macular degeneration, macular, diagnosis Home Away From Home – My Macular Degeneration Journey/Journal

Home Away From Home

We all want to be independent and live in our own homes as long as absolutely possible. Still, there may come a time that vision loss and other disabilities make it difficult for us to do that.

Many people are looking at alternative living arrangements to satisfy their needs. For example, my mother-in-law lives in a ‘continuing care community’. She has her own house but the facility takes care of all the outside maintenance and any interior repairs…right down to changing light bulbs if need be! The community has affordable van transportation and a community center where some meals and entertainment are offered. If there is an emergency, people from the facility are right there. They also maintain their own, small security force.

If my mother-in-law should require assisted living and/or a nursing home, they are right there on campus. She is guaranteed placement.

Of course, my mother-in-law does not have a vision loss – I am the ‘lucky’ one there! – but I would suspect many of the community residents do. Problem is, many if not most of the care communities have not caught on to the fact they actually have visually impaired residents! And if they do realize they have them, they don’t know what to do with them.

If you are interested in assisted living, what should you, as a visually impaired individual, look for in a facility? After all, we don’t intend to sit in bed all day. We want to be as independent as possible and the staff should help, right?! Right!

VisionAware to the rescue. They have a short article on Help for Seniors with Vision Loss: Tips for Assisted Living Staff Members. They also did a short webinar and have the transcript for that at the end of the page. While this article is meant as a tutorial for facility staff, you or your agents can use it when shopping for assisted living.

We have talked about many of these before in the context of making your home safer and more livable. It is important to control glare and use contrast. This includes contrast tape on all stairs. Bold fonts and contrast should be used on handouts and enlarged or tactile versions of games should be in the game room. Staff should understand how to function as a sighted guide. Hallways should be free of clutter. Low furniture and throw rugs likewise should be avoided.

When you go for your tour, staff should make an effort to talk to you about the layout of the facility. Descriptions should be just that: descriptive! If the dining area is 20 feet on the right, it is 20 feet on the right, not up here somewhere.

Then of course we come to a horrible blind joke from when I was a kid: how do you punishment Helen Keller? Rearrange the furniture! Meaning, if you are looking at a facility where they rearrange furniture and move things from their typical places on a whim, it may not be the place for you.

Hoping no one has to make such a move before they want to, but if assisted living becomes a necessity for you, try to make sure the place is attentive to your needs. After all, you are a VIP!

Written September 2nd, 2017

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