MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR VISION

Is it difficult for you to read the newspaper, see price tags or set dials? Are you bothered by glare? If you answered “yes” to any of these, making the most of the vision you have is “SmartSight.” You may benefit from tips about lighting and from the tools, techniques and resources of vision rehabilitation.

The Experience of Vision Loss
It always comes as a shock to learn that your vision loss is irreversible. Acknowledging the anger and frustration of new vision loss and getting help working through these feelings are important. Pushing these feelings aside can result in depression, noted by fatigue and lack of interest. Address this problem with treatment and counseling, and make the changes needed to stay active.

You Are Not Alone
We all need support in times of loss. A good support group helps you realize that your value to yourself and others does not depend on your vision. You are worth what it takes to make the most of the vision you have.

Making the Most of Remaining Vision- Making Things Brighter
Improve Lighting- Let natural light shine on your work. Use a gooseneck lamp with a 45-65 W indoor floodlight or full spectrum bulb. Carry a penlight.
Reduce Glare- Indoors, cover polished wood tables and shiny counters; wear yellow or plum clip-on or fit over glasses. Outdoors, try dark yellow, amber or plum glasses and a visor.
Increase Contrast- Use black ink, gel or felt tip pen instead of a ball point pen. Put coffee in a white cup, oatmeal in a black bowl, white soap in a dark soap dish. Use plain tablecloths so items don’t get lost in the pattern.
Move Closer- Sit close to the TV, and up front at performances.
Enlarge- Get large checks and large-print playing cards, bingo cards, cross-words, phone dials, TV remotes, calendars, keyboards and books. The computer and internet can have the font enlarged for easier viewing.
Magnify- Magnifiers come in many powers and types, suited to different people and different tasks: hand-held types for price tags and menus, for example, and stand-types and CCTVs (closed circuit TVs) for sentences.

Finding and Using Your “Next-Best Spot”: Scotomas and PRLs
“Scotoma” means blind spot. The Preferred Retinal Locus (PRL) is the “next-best spot” when there is a blind spot in the central vision. It may be on one side or above or below the original “center” of your vision. To find yours, imagine that the object you want to see is in the center of a large clock face. Move your eyes along the clock numbers and notice when you see the center object most clearly. Use that same viewing direction for other objects.

Organizing
Separate black clothes from blue. Designate spots for the items in your refrigerator, and for your keys and wallet. Minimize clutter.

Labeling
Mark thermostats and dials with high contrast markers from a fabric store; mark medications with markers or rubber bands; safety-pin clothing labels.

Substituting: Let’s hear it for ears!
Get books and magazines on tape free on loan. Also check for talking watches, clocks, calculators, glucometers and computers.

Participating
You are loved because you are you, not for your eyes. Don’t isolate yourself. Keep playing golf; your friends will watch your ball. Keep your social group or volunteer job. It might require lighting, large print cards, a magnifier, or a ride. ASK. There is nothing independent about staying home to avoid asking for help.

Driving
If vision loss threatens your driver’s license, do not despair. Seek creative solutions. First, ask your eye doctor if you are still visually legal to drive. To personally assess your driving, ask yourself: Do cars appear unexpectedly? Do drivers honk at you? Are you having fender-benders? If you answer “no,” you are probably safe. Pick your times and routes carefully and consider yellow, amber or plum sunglasses for glare. If you answer “yes,” consider the following transportation alternatives:

Transportation Alternatives: Creative Solutions
Use the many transportation alternatives that exist so you can continue going places. Hire a driver, share your car, arrange for a taxi, buy gas for a friend who drives, use senior and public transit systems. Try a three-wheel bike or battery-powered scooter at walking speed. Walking is wonderful if you are able. Set the pace for your peers by using these alternatives now. The future will offer even more solutions.

For Family and Friends
Your loved one with vision loss needs to be empowered to do as much as possible independently. Recognize the great challenge of vision loss, but don’t take over their tasks. Instead, help identify the adjustments they need to make to maximize their independence, and trade tasks as appropriate.

• A low vision evaluation by an ophthalmologist or optometrist
• Prescription for devices. Are some devices loaned before purchase, or returnable?
• Rehabilitation training: reading, writing, shopping, cooking.
• Training for lighting and glare?
• Home assessment?
• Mobility?
• Resources and support groups?
• Are services free, billed to Medicare or other insurances? If not, what is the charge? (Note: Medicare covers most services, but not devices.)

U.S. National Library Service: 800-424-8567, www.loc.gov/nls
Canadian National Institute for the Blind Library: 800-268-8818, www.cnib.ca

American Printing House for the Blind: 800-223-1839, www.aph.org
Choice Magazines (bimonthly articles, unabridged): 888-724-6423

Large print books and checks:
Books on loan, by mail, free: National Association for Visually Handicapped (NAVH): 212-889-3141, www.navh.org

Large-print checks and registers (from your bank or check catalog)

Large print materials- crosswords, bingo cards, address books, calendars:

NAVH: 212-889-3141, www.navh.org
Eschenbach: www.eschenbach.com
LS&S: 800-468-4789, www.lssgroup.com
Gold Violin: 877-648-8400, www.goldviolin.com (go to “20/20 vision”)

Association for Macular Diseases: 212-605-3719, www.macula.org
Macular Degeneration Partnership: 888-430-9898, www.amd.org
MD Support: www.mdsupport.org. Also video: Learning to Live with Low Vision
National Eye Health Education Program of National Institutes of Health: Offers free materials, e.g. What You Should Know About Low Vision, also in Spanish www.nei.nih.gov.

Making Life More Livable, M. Duffy, NY: American Foundation for the Blind, 2001; 800-232-3044.
Macular Degeneration: The Complete Guide to Saving and Maximizing Your Sight, L. Mogk, MD, & M. Mogk, PhD, NY: Ballantine 2003; available in bookstores and at www.amazon.com.
Overcoming Macular Degeneration: A Guide to Seeing Beyond the Clouds, S. Solomon, MD, & J. Solomon, NY: Avon, 2000; available in bookstores and at www.amazon.com.

Veterans: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: 877-222-8387, www.va.gov/blindrehab.
Everyone: Contact SmartSight’s parner VisionConnection for directory of services at www.visionconnection.org. In the “Help Near You” section, search under both “low vision services” and “vision rehabilitation,” or call 800-829-0500, and ask the questions listed under Vision Rehabilitation above.

For more detailed information on low vision, rehabilitation and coping with vision loss, visit the American Academy of Ophthalmology web site, www.aao.org/aao/patient_ed/smartsight.cfm.