I am stuck. I live alone and can't read the phone book What can I do?

Of course, you can use a magnifier or your CCTV, but there is an easier way if you are legally blind.  The phone companies will provide legally blind individuals with free directory assistance on their home telephone line.  This is easily arranged by calling the operator on your phone and asking to speak with the disability office.  They will send you a simple form that will probably require your doctor's signature.  After taking care of that you can dial 411, or directory assistance, at no charge. You can also follow the prompts to have the phone company dial for you, at no charge except for any long distance charges that apply to the call.

My computer screen is so hard to see. What should I do?

There are a couple of approaches to take with the issue of seeing your computer screen better. To begin with, if you are visually impaired, buy the largest monitor you can afford easily. Try a minimum screen size of 22,” if possible. In addition, utilize the options in Windows to set the larger icons and bigger default font sizes. And if you are not currently a touch typist, we can help you learn to be one. Touch typing is not hard to learn, and it is an important aid to remaining active and stress free on your computer, no matter what happens to your vision.

Size really matters on the computer. If you are still in difficulty, do not despair. Consider using screen magnification software, like our favorite program, Lunar. Think of Lunar as a tool to make things easier to see by making them bigger. You gain the ability to adjust the screen size and coloration with the quickest of keystrokes. Good advice is to join those like Patty who live in the world of magnification software because it will be easier for you to continue your computer work. free of stress, struggle, and disappointment.

My grandmother says she is going blind, but she picked up a paper clip on the floor. Isn't she pulling my leg?
We often hear comments very much like this one. In fact, Ken worked as a helper when he was in college for an elderly lady who seemed blind much of the time, but at times not very blind at all. He is now sure she had macular degeneration. Age-related macular degeneration has become increasingly understood. Years ago, people might have been called blind or even senile because of their vision struggles. With your grandmother, if she has macular degeneration, and if she looks right at an object, or at your face, she may not see what she is looking at.. She will only see the object, or your face, by looking to the side of it. Depending on the quality of that peripheral vision, she might in fact see clearly with it. That is how she could spot a paper clip. Plus, a paper clip is shiny, usually, and if the floor is dark, the contrast is helping her see.

What are low vision aids?

Low vision aids are simply tools to help you use existing vision to its maximum. Many are magnifying aids, both lenses and electronic magnifiers. Another popular low vision aid is a directional light, something anyone would benefit from. Full spectrum lights that you can direct to what you are trying to see are the best. They are widely available in craft and lighting stores. There are other tools that offer contrast, such as colored cutting boards, so a person can cut an onion on a dark board and thereby see it better. An all time favorite is a dark-lined pen, but one that doesn’t gag you with the smell or stain your clothes or bleed through the paper you’re writing on. Perhaps a sign of the times, PaperMate now makes the 20/20 low vision pen.