Care Partners
Family and Friends
Often care partners or caregivers are the adult child, spouse, or family member of a loved one experiencing vision loss. This is a very stressful time. Roles and abilities are shifting as you deal with the fear and uncertainty surrounding a loved one’s vision loss brought on by vision loss in someone you love. In addition to understanding the diagnosis, navigating medical appointments, and adjusting to changes in daily life, many people have anxiety and depression due to vision loss. You are a champion for your loved one every day, but this can be hard on you also.
Many Care Partners Find Themselves
- Taking on new responsibilities and roles
- Learning new ways of interacting
- Implementing changes to the home and environment
- Noticing a tendency to intervene/assist for the sake of speed, safety, ease
- Seeking and participating in supportive resources
- Adjusting expectations
- Honoring own feelings of loss
- Accepting help when offered
- Hope Vision Foundation is Here for You Through this Journey
Learn more in our blog.
- Find resources and tools.
- Pre-order our Workbook.
- Professional Caregivers
Due to the growing elderly population, we also have a growing number of caregivers–both in home care providers and residential providers. Often there is no formal training on recognizing and caring for low vision or blind patients and clients. You always do your best, but Hope Vision is here to make it easier for you by providing information, workshops with experts, online continuing education, and our handy guidebook.
Patients
Vision Loss is One of the Most Feared Health Conditions
Throughout our lives, we rely on our vision to navigate the world, to work, to play and to socialize. Visiting the doctor and learning that you have low vision is scary, and like many serious diagnoses, you may arrive home with more questions than answers.
It is common to struggle to find the tools, resources and support needed to continue our normal daily activities. It is also common for people to spend months or years feeling anxious or depressed before getting the support needed. This is often due to the many emotions experienced with vision loss before feeling ready to seek help and adapt your life to living with vision loss.
Regardless of how much vision you have, vision rehabilitation has been shown to improve quality of life. By engaging early with low vision resources and vision rehabilitation you will find more success and find ways to live your best life!
Most people with low vision are age 65 or older. The leading causes of vision loss among older adults include age-related macular degeneration, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and strokes. With the aging of the population, the prevalence of these diseases and conditions is on the rise. (NEI) When you have vision loss, vision rehabilitation is critical just like physical therapy after a joint injury or surgery. Learn more about the conditions leading to vision loss though our blog.
New vision loss? Get our worksheet and take control of your vision.
Worsening vision? Get our checklist and get connected to the resources you need.
Healthcare Providers
Recognize
Low Vision is visual acuity less than 20/40, visual field loss, decreased contrast sensitivity, or vision loss that impacts activities of daily living. Blindness is a visual acuity of 20/200 in the better seeing eye or visual field of less than 20 degrees.
Ask
- What did you like to do prior to this diagnosis that you have stopped doing?
- What is your understanding of the diagnosis?
- How are the changes in your vision affecting you?
- What have you tried so far that’s worked?
- What do you wish others understood about your vision loss?
- Who is available if you need to talk or ask for help?
- Do you have interest in trying some alternative ways to manage daily tasks?
- What strengths have you discovered?
Listen
Challenges might include difficulty with reading, falls, recognizing faces, activities of daily living, driving, or withdrawal and social isolation.
Read more.
Educate
Consider vision rehabilitation as part of the care plan, not as a result of treatment failure. Vision rehabilitation has been shown to help people with vision loss impacting ADLs and quality of life. Early intervention is associated with better results.