sight impaired with no useable sight, but their needs are likely to be different and would require a separate study. Additional costs and why they were considered important Technology and communication People who are sight impaired need various technological items with higher specifications than fully sighted people, such as larger computer screens, and televisions with talking menus and other additional features. They need higher grade mobile phones to provide extra accessibility features and apps. They also require specialised items such as a video magnifier, assistive computer software and training in its use. The research groups agreed that such technology is important to sight impaired people, to enable communication, facilitate access to written materials, and make the best use of the sight that they have, as expressed by one research participant: more independence you have with aids or talking facilities or “The large print or font sizes or whatever, the more we feel normal. That is hugely important.” While some technology items only involve one-off purchases, having a more expensive mobile phone can add significantly to regular monthly costs. Domestic help every two weeks for two hours Groups agreed that someone who is sight impaired could do some cleaning, but having regular help to give the home a ‘good once over’ or to deal with particular jobs in the home would be beneficial. They noted that maintaining the presentation of the home is important for ‘self-esteem’. Additional travel costs People who are sight impaired can require additional taxi journeys for some medical appointments where eye drops are administered and to allow for times when a condition fluctuates making it harder to use the
sight impaired with no useable sight, but their needs are likely to be different and would require a separate study. Additional costs and why they were considered important Technology and communication People who are sight impaired need various technological items with higher specifications than fully sighted people, such as larger computer screens, and televisions with talking menus and other additional features. They need higher grade mobile phones to provide extra accessibility features and apps. They also require specialised items such as a video magnifier, assistive computer software and training in its use. The research groups agreed that such technology is important to sight impaired people, to enable communication, facilitate access to written materials, and make the best use of the sight that they have, as expressed by one research participant: “The more independence you have with aids or talking facilities or large print or font sizes or whatever, the more we feel normal. That is hugely important.” While some technology items only involve one-off purchases, having a more expensive mobile phone can add significantly to regular monthly costs. Domestic help every two weeks for two hours Groups agreed that someone who is sight impaired could do some cleaning, but having regular help to give the home a ‘good once over’ or to deal with particular jobs in the home would be beneficial. They noted that maintaining the presentation of the home is important for ‘self-esteem’. Additional travel costs People who are sight impaired can require additional taxi journeys for some medical appointments where eye drops are administered and to allow for times when a condition fluctuates making it harder to use the
Findings%20-%20Additional%20costs%20of%20living%20for%20people%20who%20are%20sight%20impaired%20-%20Word%20version.docx