Whether we face vision loss due to Glaucoma or any other eye condition, we want to keep abreast of the latest research on how to treat recurring difficulties that arise. This is true both for us who are totally blind and for those of us who have low-vision. After all, those treatments can and do change. Technology improves our ability to view color contrasts and apps like Be My Eyes allow us to gain help with locating objects at home and when shopping at the store.
In any process of adapting to our environment, we must give ourselves a learning curb. Yes, the technology will be there and we do rightly have expectations that it will make life at home and abroad easier to handle. But, whether working with low tech solutions like different shaded carpeting or magnifiers to read medicine bottle lables, the sudden change hitting us will require us to regain our focus.
Brighter light may make our head spin or make us blink uncomfortably when adjusting to colors we haven’t noticed in quite a while. Conversely, we may get frustrated if we haven’t obtained some corrective measures as our vision blurs or diminishes literally overnight. The hues of blue or red on a shirt may make it less distinct from a blouse or sweater hanging nearby in the same closet. Buses at busy intersections may look a different color altogether and we may have to start listening for the automated voice or a driver’s announcement to know what line is pulling up in front of us.
As part of keeping up to date with new methods of adapting, Vision Aware covers the gammet, which is why we refer to them quite frequently on this blog. For more technical research on low-vision studies, you can read articles from the Journal of Vision Impairment and Blindness. Don’t forget about the books that cover the tried and true solutions for Making Life More Livable, whose 2015 revision updates the thirty year old classic.
Boldly Blind 