Some 120,000 U.S. veterans are legally blind and approximately 1.1 million are low vision, estimates from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Blind Rehabilitation Service (BRS) reveal. All who meet the criteria for low vision are now eligible for both VA services and BVA membership.

The remaining millions of Americans confronting low vision are not able to access VA rehabilitation programs and the technology that comes with these programs, or they may be low vision veterans who are unaware of the benefits they have earned as a result of their service. Both groups will discover a wealth of resource information in Low Vision Matters by Laura J. Stevens, MSci, and Tom Blackman, MHA. The book was published by Square One Publishers.

Two parts divide the book. In Part One, Stevens, a resident of Lafayette, Indiana, focuses on the day-to-day activities that low vision has affected in her own life—safety in her home, mobility outside the home, handling of finances, or dealing with home entertainment systems and the seemingly easy, everyday tasks that were once so simple—turning on a light switch, cooking, reading, driving, shopping, starting a dishwasher, or reaching a friend by phone.

In an extensive “Resources” section in Part Two, Vision Therapist Blackman provides a comprehensive guide to aids and equipment now available to people with sight loss. They will include a few aids that are already available through VA Prosthetics and Sensory Aids and others that may not be.

Stevens and Blackman provide the hope and optimism that are vital to good mental health, offering relevance to the oft-heard phrase in BVA circles that there is life after blindness and low vision. For more information about Low Vision Matters, including information on how to order the book, click the button below.