Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Apr;77(2):91-4.
doi: 10.5935/0004-2749.20140023.

Optical and nonoptical aids for reading and writing in individuals with acquired low vision

Mayla Myrina Bianchim Monteiro  1 , Rita de Cássia Ietto Montilha  1 , Keila Miriam Monteiro de Carvalho  1 , Maria Elisabete Rodrigues Freire Gasparetto  1
Affiliations
Free article

Optical and nonoptical aids for reading and writing in individuals with acquired low vision

Mayla Myrina Bianchim Monteiro et al. Arq Bras Oftalmol. 2014 Apr.
Free article

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the use of optical and nonoptical aids during reading and writing activities in individuals with acquired low vision.

Methods: This study was performed using descriptive and cross-sectional surveys. The data collection instrument was created with structured questions that were developed from an exploratory study and a previous test based on interviews, and it evaluated the following variables: personal characteristics, use of optical and nonoptical aids, and activities that required the use of optical and nonoptical aids.

Results: The study population included 30 subjects with acquired low vision and visual acuities of 20/200-20/400. Most subjects reported the use of some optical aids (60.0%). Of these 60.0%, the majority (83.3%) cited spectacles as the most widely used optical aid. The majority (63.3%) of subjects also reported the use of nonoptical aids, the most frequent ones being letter magnification (68.4%), followed by bringing the objects closer to the eyes (57.8%). Subjects often used more than one nonoptical aid.

Conclusions: The majority of participants reported the use of optical and nonoptical aids during reading activities, highlighting the use of spectacles, magnifying glasses, and letter magnification; however, even after the use of these aids, we found that the subjects often needed to read the text more than once to understand it. During writing activities, all subjects reported the use of optical aids, while most stated that they did not use nonoptical aids for such activities.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by