The vision-impaired only have to look around to find services or gadgets to help them navigate the world that full-sighted people take for granted.
The annual Low Vision Expo at Durango Public Library last week showed why. High-tech and low-tech devices, information about funding sources and talks by eye-care professionals were the order of the day.
Diminished vision isn’t the end of the road, said Rose Romero, the low-vision coordinator at the sponsoring Southwest Center for Independence, which serves Archuleta, La Plata, Montezuma, San Juan and Dolores counties.
“I’m legally blind,” said Romero, who has a guide dog named Ivy. “But being blind doesn’t mean being helpless. You adapt and do things a different way.”
Jeanette Abella, coordinator of independent living at the center, had a table full of common gadgets adapted for people with impaired vision or physical limitations.
Among the items: a telescoping walking stick for easier handling; a long-handled shoehorn to avoid bending over; a kitchen knife with a vertical handle for people with arthritis or carpal-tunnel syndrome; and a pen with a Styrofoam ball at midpoint for people who can’t grip a narrow shaft.
A half-dozen vendors displayed apparatuses that make reading easier or put written work into audio form.
Bob Machacek with AKB Visions in Arvada was demonstrating a video magnifier, a closed-circuit television system that turns miniscule print into eye-comforting size.
A document is placed under an electronic reader that displays the text on a television screen. The text can appear white-on-black, black-on-white or in color if the original is in color. The size of type can be adjusted and the machine has zoom-in, zoom-out capability.
The price of such gadgets varies, Machacek said. The one he was demonstrating is priced at $2,995. He sells 10 to 12 of them a year.
Deb Denious and Dan Goldman with Durango Public Library were behind a table that displayed a variety of talking books and large-print books.
“We have 1,800 books on CDs,” Denious said. “We have 3,000 downloadable books as well as e-readers.”
Sandy Irwin, assistant director of the library, said that from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 21,753 audio books were checked out of the library, there were 3,984 downloads of audio material and 2,782 e-books were checked out.
Kim Ann Wardlow, director of marketing at the Audio Information Network of Colorado, said her volunteer-based organization broadcasts printed material not available to the vision-impaired or the blind.
“We provide access to 100 Colorado newspapers as well as magazines and other print material,” Wardlow said. “The network is 23 years old.”
Volunteers, who read material in English or Spanish, are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The service is free, with costs paid by foundations and private donors.
Ashley Spishuck, activities director at Sunshine Gardens assisted-living center, brought six senior citizens to see what’s new for those with low vision.
“The majority of our clients have some vision impairment,” Spishuck said. “I think we’ll be making weekly visits to the library for audio books.”
Dr. Mark Rahner, an ophthalmologist with Advanced Eye Clinic and optometrist Dr. Moss Fenberg with Four Corners Eye Clinic spoke to senior citizens attending the expo at lunchtime.
Rahner said the elderly whose sharpness of vision is waning must confront the situation and find remedies.
“You’re the same person, but you’re dealing with a challenge,” Rahner said. “Take what you’ve got and work with it, seeing it as a challenge instead of a handicap.
“There are a lot of resources in the community,” Rahner said. “There’s plenty to do, so there’s no reason for life to stop.”
He cited Charles Darwin, who said that it’s not the strongest or the most intelligent of the species that survive, but the ones most responsive to change.
daler@durangoherald.com
