Sensory problems are common experiences with the older generations of the United States population today (Crews & Campbell, 2004, p. 823, Vol. 94 No. 5). Surprisingly, 18% of people report blindness in one or both eyes or other eye impairments (Crews & Campbell, 2004, p. 823, Vol. 94 No. 5). Two-thirds of these low vision patients are 65 years of age (National Institutes of Health, 2000). There are many reasons why a person may suffer from vision loss. Low vision is one of the ten most prevalent causes of disability (M. Markowitz, R. E. Markowitz, S. N. Markowitz, 2009). When vision is diminished this can be associated with decreases in activities of daily living or leisure activities (Crews & Campbell, 2004, p. 823, Vol. 94 No. 5). In this paper a better understanding of low vision, problems that may occur and what measures that are taken to help improve a patient’s quality of life will be discussed.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services defines low vision (LV) as a clinically defined aspect of eye care. Low vision is a permanent loss of vision and cannot be improved with eyeglasses, medicine, or surgery (Eye Smart, 2014). Eye Smart states that if a patient has been diagnosed with low vision, no treatment will give the patient back their vision. However, the patient will need to learn new ways to use the vision that is left for activities of daily living and to maintain the quality of life (Eye Smart, 2014). Because individuals experience blindness so often they are usually overlooked or dismissed (Crews & Campbell, 2004, p. 823, Vol. 94 No. 5). According to Crews and Campbell vision problems are not manifested disabilities, and can lead to misdiagnosis and misunderstanding. Because of this mis...
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... occupations (Smith, Ludwig, Anderson, & Copolillo, 2009, p. 129). The participants portrayed a sense of pride and fulfillment when they were able to perform activities they needed and wanted to do (Smith, Ludwig, Anderson, & Copolillo, 2009, p. 121). This included daily living activities, Leisure, and socializing. In Ontario, Canada a study was performed by M. Markowitz, R. E. Markowitz, and S. N. Markowitz that showed that changes in the environmental setting could help improve the patient’s engagement in occupation due to their visual impairments. In a study done by Smallfield and Lou (2006) they concluded that limited research was available concerning the impact of low vision rehabilitation on the quality of life, and that there were mixed results concerning the benefit to low vision rehabilitation in addition to eye care professional intervention alone.
Optometrists have accepted vision therapy, which is a medical treatment for optical muscle disabilities, as a feasible treatment used for eye related problems; claiming the treatment can strengthen vision and give the patient the opportunity to understand visuals quicker and clearer (Press). Vision therapy originated in the 1950s and over the past 25 years, has gained popularity, mainly because of new technological innovations in the field of treatment. Generally, vision therapy is prescribed as a measure mainly for people between the ages of 3 and 18. With the results from a comprehensive series of eye tests, the optometrist can work with the patient using special instruments—prisms, filters, occluders, and eye lenses—and strengthen the eye muscles, thus improving sight. According to optometrists in favor of vision therapy, these methods of treatment using these instruments function as safer routes to repair eye disabilities. Although vision therapy can yield favorable results, the practice as a treatment for innate eye disabilities has been in hot debate lately; as it can exceed $8000 and insurance companies do not cover the treatment. For decades, insurance companies have refused to accept vision therapy as a legitimate method for repairing eyesight (Boink). Concomitant with lack of insurance, the cost for a full treatment can exceed $8000, and doctors cannot guarantee a successful outcome. Recently, parents of children with eye related disabilities, such as amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (cross-eye), and doctors have attempted to cooperate with public schools to allow families access to school-funded doctors to practice vision therapy. With a tight budget, most schools cannot afford to supply vision therapy, and a...
There are all different types of medical and disable human beings out in this world. There are also different types of disabilities such as a physical or mental condition that limits a person 's movements, senses, or activities. I choose a sensory impairment, Diabetic Retinopathy which is one of the types of visual impairments that people may happen to get. You also have four other types of visual impairments, cataracts, glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa, and retrolental fibroplasia that you can also get. Diabetic Retinopathy is a complication of diabetes that affect the eyes.
