Assessment of the Needs of Low-Vision Patients

Abstract

The classic image of a blind person is someone who has no perception of light is young, male, highly intelligent, with acute hearing and sensitivity. He has no other disabilities, is well equipped with sophisticated aids such as Sonic spectacles, has a guide dog and earns his living as a television detective or pop star. His blindness is either congenital or has been caused by some dramatic, usually traumatic event. His eyes have a normal appearance. This romantic image is a long way from reality, even in advanced countries. The visually handicapped person is most likely to have some useful vision, be female, elderly, unable to handle high technology aids even if they were available to her, and have one of the degenerative disorders which has been insidious rather than dramatic in onset. She no longer has paid employment, is keen to maintain her independence and may not be recognised by the community as having a disability at all (Cullinan 1977). Indeed one of the problems that occurs whenever blindness is discussed, is that to the lay person, blindness means no perception of light; a condition that occurs in less than 5 per cent of all those recognised as having a visual disability (Sorsby 1972).