Independent Living: People with vision disabilities have support groups available

theithacajournal.com

February 14, 2009

By Sherry Thurston
Guest Columnist

Did you know that 20.5 million Americans 40 and older have a cataract in at least one eye and another 6 million have had cataract surgery?

Just in the United States alone, it is believed that there are approximately 120,000 patients who are believed to be legally blind from glaucoma. Glaucoma can cause blindness if it is left untreated. And unfortunately about 10 percent of people with glaucoma who receive proper treatment still experience loss of vision.

Macular degeneration is a major cause of visual impairment in the United States. Approximately 1.8 million Americans age 40 and older have advanced macular degeneration, and another 7.3 million people with intermediate macular degeneration are at substantial risk of vision loss. The government estimates that by 2020 there will be 2.9 million people with advanced macular degeneration.

These numbers are unbelievable. I have glaucoma and have been treating my glaucoma for about 15 years. Before the glaucoma I had two cataract surgeries and have been classified legally blind since the age of 2. While growing up in the 1960s and 1970s there were no support groups to help me understand my vision loss or for me to socialize with others who had a visual disability. With support from my family, I coped with the situation and graduated from school. As I got older and learned more about the services in the community, I became a peer counselor. I realized how important it is to have a peer-run support group for people with visual disabilities.

The support group not only offers a support network for people with visual disabilities but it offers resources and support for family members and interested community members. Not everyone needs a support group, and that is OK. Those who do come, come for socialization because they feel isolated in their homes, not being able to get out because of their vision loss. Some people come for the information that is being shared by a guest speaker or by the agency facilitating the support group. Then you get others who like to share their experiences living with a vision loss, and that is the whole idea of the support group: sharing of experiences and ideas with difficult areas in our lives. If we share our experiences, someone else will learn from our experiences and that experience will make their life not so difficult. One other thing about support groups is that they do not have to be a negative thing. I like to think that the Visual Support Group at Finger Lakes Independence Center is a positive influence on those who attend.

Do you have a visual disability and have wanted to attend a support group but have not because you have thought it would be depressing? Why don't you make a New Year's resolution and give me a call and attend the Visual Support Group. Call FLIC at 272-2433.