Vision Rehabilitation
Vision Rehabilitation (often called vision rehab) is a term for a medical rehabilitation in order to improve vision or low vision. In other words, it is the process of restoring functional ability and improving quality of life and independence in an individual who has lost visual function through illness or injury.
Most visual rehabilitation services are focused on low vision, which is a visual impairment that cannot be corrected by regular eyeglasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery. Low vision interferes with the ability to perform everyday activities.
Visual impairment is caused by various factors including brain damage, vision loss, and others.
| Disease | Clinical Presentation | Associated Disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Age-related macular degeneration | Reduced visual acuity and Loss of central vision (central scotoma) | Difficulty reading, inability to recognize faces, distortion or disappearance of central vision, reduced color vision, reduced contrast perception, mobility difficulties related to loss of depth and contrast cues. |
| Diabetic retinopathy | Reduced visual acuity, scattered central scotoma, peripheral and mid-peripheral scotoma, and macula edema | Difficulty with tasks requiring fine-detail vision such as reading, distorted central vision, fluctuating vision, loss of color perception, mobility problems due to loss of depth and contrast cues. In severe cases, total blindness can occur. |
| Glaucoma | Degeneration of the optic disc and loss of peripheral vision (constricted visual field) | Mobility and reading problems due to restricted visual fields, people suddenly appearing in the visual field. In severe cases, total blindness can occur. |
| Cataract | Reduced visual acuity, light scatter, sensitivity to glare, and image distortion | Remedied by lens extraction in 90% of cases. If not remedied, there is difficulty with detail vision, bright and changing light levels, color vision, contrast perception, and mobility related to loss of depth and contrast cues. |