The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) Public Policy Center has announced the reintroduction of federal legislation that seeks to establish a nationwide Medicare demonstration project to evaluate the fiscal impact of a permanent change in Medicare coverage that would, for the first time, provide reimbursement for low vision devices. The AFB Public Policy Center, … Continued
An age-old question that surfaces regularly in my work is this one: “Is it true that blind people develop super senses, like extra-sensitive hearing or touch, to compensate for not being able to see?” A variation of the “super senses” question asks this: “Are the other senses truly enhanced, or do people without the sense … Continued
Guest blogger Rebecca Sheffield, Ph.D., is the Senior Policy Researcher with the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. The AFB Public Policy Center collaborates with policy makers in Congress and the Executive Branch to ensure that Americans with vision loss have equal rights and opportunities to fully participate in … Continued
A query I receive frequently from readers is how to describe their low vision or vision loss to fully sighted family members and friends, who may find it difficult to understand how functional vision can vary significantly from one day to the next, or from daytime to nighttime. While some basic explanations do exist (cataracts … Continued
Editor’s note: One of the many benefits associated with an online information center and website, such as VisionAware, is the ability to track readers’ search terms [i.e., information readers are seeking as they search online]. Of particular concern to many readers are issues related to the diagnosis and treatment of low vision, as evidenced by … Continued
Two questions asked most frequently by readers about age-related macular degeneration (AMD) involve (a) individual risk for the disorder and (b) the likelihood of eventual involvement of both eyes. In response, several recent studies have attempted to address these critically important questions: Data from the ongoing Blue Mountains Eye Study (BMES) and the Age-Related Eye … Continued
New – and highly relevant – research from the Wills Eye Glaucoma Research Center, in collaboration with Drexel University, sought to “evaluate the interest of glaucoma patients and their caregivers in a smartphone-based and tablet-based glaucoma application” (app) that contained a range of features (explained below) designed to (a) increase patients’ level of knowledge about … Continued
Two recent United Kingdom-based eye research projects have begun to explore potential (but not yet proven) links between retinal disease and beta-amyloid proteins that accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. The first project, from the University of Southampton, England, investigated the potential role of beta-amyloid protein in the development of macular degeneration. … Continued
National Glaucoma Awareness Month provides a perfect opportunity to learn more about glaucoma, a leading cause of vision loss that affects more than 3 million people in the United States. Glaucoma often is called “the sneak thief of sight” for good reason: Many people are unaware that glaucoma has few symptoms or warning signs in … Continued
Dr. Joseph Fontenot is a medical doctor, Certified Low Vision Therapist, and Medical Director of Community Services for Vision Rehabilitation (CSVR), with offices in Alabama and Mississippi. He is also the current Chair of the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Vision Rehabilitation Committee. In that role, he commissioned and led the production of There Is Something … Continued