Publisher's Synopsis
Independent Living Support - Vision Loss Resources in all states including Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands was written to help persons with low vision. This book will explain what low vision is, introduce the low-cost technology aids that are available, and offer you a way to get help locally by listing out the best resources in your community which can help you now.
If you have low vision, you are not alone. According to the National Eye Institute, millions of Americans and about 135 million people worldwide have low vision. Having worked with technology in the blind and visually impaired field since 1990, I know this book is needed today. This book will give you some basic information about eye doctors, low vision, low-vision aids, and the great low-vision-support options in your state. I will describe the low-cost technology aids that can help you now and let you know where you can find them. Lastly, this book will provide you with contact information for the best organizations in your own state that can help you now.
In 1985, author Patrick J. Fischer was sitting with his grandfather Francis, who had low vision and struggled with reading. He used a lighted magnifier with a 1.25-inch-square acrylic lens, which did help him read, although it was a very slow process. Grandpa told Patrick that day that reading was very important to him; all his life, he had read in order to learn new things and keep up with what was going on in his community. The importance of reading cannot be overstated-it allows us to learn, grow, worship, and imagine. Reading is fundamentally a part of healthy living which allows us to live independently, and that is why Patrick believes it is so crucial to help those with low vision retain the ability to read. Local resources and low-cost technology aides have greatly improved the lives of many people with vision loss, allowing them to live independently, but you may not have heard about all of them. Independent Living Support helps keep you abreast of these local resources and low-cost technology aides.
Low vision may make daily activities difficult, but with the right resources and aids, a person can live independently. Independent Living Support is a simple book and one that makes a great resource for anybody with vision loss living in all states including Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
This book will also help a person with low vision regain his or her self-confidence by providing ways to accomplish daily activities, remain independent, and continue to read.
