Low vision
Living well with low vision
Low vision is not the end of reading, cooking, working or getting around. These are the tools and places people use to keep doing what matters to them.
What low vision means
Low vision means sight that glasses, contact lenses, medicine or surgery cannot fully correct, and that makes everyday tasks harder. Most people with low vision still have some useful sight. It can show up as blur, a blind spot in the middle, lost side vision, trouble in dim light or glare, or faded colors.
An eye care professional can tell you what is causing it. Ask for a low vision evaluation. It looks at how you use the sight you have and recommends tools and training. Many people never hear that this exists until they ask.
Everyday tools that help
- Magnifiers. Hand-held and stand magnifiers, and the magnifier built into your phone, make print and labels easier to read. Try more than one kind; the best one depends on the task.
- Light and contrast. A bright lamp aimed at what you are reading, dark ink on light paper (or the reverse) and a plain mat under a white plate can make a big difference. Reducing glare helps as much as adding light.
- Large print and high-contrast settings. Phones, tablets and computers can enlarge text, bolden it, invert colors and reduce motion. These settings are free and already installed.
- Speech and audio. Screen readers and text-to-speech read the screen or a document aloud. Audio books and talking devices can take the strain off tired eyes.
- Labels you can feel. Raised dots, rubber bands and tactile stickers mark appliance settings, medicine bottles and keys.
- Canes and mobility training. A white cane tells others you may not see them and tells you what is underfoot. An orientation and mobility specialist teaches safe travel, including new routes.
Apps to try
- Be My Eyes. Connects a person who is blind or has low vision with a sighted volunteer, or with an AI helper, through the phone camera for a quick look at a label, a screen or a room.
- GoodMaps. Indoor navigation that uses the phone camera to guide people through large buildings such as airports, transit stations and libraries. It works only where a venue has set it up.
- ReBokeh. Turns a phone or tablet camera into a magnifier. You can zoom, brighten, boost contrast, change colors or invert the image.
- Paper2Audio. A free reader that turns PDFs, e-books and web articles into spoken audio.
Apps change. Features, prices and supported devices are set by each company, so check the app's own page before you rely on it. Our sessions help you try tools like these with someone beside you.
Organizations that can help
- APH ConnectCenter. A free site from the American Printing House for the Blind with guidance for people who are blind or have low vision, families, teachers and employers.
- Living Well With Low Vision (Prevent Blindness). Directories and guides on rehabilitation, assistive technology, financial help, transportation and emotional well-being.
- Hadley. Free online, phone and mail learning for people with vision loss, with a community of peers.
- National Eye Institute. Plain-language explanations of eye conditions from the U.S. government.
We list outside organizations because they are useful. A link is not an endorsement, and we are not connected to them unless we say so.