A low vision specialist is someone who has been trained to maximize individuals’ ability to utilize their impaired vision. Vision can be maximized through a variety of methods. On one end of the spectrum, it may simply involve changing a patient’s glasses prescription or increasing the magnification used for reading. More advanced intervention may be achieved with telescopic lenses that are clipped onto the outside of a spectacle correction.
Monitors or devices that enlarge print, are also commonly used. In addition,extensive training that may help a patient adapt to these techniques often proves invaluable in maximizing a patient’s ability to perform daily activities.
Low vision help requires significant effort on both the patient’s and the specialist’s part; however, it can be extremely beneficial when properly applied. Low vision help is not meant to replace medical or surgical treatment of macular degeneration, nor is medical or surgical treatment exclusive of low vision help. They often work hand-in-hand to maximize patients’ ability to get the most of their impaired or limited vision.
Low vision rehabilitation involves training in the utilization of low vision techniques as they apply to activities of daily living, such as cooking, performing a job, or getting around one’s home or outside. Rehabilitation services typically involve a team of highly trained professionals (often led by an ophthalmologist or optometrist) who individualize the aforementioned aids to a person’s unique situation.