As the number of older persons experiencing vision loss continues to soar over the upcoming years, all of us may find that a family member or friend we care about has become visually impaired. Aging and Vision Loss contains reassuring, supportive, and helpful information on meeting the needs of the older person and family caregivers as well.
The ability to see deeply affects how human beings perceive and interpret the world around them. For most people, eyesight is part of everyday communication, social activities, educational and professional pursuits, the care of others, and the maintenance of personal health, independence, and mobility. Functioning eyes and vision system can reduce an adult's risk of chronic health conditions, death, falls and injuries, social isolation, depression, and other psychological problems. In children, properly maintained eye and vision health contributes to a child's social development, academic achievement, and better health across the lifespan. The public generally recognizes its reliance on sight and fears its loss, but emphasis on eye and vision health, in general, has not been integrated into daily life to the same extent as other health promotion activities, such as teeth brushing; hand washing; physical and mental exercise; and various injury prevention behaviors. A larger population health approach is needed to engage a wide range of stakeholders in coordinated efforts that can sustain the scope of behavior change. The shaping of socioeconomic environments can eventually lead to new social norms that promote eye and vision health. Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow proposes a new population-centered framework to guide action and coordination among various, and sometimes competing, stakeholders in pursuit of improved eye and vision health and health equity in the United States. Building on the momentum of previous public health efforts, this report also introduces a model for action that highlights different levels of prevention activities across a range of stakeholders and provides specific examples of how population health strategies can be translated into cohesive areas for action at federal, state, and local levels.
This book was first projected in 2004, when Author Hannah Fairbairn was teaching interpersonal skills at the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, Massachusetts. The experiences of her adult students—and her own experience of sight lost—convinced her that everyone losing vision needs access to good information about the process of adjustment to losing sight and practical ways to use assertive speech. When You Can’t Believe Your Eyes is intended for anyone going through vision loss, their friends, and families. It will inform readers how to get expert professional help, face the trauma of loss, and navigate the world using speech more than sight. Each of the twelve chapters in the book contain many short sections and bullet-point lists, intended to facilitate access to the right information. It begins where you begin—at the doctor’s office or the hospital. Since vision loss takes many forms, there are suggestions for questions you might ask to get a clear diagnosis and the best treatment. Part One also has a description of legal blindness and possible prevention, advice about your job, and tips for life at home. Part Two is about believing in yourself as you deal with the loss, the anger, and the fear before you come up for air and consider training. Parts Three and Four describe using assertive speech and action in all kinds of settings as your independence and confidence increase. Part Five gives detailed information about everything from dating, and caring for babies to senior living, volunteering, and retaining your job. It is hoped that by reading and trying out the suggestions, the reader will recover full confidence, become a positive, assertive communicator, and lead a satisfying life. Because vision loss happens mostly in older years, the book is written with seniors particularly in mind. Professionals will also find it to be a useful resource for their patients.
When children and adults apply for disability benefits and claim that a visual impairment has limited their ability to function, the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) is required to determine their eligibility. To ensure that these determinations are made fairly and consistently, SSA has developed criteria for eligibility and a process for assessing each claimant against the criteria. Visual Impairments: Determining Eligibility for Social Security Benefits examines SSA's methods of determining disability for people with visual impairments, recommends changes that could be made now to improve the process and the outcomes, and identifies research needed to develop improved methods for the future. The report assesses tests of visual function, including visual acuity and visual fields whether visual impairments could be measured directly through visual task performance or other means of assessing disability. These other means include job analysis databases, which include information on the importance of vision to job tasks or skills, and measures of health-related quality of life, which take a person-centered approach to assessing visual function testing of infants and children, which differs in important ways from standard adult tests.
Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind presents a personal account of living successfully with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), combined with powerful new information on effective service delivery. Ninety-three-year old Lindy Bergman illustrates the ways in which life with low vision can be lived with independence, dignity, and personal satisfaction. Also included are highly informative chapters, written by the world-renowned experts from The Chicago Lighthouse for People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired, encompassing the latest information about the causes and treatment of AMD; a concise, informative overviews of the effects of aging on vision, the emotional and psychological components of vision loss and the integration of the individual's psychological recovery into low vision service delivery; and a cutting-edge model of rehabilitation that meets the challenges of service provision today. Foreword by Jonathan Safran Foer, award-winning author of Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
The U.S. population is aging, and occupational therapy practitioners working with older adults must have the skills to address multiple health issues, including vision loss. Although typical aging does not cause low vision, four major causes of vision impairment are directly related to the aging process: (1) age-related macular degeneration (AMD), (2) diabetic retinopathy, (3) glaucoma, and (4) cataracts. Instances of these impairments are expected to double by the year 2050, making low vision a significant public health issue. This Practice Guideline includes occupational therapy assessment and intervention guidelines for older adults who have visual acuity impairments, visual field impairments, or both as a result of a low vision diagnosis. Screening, referral, and evaluation are covered for clients for central visual field impairments, such as AMD and cataract; peripheral field impairments, such as glaucoma, hemianopsia, and quadrantanopsia; and mixed visual field loss, such as diabetic retinopathy. This work can help occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants, as well as individuals who manage, reimburse, or set policy regarding occupational therapy services, understand the contribution of occupational therapy to treating older adults with low vision. Appendixes include selected diagnostic and billing codes and evidence tables.
Losing your eyesight is a frightening thought. Yet, every five seconds someone in the world goes blind. Most causes of visual impairment are caused by age-related diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy. Modern medicine has no cure for these conditions. Treatment usually involves managing the symptoms and attempting to slow the progression of the disease. In some cases surgery is an option, but there is always the danger of adverse side effects that can damage the eyes even further. Most chronic progressive eye disorders are considered incurable, hopeless. However, there is a successful treatment. It doesn’t involve surgery, drugs, or invasive medical procedures. All that is needed is a proper diet. The key to this diet is coconut, specifically coconut oil. The author used this method to cure is own glaucoma, something standard medical therapy is unable to do. The coconut based dietary program described in this book has the potential to help prevent and treat many common visual problems including the following: ● Cataracts ● Glaucoma ● Macular degeneration ● Diabetic retinopathy ● Dry eye syndrome ● Sjogren’s syndrome ● Optic neuritis ● Irritated eyes ● Conjunctivitis (pink eye) ● Stroke ● Eye disorders related to neurodegenerative disease (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, MS) Most chronic eye disorders come without warning. No one can tell who will develop a visual handicap as they age. Everybody is at risk. Once the disease is present, treatment is a lifelong process. The best solution is prevention. In this book, you will learn the basic underlying causes for the most common degenerative eye disorders and what you can do to prevent, stop, and even reverse them.
