A study of successful and unsuccessful low vision rehabilitation patients

The needs of the visually handicapped are, at times neglected by our profession. This is partly due to the fact that inadequate guidelines exist to guide the occasional low vision practitioner. In an effort to shed more light on this problem, the characteristics of 84 low vision rehabilitants were studied. This group, as a whole, achieved a very high rate of success. Significant differences were found to exist between the successful and unsuccessful groups on measurements of amounts of money spent, number of devices prescribed, and best corrected visual acuity (conventional spectacles). A fourth variable, age, showed that substantial difference existed between the two groups. Possible explanations, implications, and the need for future research are discussed.