This is a free resource that you are welcome to copy and use however it is helpful. Last Edited on April 19, 2025 by Deb Marinos, Adaptability for Life LLC. Provider of specialized consulting and training for professionals.
Making things easier….for People with hearing and /or vision loss.
Check in with them about what is changing or is needed ongoing.
Do not assume they can’t read or need help if they are using a long while cane.
Say who you are, and ask “Is there anything I can help with?”
Ask about preferred font size, colors, or information needed.
Offer accessible documents (email, Word, text) and ensure websites/forms are easy to navigate with labelled graphics and buttons.
Educate staff on alternative, effective inclusive communication strategies.
Make clients aware of your presence prior to speaking.
Always say if you are leaving or when someone new joins the space.
When speaking, use good lighting, face the person, and minimize glare.
Speaking clearly, yelling does not improve understanding due to distortion.
Give advance notice for schedule or location changes, to allow for extra time needed to arrange rides.
Recognize that fatigue from adapting, and complicated mobility can affect interactions—be patient and flexible. Remember to breathe, and release fear.
Consider an old iPad with earbuds in your lobby to provide documents in any size or speech readily.
Consider using the client’s phone or other device to record sessions, as it can be hard to track the physical details and process abstract information at the same time.
Figure out a way to know what time it is in session.
Figure out a plan ahead of time for getting safely out of the office if they are emotional when session is done. It takes a huge amount of focus and memory recall to pay attention to canes, dogs or trying to navigate.
Remember that often vision fluctuates with stress and is more impacting if in unknown environments.
Work with them on outside perceptions of the are you blind enough dilemma. If they are getting injured, avoiding going out at night or starting to say mobility is too hard, its time to use a long white cane or guide dog. Agencies use different criteria. For example, if under 55 in Oregon you need to be legally blind by a eye doctor exam per SSA definition-not able to see any letters on the 20100 line or less than 20 degrees of field in the best eye with correction or expected to progress to that. Yet if over 55, if you can’t read newspaper print, you qualify for training. In schools if you are more than 20/40 you get help. Remember that it is not uncommon for completely – totally blind people with good adaptive skills, to be told “you don’t look blind”. And you are faking it! Functional does not = sight. Many people with blindness are independent travelers, workers and homemakers.
If early in the discovery/struggles: Encourage them to reduce the use of vision, encourage them to switch to audio and tactile methods, even if they can “still” see some. Explore the resistance.
Help them to call for training with Oregon Commission for the Blind, especially if currently or want to work or over 55. They will need to identify what things are hard for them, or what hobbies, and tasks that they are no longer doing. Expect excuses and justifications. Sometimes it helps to explore how they would manage if spouse/partner or whoever, is unable to be home.
Often since they don’t imagine any solution, they don’t see a point in trying. Yet most everything can be done, though differently, with training and persistence.
Help them look for a good low vision support group, that matches their stage of loss and age group/interests. There are national list serves, a large Reddit group, FB groups and national conferences. Many have training opportunities and allows them to share with others facing similar emotional challenges.
A wealth of resources are available from American Foundation for the Blind www.afb.org or Blindskills www.afb.org or many others. Oregon Commission for the Blind https://oregon.gov/blind 1-971-673-1588