If someone with a visual impairment lives with you — or if you’re facing some level of blindness yourself — modifying your home makes it easier to navigate and safer to live in. Most modifications are simple, inexpensive changes that you can implement right away or over time, depending on your needs.
People with low-level blindness — which describes vision that’s 20/70 or poorer and can’t be corrected — can only read the first, second, or third line on the standard Snellen eye chart from 20 feet away. Those with legal blindness have a visual acuity of 20/200 or poorer when wearing corrective lenses, which means they can only read the first, giant letter on the eye chart — or they can’t. or their visual field — the total area you can see without moving your eyes — is 20 degrees or less, a condition known as tunnel vision.
People who have low-level or legal blindness — whether it’s moderate, severe, or profound — can still perceive light and shapes, even if they can’t make out what an object actually is. Total blindness, though, is a complete lack of light and form perception. Roughly 15 percent of all people with an eye disorder experience total blindness.
How you modify your home for someone with a visual impairment depends on how you live and the degree of impairment. These tips will help you cover all of the most important bases to ensure you or your visually impaired housemate can get around and locate things easily.