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Programs
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Living Well with Partial Vision
Living Well with Partial Vision is a Medicare-approved comprehensive vision rehabilitation program established in 2002 for individuals with severe vision loss. Occupational Therapists specially trained in low vision rehabilitation provide in-home treatment to individuals who are experiencing severe vision loss from macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, strokes and accidents.
The program is designed to impart skills so that individuals can maintain independence and maximize the use of whatever remaining vision they may have. Clients help determine individualized goals and learn such skills as meal preparation, medication management, health and safety, and use of low vision devices (magnifiers, talking watches, clocks and thermometers, boiling water sensors, 20/20 writing pens, large TV remote controls, etc.), to name a few. For instance, women are often grateful to re-learn how to apply their make-up or tweeze embarrasing facial hair.
The Living Well with Partial Vision program serves around 200 individuals annually. Upon successful completion of the program, 80 percent of participants maintain a long-term improvement in knowledge, skills and self-sufficiency in activities of self-care and home-management, and 86 percent increased their reading/writing ability through the use of low vision devices and proper lighting.
The Association for the Blind is grateful to Trident United Way for the grant funds it provides for the Living Well with Partial Vision program.
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ReFocus
The purpose of the ReFocus program is to provide free, comprehensive, professional eye exams, follow-up care, education and eyewear to medically indigent children, youth, families and homeless/uninsured adults. The ultimate goal of the ReFocus program is to reduce the incidence of unnecessary vision loss and impairment by providing access to an ongoing, donated system of comprehensive vision care services.
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Computer Training
In July 2006, the Association for the Blind began collaborating with the South Carolina Commission for the Blind to provide computer training to individuals who are legally blind. Before this collaboration, participants were required to commute to Columbia for many weeks to learn to use JAWS or ZoomText, specialized talking and magnification software programs for the blind. This program provides an opportunity for individuals in the Tri-County area to spend three to four hours three days per week at the Association for the Blind, where a qualified instructor teaches keyboarding and the use of the internet and email.
Since its inception, the computer training program has served more than 80 individuals. Classes are kept small to allow for individualized instruction and students progress at their own pace. Upon successful completion of the program, students are given a rebuilt computer with the accessibility software installed on it from the SC Commission for the Blind. The only requirements for the course are that individuals are legally blind and that they arrange their own transportation to the Association to attend the classes.
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Veterans Services
In April 2003, the Association began contracting with the Veterans Administration to provide Orientation and Mobility training for veterans. Orientation and Mobility training emphasizes techniques to help individuals adjust to vision loss by receiving instruction in the use of an aluminum "white cane" to assist them in independent travel in both familiar and unfamiliar areas.
In 2004, AFTB began setting up computers with accessibility software designed for the visually impaired for veterans in their homes.
In 2005, the Association expanded its veterans services to include the delivery and set up of Closed Circuit TVs for vision impaired veterans from Hilton Head to Myrtle Beach and west to Columbia. CCTVs allow individuals with severe visual impairment to read and write by adjusting magnification and color contrasts to suit personal vision needs.
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Social Events and Advocacy
Blind and vision impaired persons are often limited in their activities due to lack of transportation and/or lack of financial means. The AFTB strives to ensure that visually impaired individuals are afforded the opportunity to attend several social, educational, cultural and recreational activities over the course of the year.
Annually, AFTB members are invited to attend such events as a Spoleto Festival music performance, a Holiday Luncheon, Charleston Stage performances, a fishing trip sponsored by the Santee Lions Club and a Family Fest hosted by Jim Schaffer at Grahams Turnout in Denmark, SC. The Association provides transportation to the Holiday Luncheon, fishing trip and Family Fest. AFTB also has supported the ITNCharlestonTrident independent transportation network since its inception in 2006.
Many individuals who experience vision loss and their family members are unaware of the support services and resources that are available outside their doctor's offices. The Association held its first biennial Low Vision Fair in 2007 and, in February 2009, hosted a second event to increase awareness about programs and services that exist for individuals who are blind or severely vision impaired.
At the 2009 Low Vision Fair, with help from Dr. Jennifer Smith and the Optometrists of the Carolina Coastal Optometric Society, free eye screenings were offered to 40 uninsured lowcountry residents who live at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.
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Scholarships for the Care of Guide Dogs
Katie Lee Beard left the Association a generous bequest for the care of guide dogs. In 2006, the AFTB began helping qualified guide dog users with grooming and veterinary care.
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Low Vision Aids Rental Program
The Association now offers a CCTV rental program! A CCTV (closed-circuit television) uses a video camera to project a magnified image onto a TV screen. For individuals with visual impairments a CCTV can help you accomplish a lot of daily tasks, such as reading, writing, viewing photos, working crossword puzzles, sewing or other hobbies. This program is funded in part by a fund set up by former AFTB board members.
Contact Gloria at (843)723-6915 for program information and enrollment.
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