Adapting to reduced vision from age-related macular degeneration
Why is it important to make changes and learn to use vision aids and other adaptive technologies?
Although using vision aids and learning to use adaptive technologies may not improve your vision, they can help you to make the best use of your remaining vision and can make living with reduced vision much easier and safer.
Your eye care doctor will be able to suggest specific changes you can make. These may include:
- Getting new prescriptions for corrective lenses, such as eyeglasses. Although lenses do not treat or restore vision loss from AMD, corrective lenses can sometimes help you make better use of your remaining vision.
- Learning how to compensate for blind spots and other defects in your visual field. If you have lost central vision from AMD, your doctor or a low-vision specialist may be able to help you learn to better use other areas of your vision and to focus your attention on objects that are not at the centre of your vision. These techniques may take some time to learn and do not work for everyone.
Learning to use low-vision aids and adaptive technologies may help you make the best use of your remaining vision.
Low-vision aids
Low-vision aids are special lenses or electronic systems that make images appear larger. They include:
- Magnifying lenses. These may range from simple hand-held lenses for reading to special eyeglasses or magnifiers much like the lenses that jewellers use. Some magnifying lenses have a built-in light for better illumination, and some are mounted on stands so that your hands are free. For distance vision, small hand-held telescopes or lenses that clip onto your eyeglasses may be used.
- Video enlargement systems. These are electronic systems that include a closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) or video camera that can transmit an enlarged image of print, pictures, or other items onto a screen where it is easier for you to see. These systems can also sometimes adjust brightness and contrast to make the enlarged image easier to see. Some video systems have both the camera and screens built into a head-mounted device that looks like a pair of large goggles, which allows the person to move around while using them.
- Computer display and enlargement systems. Large screens and software that enlarge print, pictures, and other visual information are available. Computers also allow you to alter brightness, contrast, colour, and other parts of the display to make it easier to see what is on the screen. Computers are sometimes used with video enlargement systems.
Adaptive technology
Some devices or products may not necessarily help you see better, but they help you perform common tasks that may be more difficult when you have impaired vision. Examples of adaptive technology include:
- Large-print items. Books, newspapers, magazines, medicine labels, bank checks, and playing cards are often available in large print. Many people with low vision also use recordings of books and other printed materials.
- Special papers and writing aids. These may be something as simple as paper with extra-bold lines that help you write information on checks in the proper spaces.
- Adaptive appliances. These are common household items that have been adapted for use by people with low vision. Items include clocks and watches with electronic voices that announce the time or clocks, telephones, and calculators with extra-large buttons and numerals that can be seen more easily. Kitchen appliances such as ovens are also available with similar features.
- Speech software for computer systems. Special software allows computers to recognize spoken commands or to convert dictated speech into text. Speech synthesis software allows computers to speak text and read documents.
- Optical character recognition (OCR) software. OCR systems allow you to scan documents and convert them into computer text that can be enlarged for display or read aloud by a speech synthesis program.
Some of these measures are easy to build into your life. Others require significant changes in the way that you do things at home, at work, or elsewhere. Some measures, such as adaptive technologies that use computers or other electronic systems, can be costly or may take time to learn to use properly. You will need to decide which ones will work best for you. If you are legally blind, assistance may be available through the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. For more information, go the the organization's Web site at www.cnib.ca or call (416) 486-2500.
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A new prescription for corrective lenses can help me live with low vision.
Adaptive technology can improve my vision.
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| Author: | Alison Allen Robin Parks, MS | Last Updated: October 8, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine Carol L. Karp, MD - Ophthalmology Donald Sproule, MD, CM, CCFP, FCFP - Family Medicine | |
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