Organisation

A person with low vision can help themself by making the home and workplace uncluttered, well organised, well lit and easy to navigate. Keep important items in the same place and use labelling systems to assist.

Numerous styles of identification labels can help with organisation, including: plastic tie-on labels, clothing labels, iron-on barcode labels and barcode readers. There are radio locator tags, bump-ons, stick-ons or tactile marking pens to mark frequently used buttons or settings on equipment.

When going out, thinking ahead will make a big difference. For example, restaurants are often dimly lit and menus written in small print. Rather than asking fellow diners to read out the menu, contact the restaurant beforehand and ask them to fax or email the menu in advance. If travelling, get forms before leaving and fill them out in the well lit comfort of home.

Here are some other ideas to help you get organised in the home, the workplace and community:

• Have a bright coloured wallet, key holders and glasses case
• Keep these regularly used items in a white basket (for contrast) and in the same place, ready for quick collection when going out, and place them there immediately when returning home
• Use a dark felt pen on light materials to label as many objects as possible
• Use Velcro or tactile dots on commonly used dials, remotes and domestic appliances