One of my favorite residents has become completely blind overtime. When I visit her, I know to be more communicative than I would with other residents. I have to remind her of my name, where I go to school, and who I am, generally speaking. This communication allows her to develop a sense of trust, which is crucial to the fact that she depends on me for assistance with daily living. She walks with a cane to guide her, and often holds my hand when she’s moving about. She says all the time how my hands are always warm and sometimes uses her blindness as an excuse to hold my hand, which is the cutest thing ever to me. She’ll tell me, “Take care of your eyes while your young, honey.” She is so thankful for my care, and I appreciate the bond I have created with her.

Many people develop vision problems as they get older. This is due to the fact that the eyes change with age. Visual acuity, depth perception, the visual field, and the size of the pupil are ways the eyes are affected. As a result, the ability to perform tasks such as reading small print, distinguishing between colors, and adjusting to light becomes difficult.

Blindness is any loss of vision that cannot be returned. There are several things that can accompany this condition, which include:

Macular degeneration: damage to the eye (retina) that results in loss of vision in the center of the eye

Macular degeneration is a gradual process that leads to blurred vision. As it advances, it can completely affect the central vision.

Glaucoma: pressure build up in the eye that leads to nerve damage in the eye

Glaucoma comes in multiple stages, ranging from early stages to advanced. It begins with patchy spots in vision, and results in tunnel vision.

Cataracts: The lens of the eye becomes cloudy

In the beginning stages, images may look foggy. However, overtime vision becomes extremely blurry. Distinctive colors begin to fade and turn pale. Glare is more apparent as night vision becomes severely limited.

Having a hard time reading the caption in the third image?

Fun Fact: Animals can develop visual impairments.

My dog, Shania, was a miniature border collie. This particular breed often goes blind at a young age due to a genetic disease known as Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA). She lost sight in one eye at the age of five, and eventually went blind in both eyes.
Having a blind dog growing up was a wonderful experience. She was such an exciting dog, and never let her vision affect her life. The most important lesson I’ve learned through having a blind animal is to keep furniture in the same places to avoid confusion! I did not like when I moved a chair and heard a *thump* as a result!

Tips for caring for someone with visual impairments:

Be aware of the person’s habits. Note if they are having problems with vision. Some indicators include squinting, rubbing of the eyes, and holding objects closer to the face. When caring for someone with vision problems, here are some helpful tips you can use:

• Announce yourself when leaving or arriving
• Identify yourself immediately
• Inform the person of other people or objects in their path
• Inform the person if you will be touching their body
• Use directional terms
• Help the person memorize things
• Apply vel-cro or buttons to devices
  • Remote, phone, microwave, oven
• Ensure there are non-slip surfaces and grab bars in bathrooms
• Use assistive devices
  • Magnifying glass, large print labels, talking devices
• Turn lights on in areas of the home
• Keep things out that are used regularly
• Keep things in familiar places

Caring for someone with visual impairments requires a lot of patience and understanding. It is a process, and the person needs as much support and help as they can get. Have consideration, and be the resource they need. They will appreciate it!

Have you taken care of anyone with visual impairments? What did you find helped the person the most?