Low Vision Occupational Therapy
Training in the use of vision aids for macular degeneration is an important component of low vision rehab. Home Visit Evaluation and SessionThrough a home visit the occupational therapist will help the patient function at their best.
A low vision occupational therapist comes into the home to make an assessment and recommendations to help the patient with the daily tasks of living such as:
√ Cooking and Meal Preparation √ Grocery Shopping √ Phone Skills √ Writing Skills - increase writing legibility and accuracy using adaptive aids and adequate lighting; √ Reading √ Transportation and Mobility and getting around the community √ Medication Management
√ Personal Grooming such as shaving, showering, dressing √ Hobbies, Games, Crafts √ Home Safety √ Home Lighting Evaluation √ Managing Finances - teaching the person how to identify money and write a check using aids like a check writing guide
Low Vision SolutionsLow vision occupational therapy can:
1. Evaluate a person's home to see if it can be modified to make the most of a person's vision.
3. Identify and mark items that need to stand out by providing contrast and marking them with bright tape.
4. Increase lighting so things can be seen more easily.5. Reduce clutter on floors, countertops and tables to increase safety. 6. Educate a person on how to use other senses such as touch, hearing and smell.
8. Teach the patient how to maximize their residual and peripheral vision.
Cost of Low Vision Occupational TherapyMedicare and most insurance plans are aware of the benefits of this service and will usually reimburse for the evaluation and home visits provided by an occupational therapist. Often, there is no cost to the patient for these services. Check with your insurance provider.To see an occupational therapist, a patient must have a physician referral. This referral can come from your Optometrist, Ophthalmologist, primary physician, or nurse practitioner. It is recommend that the patient be seen by an Optometrist who specializes in Low Vision first for a complete evaluation.
Low Vision Rehab from a Patient's Perspective
Dan Roberts, the founding director of MD Support, Inc and the author of The First Year: Age-Related Macular Degeneration: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed , has shared his thoughts and experience on low vision services through an e-interview.
Dan Roberts, not only knows first hand what it means to live with age related macular degeneration, he is also knows about and teaches others how low vision services can help them to maintain their independence. To read his interesting remarks click here:
Interview with Dan Roberts
Go from Low Vision Occupational Therapy to Low Vision
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2. Identify what vision aids for macular degeneration, such as magnifiers, would be most helpful to the patient and how to use them.
7. Recommend and train a person in the use of assistive devices such as magnifiers and voice activated clocks,computers, microwaves.