Successful Use of Low Vision Aids: Visual and Psychological Factors

Abstract

Many practitioners who deal with visually impaired persons have speculated that unsatisfactory rehabilitation is related to psychological, behavioral, and visual factors. This hypothesis was examined in the study reported here using a semistructured interview and various objective measures of the above-mentioned factors. Fourteen partially sighted individuals participated in this study and were compared to 14 age-matched control subjects. The visually impaired participants tended to worry more about their vision, to be less independent when traveling, to have more physical ailments, and to experience more fluctuations in appetite. Major correlates of the successful use of low vision aids were emotional and practical support, delay in seeking low vision services, performance on the information subscale of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, and the past use of near vision in employment or leisure activities.