FIRST STEPS IN VISION REHABILITATION FOR ADULTS WITH VISION LOSS, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITY WORKERS

FREE ONLINE COURSE:

VisionAWARE.org will offer a free online course on First Steps in Vision Rehabilitation for Adults with Vision Loss, Families, and Community Workers, made possible by a grant from The National Eye Institute. The course will be held from January 7 to February 1, 2008, and will consist of four learning modules:

The Eye and Vision:

• How widespread are vision problems?
• The eye and how it works
• Normal vision changes that occur as we get older
• The four major eye diseases: cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy

Low Vision and Optical Devices:

• A definition of low vision
• The difference between low vision and legal blindness
• The different types of eye care professionals: ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians
• What happens during a low vision evaluation?
• Low vision optical and non-optical devices

Vision Rehabilitation Services and Coping with Vision Loss:

• The benefits of life experience
• The different types of vision rehabilitation professionals: low vision therapists, orientation and mobility specialists, and vision rehabilitation therapists
• How to locate vision rehabilitation professionals
• How to adapt indoor environments
• Coping with vision loss

How To Cope with Daily Tasks:

• Pouring liquids
• Telephone adaptations
• Medication organizers
• Marking and labeling
• Money identification and organization
• Telling time
• Needle threading

In addition, the course will provide a weekly discussion board and learner forum, and a series of innovative web-based experiential/simulation activities designed to simulate the effects of vision and hearing loss and supplement the basic course material.

Recommended participants:
Adults who are blind or have low vision;?family members; personnel in senior centers, assisted living facilities, recreational and retirement facilities, nursing homes, and other long-term care facilities. The course will be limited to 50 participants.

About the Instructor:
Maureen A. Duffy, CVRT, is Editorial Director of AWARE. She is the author of Making Life More Livable (AFB, 2002), New Independence! Environmental Adaptations in Community Facilities for Adults with Vision Impairments (AWARE, 1997), and co-editor of New Independence! For Older Persons with Vision Loss in Long-Term Care Facilities (AWARE, 1991), in addition to numerous book chapters and articles on blindness, vision loss, and aging.

Maureen is Past President of the Vision Rehabilitation Therapy Division of the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AERBVI), and is a recipient of the prestigious Bruce McKenzie Award for lifetime achievement and outstanding contributions to Vision Rehabilitation Therapy. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor and past Director of the Graduate Programs in Vision Rehabilitation Therapy at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, where she twice received the Educator of the Year Award. ?

For course or registration information:
Contact Maureen Duffy, course instructor and AWARE's Editorial Director, at maureen.duffy@visionaware.organd please include the reason for your interest in the course.