Independent Daily Living Skills Training: The Way Forward
For each of us, daily life is an ongoing process of discovery and refinement that begins at birth. For people living with blindness and low vision, the journey requires acquiring new skills, tools, and techniques to address the loss of vision.
Vision loss affects people of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds. According to the Big Data Project Report on Working Age Adults, 8.7 million people in the US (about 4.7% of the population) between the ages of 18 and 64 report blindness and low vision. The Big Data Project Report on Adults 65+ confirms that significant vision loss increases with age. More than 7% of adults over age 65 report blindness and low vision, and nearly 10% of adults 80+. Vision loss among children often occurs due to genetic factors, injuries, and illness. Regardless of age or circumstances, vision rehabilitation, including Daily Living Skills Training can help people of all ages living with blindness and low vision maintain a safe, confident, independent, and fulfilling life.
What is Independent Daily Living Skills Training?
This type of training teaches people with vision loss how to navigate daily life confidently and safely. Highly trained vision rehabilitation specialists enlist an expanding array of tools and techniques to help those living with vision loss maintain independence in all areas of life. Training is fully customized based on the unique needs of each individual, their level of vision loss, and a comprehensive assessment of their daily challenges.
Meal Preparation and Food Safety
Independent living starts with being able to prepare healthy meals easily and confidently at home. Support starts in the grocery store to shop for healthy food and ingredients. Meal prep training provides invaluable reorientation to the safe use of kitchen tools and appliances, which may include tactile marking and labeling on appliances, surfaces, and tools. Food safety training helps with food storage, food preparation to reduce cross-contamination, labeling of spices, cans, and other pantry items, and so much more.
Personal Care and Medications
Vision loss often requires a new approach to bathing, dressing, and self-care. Labeling, magnifiers, and other assistive aids can help with personal grooming, shaving, or applying makeup, as well as safe use of razors and scissors and other grooming appliances and tools. For adults who take daily medications or supplements, labeling and magnification devices can increase safety. Accessible Pharmacy provides specialized services tailored for individuals with vision loss. CVS offers Spoken RX, a feature that helps customers read their prescription labels. Additionally, there are smart-tagged labels and apps that read prescription information aloud in both English and Spanish.
Home Reorganization and Modification
A vision rehabilitation specialist can also provide customized guidance for home modifications and accommodations, from ambitious structural changes to easier fixes, such as strategic lighting, furniture placement, and color contrast to differentiate floors, furniture, walls, and doorways. Contrast can also be used to mark light switches, outlets, surface changes, and stairs.
Household Chores
Maintaining a tidy, clean, and clutter-free home is important for both emotional wellbeing and physical safety. Tactile labeling can be used to identify cleaning products and appliances (washers, dryers, dishwashers, etc.). Mastering the use of accessible cleaning tools and smart appliances can empower people living with blindness and low vision and make housekeeping safer and easier.
Finances and Money Management
Many people living with vision loss struggle to stay on top of finances, budgeting, and paperwork. Training in the use of assistive technology – including apps, screen readers, and magnifiers – provides support for online banking, accessing other digital financial tools, and reading important financial documents. Check to see if your bank offers large-print or Braille banking statement options and other support.
Time management
Large print calendars, access technology, and accessible software can be used to create and maintain calendars and effectively manage day-to-day and future activities.
A vision rehabilitation plan often includes these areas, too:
Orientation & Mobility Training (O&M)
Orientation & Mobility Training helps to reorient people living with vision loss to their surroundings at home, on the job, and in their community and travels. Training may include use of a white cane, GPS apps, electronic travel aids, and other mobility aids. Training also includes the use of auditory and tactile cues to identify surface changes and to safely negotiate intersections and public transportation.
Communications
Mobile devices, assistive aids, and access technology help maintain connection to family, friends, and the outside world. Learning how to use screen readers, voice assistants, smart speakers, voice recognition software, and other adaptive technology helps people living with blindness stay in touch and access online resources.
Staying Connected
A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study found that one in four adults with vision loss reported anxiety or depression. Staying engaged with friends, family, and community reduces the risk of social isolation, loneliness, and depression. Support groups provide a lifeline to professional and peer guidance and offer the opportunity to discuss challenges and solutions for everyday activities and issues.
In Case of Emergency
Everyone needs an emergency preparedness plan, which includes how to quickly reach emergency responders, family, and neighbors in times of extreme need. For people living with blindness and low vision, the essential components include ready access to a “go bag,” tactile labeling of emergency equipment, and mobile phone settings programmed to speed dial contact emergency services, and personal contacts using accessible touch.
Living Independently with Vision Loss
Vision rehabilitation services and training cannot restore vision, but they can provide the life-changing benefits, tools, and resources needed to thrive!