See the Difference: Unlocking Greater Independence with Motion Composites' Vision Package

In the United States, approximately 1 out of 3 people age 65 and older have an eye-related visual-impairing condition, and approximately 1 out of 4 Canadians age 75 and older have an eye-related visual impairment. The leading causes of vision loss in Canada and the United States are age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy. These numbers highlight the significant impact of visual impairments on individuals, particularly as the population ages, and emphasize the need for accessible solutions to help people with low vision lead independent lives.

We often think that a person having a problem with their vision is caused by a person having an issue with their eye, however, that is not always the case. A vision problem can occur when the brain is unable to appropriately process, interpret, and/or respond to visual information. Common diseases that can cause this type of vision problem are Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, Stroke, Brain Injury, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, and Cerebral Palsy. Both countries are experiencing a rise in dementia cases due to their aging populations, with Alzheimer's disease being the most common cause of dementia. The number of individuals living with these conditions is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades, leading to greater demand for innovations to develop in adaptive equipment and assistive technology. This demonstrates the need for the development of the Vision Package.

What is The Vision Package?

As a way to respond to the growing demands that visual impairments are impacting society, Motion Composites has developed a new product called the Vision Package. The Vision Package is a product that has finally arrived to serve our visually impaired population who are also ultralight manual wheelchair users. A new innovation to low vision, The Vision Package’s built-in high contrast eliminates clinicians' need to add brightly colored tape to make a wheelchair functional. The Vision Package now provides built-in high contrast on essential functions such as the brake handles, locks on legrests, footplates, and armrests. The increased high contrast makes it easier for visually impaired clients to identify and access key features on their wheelchair, which reduces their risk of accidents.

What Parts of the Wheelchair will have High Contrast?

• Footplates
• Wheelchair lock extenders
• Legrest Release Lever
• Front of the Armrest

Why Do High Contrast Wheelchair Parts Matter?

When a visual impairment occurs; an individual has a very high likelihood of having impaired contrast sensitivity. Contrast sensitivity is the ability of a person to see low-contrast images in the real world; such as seeing a black wheelchair brake on an all-black wheelchair. When a person has a visual impairment they have a very high likelihood of having poor contrast sensitivity. This means that they would be unable to locate the black wheelchair brake on an all-black wheelchair. Therefore, individuals with a visual impairment require good high-contrast color schemes. When high contrast is added appropriately, it allows people with a visual impairment to identify and access the item that they need to interact with. This means that when the brakes on a wheelchair are changed in color to a bright vibrant orange it creates high-contrast off of the all-black wheelchair. Which then allows for the client with the visual impairment to be able to easily access the brakes on their wheelchair.

Who Can Benefit from the Vision Package?

The demographic of clientele who could benefit from the Vision Package is large. Any individual who has a visual impairment that causes them to have a loss of central and/or peripheral vision, blurred vision, generalized haze, light sensitivity, double vision, impaired contrast sensitivity, or impaired visual perception would benefit from the package. The Vision Package can benefit individuals with any impairment that affects contrast sensitivity. All of the diagnoses listed below can cause impaired contrast sensitivity. Conditions that may benefit from the Vision Package include:

• Macular Degeneration (Dry and Wet)
• Glaucoma
• Diabetic Retinopathy
• Cataracts
• Dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Stroke
• Brain Injury
• Retinitis Pigmentosa
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Cerebral Palsy
• Spina Bifida

Client Feedback on the Vision Package

As an Occupational Therapist specializing in low vision, seating, and mobility, I had the privilege of demonstrating the Vision Package to clients with a range of visual impairments. Here are the experiences of two clients who had the opportunity to test out the Vision Package.

• An Older Adult with Alzheimer’s Disease

My client with Alzheimer's Disease has moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease and demonstrates having visual processing issues, reduced depth perception, impaired contrast sensitivity, impaired cognition, and poor visual attention and scanning. Prior to using the Vision Package Parts, the client required verbal and visual cues from a caregiver to show the client where the brakes were located on the wheelchair. This caused increased caregiver burden and put the client at a higher risk of falling or sustaining an injury while using the wheelchair. One of the most effective ways to address this client's dementia-related vision impairments is by adding high contrast to emphasize key features of an object. When we added the high-contrast brake extenders, footplates, and legrest release levers, the client demonstrated a significant improvement after training in being able to locate the brake extenders. The client now is able to locate the wheelchair brakes with independence and remembers to lock them >75% of the time, which is a significant improvement.

• Low Vision Client with Macular Degeneration

The next client who had the opportunity to experience the Vision Packagee is an individual who has Macular Degeneration. Macular Degeneration has caused this client to have loss of vision in their central visual field, increased blurriness and visual distortions, glare sensitivity, difficulty seeing fine detail, and impaired contrast sensitivity. For this client specifically, they always feel like they are in a fog and that everything is hazy. This makes the client have great difficulty with being able to locate the legrest release levers and the brakes on their wheelchair at times. While the client is able to locate the parts on the wheelchair on their own, it takes them an increased amount of time to locate the parts and sometimes multiple trials to find the part of the wheelchair. This often leads to frustration, causing the client to occasionally give up on locating the part. The client relies on high contrast throughout their environment to enhance their independence in daily tasks and has found the high-contrast features of the Vision Package particularly beneficial. The client reports that they can now easily locate all the parts of the wheelchair, such as the legrest release lever, without spending an extended amount of time searching

Motion Composites’ attention to craftsmanship and ability to look at the smaller details that are needed for the clientele that they serve demonstrates that they want to help their wheelchair users achieve their maximal potential. The Vision Package is a fantastic solution for individuals with a visual impairment, and the overall benefit is that clients are empowered to navigate their world safely and independently.