Mission Moment: Low Vision Clinic Helps Regain Independence

Margaret was having difficulty reading, dialing phone numbers and navigating her home safely. In addition, she was unable to see her kitchen appliance settings and could not determine when to stop pouring liquids or identify food on her plate.

Margaret came to Alphapointe’s Low Vision Clinic with a can-do attitude and was open to making the necessary modifications for greater independence and safety. With the help of her Occupational Therapist, she is now able to read her mail using an optical character recognition or OCR device, access her appliances more easily using a tactile labeling system and complete distance communication independently using a phone with talking keys.

To improve her accuracy and reduce spillage when pouring liquids, Margaret now uses a liquid level indicator which notifies her when her cup is full. She was also provided training on ways to navigate her home safely and referred to orientation and mobility classes to learn how to use cane efficiently. Lastly, she was provided training on how to identify food on her plate with increased accuracy using low vision techniques.

In Margaret’s words, she “Went from desperation to piece of mind about my life. I feel safer and more confident in my ability to be independent.”