Photo courtesy of Unsplash by Liliane Limpens
A whopping 285 million families worldwide are affected by visual impairment. This could include any number of conditions ranging from low vision to legal blindness to complete loss of vision. Sometimes, visual impairment sneaks up on us. It comes out of nowhere, possibly as the result of an accident or injury. In these painful instances, it leaves us feeling blindsided. Other times, it is gradual like cataracts that slowly get worse over time.
Perhaps you are reading this article right now because you are about to welcome an aging parent into your home. You realize that you’ll need to adjust not only to living with your parent again, but also to living with someone who is visually impaired. Or perhaps you have recently discovered that your beloved child might be blind, and you are struggling to determine next steps.
Whatever your unique situation might be, rest assured that there are many steps you can take to adapt your home. Millions of people around the world have successfully modified their homes for a relative, friend, spouse, child or other loved one who has blindness or visual impairment. Many of these modifications are simple, easy and cost effective.
Self Sufficiency. Remember, most visually impaired individuals still pride themselves on being as independent and capable as you or I. The goal in adapting your home to the visually impaired should always be to promote their independence and enable them to carry on with their daily lives. Ideally, this should happen with minimum intervention from yourself or other sighted individuals.
Color and Shape. Not all visually impaired individuals are blind. If your loved one just has low vision, he or she might still be able to see colors and shapes, even if only indistinctly. This is good news for you because it allows you to help guide your loved one through daily tasks using colors and shapes. Typically, there will be specific colors that are easier to see or are preferred by the visually impaired individual (red and yellow are common examples).
Organization. Help your loved one navigate your home by taking special considerations when organizing items in the kitchen, bathroom, closets, and other areas of the home. This video offers a great tutorial for beginners on how to adapt your kitchen and organize food items for the visually impaired. Of course, these same organizational techniques can be easily applied to closets, bathrooms, bedrooms and any other room of the house.
Ask if you can help. Speak to blind children and adults the way you would to any other child or adult. Just because their eyes work differently than yours doesn’t make a blind or visually impaired person any less able to live a fulfilled life, just the way that you do. Rather than assuming or trying to guess what your loved one needs from you, gently ask them how you can help them. Chances are they will appreciate your kindness and consideration, even if they don’t currently require assistance.
You don’t have to feel overwhelmed if you are considering home modifications to assist and enable your visually impaired loved one. These modifications won’t take much time at all to implement. They’ll make you feel more confident and secure, knowing your loved one can move through their home environment with safety. Best of all, they’ll enable mobility and help your loved one feel confident and comfortable navigating day-to-day in your home.
Perhaps you are reading this article right now because you are about to welcome an aging parent into your home. You realize that you’ll need to adjust not only to living with your parent again, but also to living with someone who is visually impaired. Or perhaps you have recently discovered that your beloved child might be blind, and you are struggling to determine next steps.
Whatever your unique situation might be, rest assured that there are many steps you can take to adapt your home. Millions of people around the world have successfully modified their homes for a relative, friend, spouse, child or other loved one who has blindness or visual impairment. Many of these modifications are simple, easy and cost effective.
Self Sufficiency. Remember, most visually impaired individuals still pride themselves on being as independent and capable as you or I. The goal in adapting your home to the visually impaired should always be to promote their independence and enable them to carry on with their daily lives. Ideally, this should happen with minimum intervention from yourself or other sighted individuals.
Color and Shape. Not all visually impaired individuals are blind. If your loved one just has low vision, he or she might still be able to see colors and shapes, even if only indistinctly. This is good news for you because it allows you to help guide your loved one through daily tasks using colors and shapes. Typically, there will be specific colors that are easier to see or are preferred by the visually impaired individual (red and yellow are common examples).
Organization. Help your loved one navigate your home by taking special considerations when organizing items in the kitchen, bathroom, closets, and other areas of the home. This video offers a great tutorial for beginners on how to adapt your kitchen and organize food items for the visually impaired. Of course, these same organizational techniques can be easily applied to closets, bathrooms, bedrooms and any other room of the house.
Ask if you can help. Speak to blind children and adults the way you would to any other child or adult. Just because their eyes work differently than yours doesn’t make a blind or visually impaired person any less able to live a fulfilled life, just the way that you do. Rather than assuming or trying to guess what your loved one needs from you, gently ask them how you can help them. Chances are they will appreciate your kindness and consideration, even if they don’t currently require assistance.
You don’t have to feel overwhelmed if you are considering home modifications to assist and enable your visually impaired loved one. These modifications won’t take much time at all to implement. They’ll make you feel more confident and secure, knowing your loved one can move through their home environment with safety. Best of all, they’ll enable mobility and help your loved one feel confident and comfortable navigating day-to-day in your home.
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