Low Vision Support for the Visually Impaired
Visual impairments can significantly impact daily activities and overall quality of life, but you can regain independence and enjoy a fuller life with the right support and solutions. Our expert low vision services at Benjamin Optical Staten Island are designed to meet your needs, providing personalized care and advanced solutions to maximize your remaining vision.
The Definition & Causes of Low Vision
Low vision is a condition where patients' eyesight cannot be fully corrected with glasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery, affecting their everyday tasks. Causes of low vision can vary, but they include:
Age-related macular degeneration
Glaucoma
Diabetic retinopathy
Inherited eye conditions
We recognize the importance of addressing this challenge head-on, offering comprehensive services to help manage low vision effectively.
Our Low Vision Services: A Path to Improved Vision
Our approach to low vision care begins with a thorough evaluation, which is essential for understanding your degree of vision loss, lifestyle, and the tasks you find most challenging.
Low Vision Aids
- Magnifiers: Handheld, stand, and electronic magnifiers can help with reading and detailed tasks.
- Telescopic Glasses: Ideal for seeing objects or signs that are far away, these glasses can make outdoor navigation easier.
- Task Lighting: Proper lighting is crucial for maximizing vision, and we can recommend the best options for your activities.
- Reading Glasses with High-Power Lenses: Specially crafted for those with significant vision loss, these glasses can make reading more accessible.
Assistive Vision Technology at Benjamin Optical
- Screen Readers: Software that reads text displayed on a computer or smartphone screen aloud.
- Text-to-Speech Devices: Devices scan printed text and read it back to you.
- Magnification Software: It enlarges text and images on digital screens, making them easier to see.
- GPS Navigation Devices and Apps: Technology specifically designed to assist with outdoor navigation provides auditory directions and location information for low-vision users.
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Braille Displays and Printers: Devices that convert digital text into braille for tactile reading and printers that produce printed material in braille for those who use it.
Comprehensive Training & Support for Thriving with Low Vision
- Mobility Training: Learn to navigate your environment safely and confidently.
- Daily Living Skills Training: Adapt everyday tasks to your vision capabilities, like cooking to personal grooming.
- Vocational Rehabilitation: Support for adapting workplace settings and tasks to accommodate low vision and strategies for career development and maintaining employment.
- Social Skills and Communication Training: Techniques to enhance non-visual communication, such as recognizing social cues through auditory and tactile means.
- Emotional Support and Counseling: Psychological support to address the emotional impact of adapting to low vision.