Assistive Devices for Persons with Visual Impairment and Low Vision: Preferences and Expectations of Users in the Southern States of India
Purpose: Persons with visual disabilities use various assistive devices to support, uphold or progress their functional abilities. Under the ADIP scheme of the Government of India, persons with any form of disability are provided with assistive devices to suit their needs. This study focused on finding out the preferences of persons with visual impairment in selecting and using their assistive devices. It also aimed to understand their expectations and measures for assessing the utility of assistive devices.
Method: Data was collected by using semi-structured interview schedules from 227 respondents in the Southern States of India and the Union Territory of Puducherry (Pondicherry). The expectations and suggestions made by the study sample are discussed in detail.
Results: Assistive devices of any sort are considered in terms of credibility, availability and suitability. The study findings revealed that 90% of the users preferred assistive devices such as Braille Slate-Interpoint A4, Taylor Frame, Daisy Player, JAWS Screen Reading Software, NVDA Screen Reading Software, Chessboard and Audible Cricket Ball, which were extremely helpful for their independent living. They had used most of these assistive devices in the optimal way.
Conclusion: Assistive devices distributed to persons with visual impairment under various schemes are beneficial in enhancing their progress in education, employment, social participation and recreational aspects of life. The expectation of the respondents/users was that assistive device services be made easily accessible.
Keywords
Authors
How to Cite
Download Citation
License
Copyright © 2022 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License By-NC-ND 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access ).
Similar Articles
- Soraia Micaela Silva, Fredi Alexander Diaz-Quijano, Camila Ferreira da Cruz, Paula da Cruz Peniche, João Carlos Ferrari Corrêa, Christina Danielli Coelho de Morais Faria, Does Residing in Environments of Different Metropolises in a Developing Country exert an Impact on Disability after Stroke? , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 32 No. 2 (2021): Summer
- Mohammad Shamim Ansari, Assessing Parental Role as Resource Persons in Achieving Goals of Early Detection and Intervention for Children with Hearing Impairment , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 25 No. 4 (2014): Winter 2014
- Cristina Nieves Perdomo Delgado, Luis Carlos Paschoarelli, Implementation of a Remote Control Application for Elderly People in Brazil: Analysis of the Factors Involved in the use of a Technological Innovation related to Telecare , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 2 (2020): Summer 2020
- Peter Evans, Shaheen Shah, Adam Huebner, Selvaraj Sivasubramaniam, Chhoeurn Vuthy, Kao Sambath, Lucy Haurisa, Yim Borun, A Population-based Study on the Prevalence of Impairment and Disability Among Young Cambodian Children , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 25 No. 2 (2014): Summer 2014
- Efua Esaaba Mantey Agyire-Tettey, Marigold Cobbina, Emma Seyram Hamenoo, Academic Challenges of Students with Hearing Impairment (SHIs) in Ghana , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 28 No. 3 (2017): Autumn 2017
- Zohaib Aftab, Ahmad Zohaib Zaidi, Faraz Shafi, User Satisfaction with Conventional Lower-Limb Orthotic Devices: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Pakistan , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 3 (2020): Autumn
- Akhila Jagadish, Manikandan Natarajan, John M Solomon, Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Kannada version Fatigue Severity Scale among Kannada-speaking Individuals with Neurological Disorders: a Cross-Sectional Study done in South India , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 32 No. 2 (2021): Summer
- Santhi S Prakash, Inclusion of Children with Hearing Impairment in Schools: A Survey on Teachers’ Attitudes , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 23 No. 3 (2012): Autumn
- Maria Luisa Toro, Yasmin Garcia, Alejandra Manoela Ojeda, David J Dausey, Jon Pearlman, Quantitative Exploratory Evaluation of the Frequency, Causes and Consequences of Rehabilitation Wheelchair Breakdowns delivered at a Paediatric Clinic in Mexico , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 23 No. 3 (2012): Autumn
- Nainika Seth, Megha Dhillon, Intersections of Disability and Gender in Sports: Experiences of Indian Female Athletes , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 30 No. 3 (2019): Autumn 2019
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.