Items to Help People Who Are Visually Impaired

Sight is a vital human sense that everyone treasures yet one that not everybody is so lucky to have. Whether it is a birth defect, the result of disease or trauma or merely the effect of age, the loss of sight is something that many people will encounter at some stage of their lives. There is a large support community and various aids that help make life easier for people who are visually impaired.

Spectacles

• Getting an eye test is often free at an optician's shop and many sight problems can be easily corrected by the use of spectacles. As sight deteriorates with age, people often require spectacles in their later years. These may be needed for certain purposes such as reading or driving, or they may be needed all the time. Specific spectacles, with lenses tailored to the wearer's eyes, will be prescribed to enable the user to maintain adequate levels of vision.

Mobility Guides

• Blind people use canes in order to help them "feel" their way around. Whether they are in the house or outside, those with visual impairment can use canes to feel for objects in front of them to ensure they don't walk into things or trip over anything. These canes are often lightweight and can be folded up, so they can be put in a pocket or easily held in the hand.

  Many visually-impaired people also have specially-trained guide dogs to help them find their way around. These dogs are highly trained to navigate their owner through crowded streets and across busy roads. The owner needs to know where he is going, but the dog is essentially the "pilot" that takes him there.

Communication Aids

• Traditionally, Braille was used to enable visually-impaired people to read and write. Modern technology has paved the way for more advanced communication aids to be used. Those with partial sight can use high-intensity lamps to make it possible to see things more clearly when reading or writing. Computer software enables users with poor vision to enlarge text size, as well as to use human voice simulators that "speak" to the user.

Magnifiers

• These tools are useful for reading but can also be used to look at maps, pictures, photos or other images. Illuminated magnifiers have a magnifying glass that enlarges the image and a light that makes the image brighter and easier to distinguish. There are various types of magnifiers, such as handheld ones and magnifier lamps.

Specialized Clocks, Watches and Phones

• Clocks with large numbers and hands are widely available online for those with low vision. Braille watches or talking watches that announce the time at the push of a button are also available. Touch-tone phones with large numbers are another available aid. These devices all enable users to maintain their independence when it comes to simple things like telling the time or making a phone call.