Society of the Blind 2021, ‘Royal Society for the Blind’, RSB, <https://www.rsb.org.au/>.
2. Vision Australia 2021, ‘Vision Australia: Blindness. Low vision. Opportunity’, Vision Australia, <https://www.visionaustralia.org/>.
3. VisAbility 2021, ‘What are the most common eye conditions?’, Visibility, <https://www.visability.com.au/empathy-library/step-into-my-shoes/vision-impairment/1743-2/>.