Retirement News : Seniors : Program provides services to visually impaired seniors

Program provides services to visually impaired seniors

Date Added: 21-07-2005

Visually impaired West Virginians now have the opportunity to become more independent and break free from the hassel of simply not being able to see clearly. A new program developed by the Center for Excellence in Disabilities at West Virginia University provides in-home services to the visually impaired who are age 55 and over. VISIONS, which stands for Visually Impaired Seniors In-home Outreach and Networking Services, will provide participants with independent living plans and low vision aids to help with everday activities. Many visually impaired individuals struggle to see while cooking, cleaning and watching TV, and live their lives in a hazy blur. The goal of VISIONS is to "help these individuals achieve their desired level of personal independence," according to the center. VISIONS provides an avenue to help improve the public's knowledge of the problems faced by older adults with visual impairments by holding workshops and meetings with community groups and demonstrating low vision assistive technology. To be eligible for the program, your best corrected vision must be 20/70 or worse in both eyes and you must also be struggling with daily living due to your vision. If your vision is preventing you from being gainfully employed, you can also qualify. Low vision aids, such as magnifiers, large print items like check and diabetic registers, address books and large button phones and adaptive equipment for the kitchen are just a few more services offered through VISIONS. VISIONS enrollees will also be given skills training to allow for more independence in daily living, home management, orientation and mobility and communication skills, such as writing guides, Braille and organizing information on cassettes. Counseling is also offered to help with older adults who are adjusting to decreased vision. For More Information: http://www.newstribune.info/articles/2005/07/20/news/news4.txt