Accommodations for the person with Low Vision

1. Reduce glare, especially for the person with cataracts.  Examples of glare include:
•	Shiny, buffed floors, especially long hallways (with sunlight at the end)
•	Slick, shiny (magazine) pages 
•	Having the person facing into a bright light (artificial light or sunny window)
•	Glass table top or desk top
•	Computer monitors: CRT monitors are more reflective than LCD monitors

2. Increase contrast.  Examples of accommodations could include:
•	Stairways: paint top and bottom steps different color than the floor
•	Room perimeter: a baseboard of contrasting color, to aid in depth perception
•	Retrieving a light colored thimble will be easier if the bottom of the drawer is dark
•	Sorting light-colored pills will be easier on a piece of black, non-shiny paper or cloth

Print guidelines

1.	Font styles and sizes. Choose materials with font sizes large enough for people with visual impairments to adequately see and read the information. Avoid materials with busy font styles, all capital letters or italics.

2.	Use of illustrations and images. Use illustrations to complement textual descriptions. This helps patients gain a clearer idea of what is occurring in their eyes. 

3.	Use of color. Choose materials with colors that have good contrast and are easy on the eyes. Dark text on light backgrounds (black on white) is easier to read than light text on dark backgrounds (white on black).

4.	Tone and clarity. Use materials that present information in a clear and understandable manner using a pleasant, friendly and respectful tone.
5.	Literacy Levels. Forty-four percent of people age 65 and older read at about the fifth grade level or less. Another 30 percent read between the fifth- and eighth-grade levels. For older adults, choose easy-to-read materials written in plain language, familiar words and short sentences. 

Creating Print Materials
When creating your own patient education materials, you should have one goal—to make the information easy to understand. The following tips will help make your materials more effective:

1.	Keep your sentences short, but not choppy. 
2.	Use personal pronouns (you, your) to make your patients understand how the information applies to them. 
3.	Use bold print to emphasize important terms and information. 
4.	Use bullets for important list items. 
5.	Use active verbs to illustrate effect. "Laser surgery reduces the risk of blindness" is more effective than "To reduce the risk of blindness, laser surgery is recommended." 
6.	Avoid using technical terms and language.