Staying active and engaged is essential to maintaining a healthy and balanced life. This is especially true for the millions of American adults who live with blindness and low vision. Thanks to increased public awareness and advances in adaptive and assistive technology, adults living with vision loss can more fully participate in their favorite activities safely and confidently.

Adaptive Sports and Physical Fitness

Physical inactivity is a leading risk factor for mortality worldwide. For people who are blind or have low vision, a structured fitness routine can improve mental health and motor skills, increase self-confidence, enhance balance (which is often negatively affected by vision loss), and provide access to new people, places, and experiences.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III established standards for public gyms and fitness centers, requiring accessible equipment, facilities, layouts, and instruction to accommodate people with disabilities. In addition to accessible individual fitness activities such as running, swimming, and yoga—now available to people of all abilities at fitness centers and gyms—there is an increasing variety of organizations offering sports specifically tailored for adults living with vision loss.

• The U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (usaba.org) has chapters and partnerships across the country that offer track & field, cycling, Judo, swimming, and winter sports, as well as popular adaptive team sports such as Goalball, Beep Baseball, and Blind Soccer.
• The National Beep Ball Association (nbba.org) facilitates and provides an adaptive version of baseball for those with vision loss.
• The ReVision Fitness app (revisionfitnessapp.com) offers an audio-based fitness program accessible for both blind and sighted users and available for iOS and Android.

Finding Adaptive Sports Programs

Search online for accessible hobbies and activities you love most. The links below provide additional places to learn more about activities that are safe, accessible, and fun for people living with blindness and low vision:

• Adaptive Adventures (adaptiveadventures.org)
• Blind Fitness: (blindfitness.org)
• InTandem Cycling (intandembike.org)
• Move United (moveunitedsport.org)
• National Ability Center (nationalabilitycenter.org)
• Northwest Association for Blind Athletes
• The American Blind Bowling Association (theabba.org)
• The American Blind Skiing Foundation (absf.org)
• United in Stride pairs human guides with those who have vision loss and provides event information and resources.
• The Silver Sneakers program offers accessible fitness classes for older Americans online and at community centers across the US.

Check your local YMCA and the Department of Parks & Recreation for added programs and accessibility options.

Hobbies, Arts, and Creative Engagement

Virtually every hobby—from sculpture, pottery, and tactile arts, gardening, sewing, and carpentry, to photography and filmmaking—can be adapted to the needs and abilities of adults with vision loss. Check local garden clubs and art guilds to see which classes and activities might include enthusiasts with blindness or low vision. Some helpful assistive and adaptive tech, tools, and strategies for people whose reduced vision has not dampened their creative spirit include:

• Digital cameras that speak, provide haptic feedback (vibration, resistance, surface texture enhancement), and AI auto focus.
• Scented supplies—ink, pens, paints, and clay—that aid in identification and enhance the sensory experience
• Labels for tools, supplies, and equipment in braille, large-print, and textures
• 3D Printing brings an exciting new dimension to the creative process for people living with blindness or low vision

Travel, Leisure, and Independent Mobility

Travel—close to home or to the other side of the world—can be enjoyed with the right tools, planning, and guidance—starting with Orientation & Mobility (O&M) training. O&M training helps people living with vision loss safely navigate the world around them with confidence and discover which aids and supports will best serve them. Integral to O&M training is the white cane, which remains a reliable tool for traversing terrain both familiar and unknown. The recent addition of AI and laser technology has elevated the white cane to a sophisticated device that guides and communicates using some of the same technology found in autonomous vehicles. Dog guides are another invaluable travel aid, providing both assistance and companionship. While some people living with vision loss happily travel to new destinations on their own or accompanied by a friend or family member, others prefer to explore new places as part of a group tour, available online or through your travel agent. The Blind Travel Foundation offers travel grants, supporting impactful travel projects that showcase the creativity, independence, and leadership of the blind and visually impaired.

Exciting Assistive and Adaptive Technologies for Navigation

• Google Maps offers features including voice-guided navigation, wheelchair-accessible routes, and Live View, an augmented reality (AR) feature that works with handheld devices to scan surroundings in real time and provide route suggestions, identify landmarks, etc.
• Google Lookout is a free app that uses your device’s camera to scan your immediate surroundings, read text, and identify currency.
• Be My Eyes connects blind or low-vision users with volunteers and resources globally through live video.
• Smart Glasses aid navigation and situational awareness by employing AI, cameras, and sensors to deliver spoken environmental descriptions, identify people, places, images, and text.

Community and Social Engagement

Staying active, engaged, and connected to others is vital for people living with vision loss. Social and support groups can play a vital role in maintaining contact with the outside world and reducing isolation. The Big Data Project National Report confirms that adults with significant vision loss experience depression, anxiety, and many chronic illnesses at significantly higher rates than their sighted peers. In addition to the broad range of activities highlighted above, volunteer work and community service—through civic, cultural, and religious organizations—can also provide an opportunity to expand horizons and enjoy a renewed sense of community and self-worth.