Living with vision loss can be challenging, as tasks that were once simple may now become a struggle. Luckily, for people who are blind or visually impaired, there are many effective low-vision home modifications to make your house more accessible and life easier.
Keep reading to learn about the top seven ways to adapt your home or the homes of family members with low eyesight.
What causes vision loss?
Unfortunately, there can be numerous reasons for vision loss, leaving people in need of home modifications. Beyond diabetes, which is a leading cause of blindness, the top causes of vision loss include:
- Macular degeneration
- Cataracts
- Glaucoma
- Retinal artery or vein occlusion
- Retinal detachment
- Corneal abrasion
Causes of vision loss can be related to age, injury, disease, or rarely, a surgical error. Adjusting to vision loss is a challenge no matter the reason that someone’s sight is diminished, and low vision home modifications can be a game-changer.
How to adjust your home for vision impairment
So, how do home modifications work for people with low or no vision? Home adaptations for visually impaired people often utilize devices that can make coping with vision loss easier, so people with low or no vision can continue to accomplish everyday tasks independently.
1. De-clutter and organize
Finding objects – like the remote in the living room or the house keys that could be anywhere – can be difficult even for people with good vision. That’s especially true when the objects in question aren’t always put back in one designated place – they might be anywhere.
Ensuring that surfaces, such as tables and countertops, are clear of clutter can help people with vision loss find objects easily. And a thorough organization system helps in making sure that things won’t get lost.
Rearranging your closets or cabinets so that the things you use most often are near the front or easily accessible can also help ensure you always find what you need.
2. Use contrasting colors and patterns
Instead of using three shades of blue to decorate a room, consider using contrasting colors that stand out more against each other. People with vision loss often struggle to differentiate among similar colors.
Color contrast in furniture, wall paint, upholstery, bath mats, area rugs, and carpets can reduce or eliminate problems like bumping into things, tripping, or getting confused. Bright colors and bold patterns also help to heighten visibility, too. If your chair is blue and your rug is black-and-white stripes, the contrast may help you find your chair more easily.
3. Adjust your lighting
One of the simplest, yet most effective, home adaptations involves your lighting. Bright lights and/or natural light are ideal, when possible, as these kinds of lighting often help people with low vision see better. But also important is keeping the light level constant throughout the house!
When moving from a dark room to a bright one, or vice versa, the eyes must adjust; this process is more difficult and takes longer for those with impaired vision.
Low-vision home modifications can include motion-activated lights, so visually impaired users don’t have to find the light switch. Utilize bright light bulbs, nightlights, and overhead lighting as much as possible.
4. Large-print labels
Marking things in the home with large-print labels can make a huge difference, as people with low vision can ascertain what something is, even if they can’t fully see it. For example, when trying to find ingredients in kitchen cabinets, it’s easy to see the canister marked with the large-print label that says “Flour” – much easier than it would be for someone with low vision to distinguish between the contents of the flour canister and the sugar canister.
You can label toiletries in the bathroom, dresser drawers, food items containers, utensils, dials, and anything else you may struggle to see. Again, bright and contrasting colors help make the labels easier to read, and if you’re writing the labels by hand, dark markers help, too.
5. Remove tripping hazards
It’s easy to trip on things even when you have perfect vision – and people with low vision are at an even higher risk of trips and falls. To help prevent such accidents at home, move furniture from the middle of a room, and instead, push everything against a wall. Keep all areas of the home as open and uncluttered as possible!
For example, rather than leaving dining or desk chairs pulled out when you’re done eating or working, tuck all chairs neatly under the table or desk so no one runs into them or gets tripped by a chair leg that they didn’t see. Ensure that all electrical cords are set securely against a wall and table lamps are near outlets when possible so the cords aren’t running across the floor!
Keep all walkways clear and you can use color-coding to indicate bumps in the floor or other irremovable hazards.
6. Tactile labeling
While labels with large print can be great for people who have at least partial sight, people who are totally blind need a different system. That method is tactile labeling, which can be helpful in the same way that Braille is, for people who know it.
Strategies like using raised bumps to identify particular drawers, placing rubber bands around specific objects, or putting textured stickers on items can help blind people navigate their homes and perform their daily tasks more easily.
You can define your own system for using these tactile labels, attaching meaning to each sticker and rubber band. Get creative and see what your local art store sells that is textured and distinct.
7. Install safety features
Low-vision home modifications often involve safety features such as the use of brightly colored tape to mark stairs, nonslip mats, and strategically located grab bars.
These safety features focus on securing areas that may be difficult to navigate, such as a stairway or small step up into another room. Nonslip mats are a good idea in any home, but they are especially useful for people who may not see a wet floor or puddle. Nonslip mats make it easier to walk on tile floors or glossed wood floors.
And grab bars or handrails should be installed along any stairway and in the bathroom, but they can go anywhere else that makes sense.
Living with vision loss
Learning how to cope with vision loss is not easy, but these home modifications can make a massive difference. There are a host of other helpful devices for the blind or visually impaired including special thermostats, magnifiers, flashlights, large TV screens, and voice-activated helpers, such as Alexa and Google Home.
The best way to learn how to cope with vision loss is to research as much as you can about your specific condition, seek help and support if necessary, and understand that it is okay to be frustrated. It takes time to adjust, but with the right mentality and devices, daily living can be comfortable again.
Conclusion
Most of these low-vision home modifications are easy and affordable, and most importantly, they can make a massive difference in someone’s comfort and the practicalities of how they go about their daily life.
You can determine the ideal low-vision home modifications for your home as you go. As you navigate your or your loved one’s home, look for opportunities to improve quality of life and build home modifications around the needs that arise with visual impairment.
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