Health Secrets	UPDATED: Friday, December 08, 2006
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Looking for low- or high-tech vision gadgets

Posted on Monday, November 27, 2006

Both are available to help your vision problems

By Wendy J. Meyeroff and Lisa Rademakers
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

“Vision loss is very common for people over 65,” says Betsy Zaborowski, Psy.D., executive director of the National Federation of the Blind’s (NFB) Jernigan Institute. According to the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), 10 million Americans are either blind or visually impaired. And every 7 minutes, someone loses all or part of their sight.

Among older adults, it is estimated at least 1.8 million have vision problems that create some difficulty doing basic chores, like dressing, cooking, paying bills, and fun things like dating, traveling, and volunteer work. These vision problems also put them at greater risk of falls and fractures. Vision problems can include something temporary and correctable, like cataracts, as well as more permanent conditions like diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and macular degeneration.

If you have low vision, you may experience any or all of these problems:

• Blurred vision, which can be caused by cataracts, scars on the cornea, or diabetic retinopathy;

• Loss of central or center vision, frequently caused by macular degeneration;

• Loss of peripheral or side vision, most commonly caused by glaucoma or stroke.

Your eye care professional can tell you more about these and other vision-impairing conditions. For now, here are some devices—both low and high-tech—that help you maintain your independence.

At the more basic level
There are a wide range of devices that require little, if any, special training. “Consider a radio. You can take it with you to the ball park and listen to the game,” says Zaborowski. Here are a few other ideas:

• Magnifiers—
Magnifying devices include those that look like jewelry and are worn around your neck; small hand-held pocket magnifiers; spectacles with magnifiers, and ones that fit over a printed page. Magnifying make-up mirrors are another tool.

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• Telescopes—
For distant vision needs. You can get hand-held devices for quick reading, like glancing at a sign. For more lengthy needs, like watching a movie, you can purchase a scope that clips onto eyeglasses (which you can remove for hand-held needs) or get bioptic glasses, ones that have the scope embedded. The latter work like bifocals, providing both long and near vision.

• Writing aids—
Pens that write in especially bold ink, and templates that fit over your check register so you know where the lines are.

• Audio adapters—
“Audio devices, like audio clocks and watches, and talking pill bottles, are among the most popular options we see people using,” says John Paré, a spokesperson for NFB.

“Books on tape are a great way to make the transition as your vision fails,” adds Zaborowski. There are over 100,000 such books available, and not just the latest bestsellers. “There are textbooks, histories, science publications, and more,” says Paré.

Besides companies which charge for their services, the National Library Service provides books, magazines, musical scores, and more for free to people who qualify. Contact 202-707-5100 or nls@loc.gov.

• NFB-Newsline—
“After not being able to drive a car, the next thing people with low vision tell us they miss most is reading the daily newspaper,” says Paré. This service—free to those who qualify and who have a password—reads you the newspaper over the phone (the number is tollfree). “Just call up and pick which paper (or even the section of the paper, like the New York Times’ business section) you want and you’ll hear it,” he says. To register for this free service, call 866-504-7300.

• Miscellaneous tools—
Includes self-threading needles,large print items like magazines, rulers, and decks of cards, and a pill cutter with built-in magnifier.

And on the high-tech side …
Computers and vision aids related to them have become a big factor in helping people with low vision. Among your options:

• Screen magnifiers—
Some magnifiers fit over your screen. The Information Technology (IT) department at Charlestown, an Ericksonbuilt and managed community in Maryland, is getting a software program that magnifies text and also has a speech component.

• CCTVs—
Magnification systems based on closed circuit cameras. Used to produce an enlarged image of text on a TV or computer monitor.

• Screen readers—
Reads aloud what’s on your screen.

• Braille items—
Keyboards with Braille pads, and Braille embossers which provide Braille printouts, are two examples.

One of the most talkedabout recent innovations is the Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader. Whereas most read-aloud technology can only be used in the home or office, you can take the reader with you, to restaurants for example. “You hold the device over your menu and it takes a picture. Then it reads the menu to you,” says Zaborowski. At $3,500, it’s not inexpensive right now, but the price is expected to come down as more people start using it. For more information on the Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader call 877-708-1724.

There are numerous other options available to you. The NFB has a good online store (www.nfb.org) and the Association of Vision Science Librarians has an excellent set of resources online at http://www.uab.edu/lister/lowvision/.