Occupational Therapists perceive people, without discrimination, as active and creative “occupational beings” who crave engagement in activities of daily living, sequentially to maintain not merely their health but their wellbeing (COT, 2010). Occupation is a channel which directs people to better social inclusion, which in turn can result in dignity, independence, and social contribution (Waddell and Aylward, 2005) and one of the core foundations of Occupational Therapy is the necessity and value of occupations and re-engagement in occupation as an essential intervention (Ross, 2007a). Occupational Therapists who work with adults with different severities of learning disabilities experience difficulty with their everyday occupations, or activities of daily living (ADLs) and have both a clinical and a consultancy role (Lillywhite and Haines, 2010). People with a learning disability are a diverse group, and the severity of their condition can inhibit their abilities and independence (Cumella, 2013). But, how can Occupational Therapists use their professional skills to help those adults with a learning disability? How can these healthcare professionals promote their independence at home? This piece will look at the contribution of an Occupational Therapist giving an adult with a learning disability as much independence in their own locality.
Within the occupational therapy context, occupations are the individual acts and behaviours of a person of which give purpose and pleasure to their lives (WFOT, 2016). This could be as simplistic as bathing oneself or gaining independent mobility. Occupational therapists, most commonly known by the OT acronym, aim to achieve this through the modification, instillation and application of devices or the activity itself. If a client who had sustained an eye disability had a priority to maintain their own hygiene. An OT would assess the client’s bathroom, possibly install speciality marked body wash bottles or railing and introduce said client to the modifications. Not only does this provide physical therapy to manage an infirmity it supports the client emotionally by restoring
During the clinical evaluation of patients with mild to moderate dementia of the AD type, visual difficulties such as : topographic agnosia, visual agnosia, alexia without agraphia, and prosopagnosia are detected. AD patients have The problem of describing the individual components of a picture is consistent with the severity of cytochrome oxidase (C.O.) deficits in the association cortical areas. Other deficits experienced by AD patients were texture discrimination, blue-violet discrimination, and 4.72 deg/sec motion detection. When AD patients were compared to other age-matched controls, AD patients had shown specific deficits in contrast sensitivity. Deficits in color vision were only age-related (M. Wong-Riley, et al. , 1997).
The methods used for the study were study population, which consisted of 3,939 elderly who were 55 years and older, ophthalmic assessment which consisted of a baseline exam in 1991 to 1993 and two follow-up rounds in 1997 to 1999 and 2002 to 2006, incident open-angle glaucoma which defined incident OAG case as a participate that did not have glaucomatous visual field loss in both eyes at baseline and at least one eye at follow-up examinations, medication data that consisted of corticosteroid stratifying into five groups: inhaled steroids, steroid ointments, ophthalmic steroids, oral steroids, and nasal steroids which were prescribed for all participants from seven different pharmacies, other co-variables which included sex, age, diabetes mellitus, family history of glaucoma, rheumatoid arthritis myopia, IOP, and IOP-lowering treatment, and statistical analysis which compared differences in baseline characteristics between participants with and without incident
There are 285 million people that are visually impaired in the world. Of those people, 248 million have low vision and thirty- nine million are blind (WHO). The causes of blindness fall into two categories: natural causes and environmental causes. Cataracts, the clouding of the eye’s normally cleared lens (Landau 20), glaucoma (16), and macular degeneration (22) could all be put into the category of natural causes. Equally important, the environment can also have a huge impact on the condition of the eyes. Exposure to chemicals (30) and punctures in the eye (29) can cause a person to go blind. Next, symptoms of blindness may include tilting the head to the side to better focus on an object, holding an object unusually close (24), blurred vision that glasses cannot fix, and double vision (27). Other symptoms of blindness could be eye pressure or
