When Education and Vision Services Director Amy Wurf talks with a new client who recently began experiencing vision loss, one of the most common things she hears is that they no longer do the hobbies they once loved. Maybe they can’t see their knitting anymore, or struggle to read music. Losing your vision doesn’t have to mean losing your hobbies as well. You may just need to find new ways to keep doing what you love.
“If it’s your choice to end a hobby, that’s okay,” Amy says. “But if you feel like you have to stop doing a hobby because of your vision loss, know that may not always be the case. The world is a stressful place, and it is so important to have something that can take your mind off those bigger issues. You don’t have to be a great artist. It can just be something that lets you turn off the outside world for a while.”
Earlier this summer, we added a new area to our Sharper Vision Store focusing on hobby items. These adaptive products are specifically designed for people who are blind or have low vision to allow them to continue with the hobbies they love. Customer Care Specialist Greg Schmidt says that in the few months since he helped launch the new hobby section, he’s seen a lot of interest.
One popular, all-purpose item is a hands-free magnifier. Perfect for any hobby that uses both hands, the 2.5x Lighted Neck Magnifier can both magnify and light up any project you’re working on to give you the best possible view. Hand-free magnifiers are great for everything from sewing to crossword puzzles. While the store also carries large print crossword puzzles, we know that some people want to do the puzzle right out of the newspaper.
One item that’s perfect for musicians came into our store after a suggestion from a client. An avid guitar player who came to the Council for services showed Amy the hand-drawn large print music paper she used to continue to read and write music after she began experiencing vision loss. Most sheet music can be too small for someone with low vision to read. But there’s no need to draw your own. Our large print sheet music book is suitable for guitarists, pianists or any other music maven!
If card games are more your speed, we have a number of adaptive decks available in our store. EZC Playing Cards are both large print and high contrast to help you easily identify the cards in your hand. If you prefer the classic poker-style cards, we carry Jumbo Poker-Sized Cards that are easy to read. Play another hand of euchre with any number of our large print card decks!
For some hobbies, such as knitting, you don’t need to rely on vision at all. You can rely instead on tactile cues that you have picked up unnoticed. While these tactile cues may need to be relearned, many people with no usable vision are able to continue knitting.
Whatever your hobby, we encourage you to reach out to the Council to see if our hobby section has something for you. If you use something for your hobby that you can’t find in our store, feel free to tell us about it! Greg is always looking for new adaptive products that can help people with a wide range of hobbies.
The Sharper Vision Store is open Tuesday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., and on Mondays by appointment. You can reach the Sharper Vision Store by phone during regular business hours at 800-783-5213, or by email at Info@WCBlind.org.