Casey was that of the Person Environment Occupation Performance Model. This model was developed by Charles Christiansen and Carolyn Baum in 1991 (Lee, 2010). The PEOP is a client centred approach that looks at occupational performance and how it is influenced by the relationship that exists between a person and their environment (Cole and Tufano, 2008). The OT student felt this model applied to Ms. Casey, as it was evident that her physical impairment had impacted on her performance of meaningful occupations and engagement within her environment. There are four components to this model: Occupations, Performance, Person, Environment (Cole and Tufano, 2008). Person comprises of the ‘physiological, psychological, neurobehavioural, cognitive and spiritual factors’ that are intrinsic factors (Cole and Tufano, 2008, pp. 128), while Environment consists of the ‘physical, natural, cultural, societal, and social interactive factors and social and economic systems’ that are extrinsic factors (Cole and Tufano, 2008, pp. 128). The PEOP model supports client centred practice, as partnership between the client and therapist is necessary in order to enable the client to set goals and establish an approach that supports performance and participation in occupation (Christiansen and Baum, 2015). Initial assessment was guided by the PEOP model, which was conducted by the OT student in order to identify Ms. Casey’s
My father made a successful recovery and I became inspired. I realized that having the gift of sight is something people take for granted. Therefore, when I embarked on my undergraduate journey, I partook in several activities to help foster my thirst for knowledge about optometry. For instance, I became the treasurer of the pre-optometry club at the University of Florida. As an executive board member, I opened doors for others to find their passion for optometry through managing our budget and finances to sponsor trips and activities. Meanwhile, I also worked as a secretary and shadowed at the Eye Associates of Orlando, where I gained practical knowledge. I also volunteered for the KidSight Vision Screening Program where I entered data of visio...
Townsend, E.A. & Polatajko, H. J. (2007) Enabling Occupation II: Advancing an Occupational Therapy Vision for Health, Well-being & Justice through Occupation. Ottawa, ON: CAOT Publications ACE.
Robert, a 65 year-old male, has trouble reading fine detail, especially out of his central vision. He complains that his vision is blurred and that it is harder to see while operating a motor vehicle. In addition, sometimes objects appear wavy or crooked, which impairs his vision. His worst symptoms were that he occasionally lost the ability to distinguish between the features of familiar faces and he had a localized blind spot. Robert is not alone; many people suffer from symptoms related to loss and distortion of the visual field. He suffers from macular degeneration, the leading cause of decreased vision loss in the United States, especially for people over the age of 50 (Philippi, 2000).
Maintaining positive engagement in health management is important to the overall function of the older adult (Arbesman & Mosley, 2012). As natural aging takes its toll on an older adult, utilizing occupational therapy can help mitigate the effects on an individual’s quality of life. As Cronin and Mandich (2016) state, “adults over 80 is the fastest-growing segment of the American population” (p. 407). Therefore, it is imperative to implement effective programs to address this population and support the occupational engagement of older
Blindness can be so much more than the state of being unable to see (Dictionary.com). Both the 2008 movie Blindness, directed by Fernando Meirelles and based on a novel by José Saramago, and the short story The Country of the Blind written by H. G. Wells in 1904, put blindness at the center of the plot. What can blindness mean in our society? And what can blindness mean regarding my future profession in design? In the movie Blindness, to be blind leads to losing all that’s civilized; in H. G. Wells’ The Country of the Blind, blindness can be interpreted as a symbol for ignorance; finally, in graphic design, blindness could be to only focus on the aesthetic part of designing and forgetting the practical aspect of the design.
The need for vocational rehabilitation as it pertains to individuals with disabilities is growing rapidly. It is imperative that the tools are given for success. There are many obstacles that people face when attempting to secure proper employment and housing. The type of disability plays a significant role. There are many factors that affect an individual's ability to obtain adequate employment and housing. Factors such as gender, age and socio-economic background are key. Employment and housing are the most important elements when transitioning from school to work or childhood to adulthood.