Resource Guide for College Students With Visual Impairments and Disabilities

Overcoming common obstacles like adjusting to a new environment, enrolling in the right classes, and meeting new people can be difficult for any college student. However, these difficulties are amplified for those who already face other personal obstacles like visual impairments and other disabilities.

Laws are set in place that require colleges and other educational facilities to make specific accommodations for students with disabilities. There are many laws on general disability rights but listed below are those set in place with college students in mind:

• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA);
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act;
• Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Unfortunately, these laws alone aren’t enough to make college students with various impairments feel comfortable with their daily processes on campus. Let’s take a look at a few resources that can help those with visual impairments and other vision-related disabilities during their time in college.

What Is a Visual Disability?

According to the Nemours Foundation, visual impairment is “a term experts use to describe any kind of vision loss, whether it’s someone who cannot see at all or someone who has partial vision loss.” There are multiple types of visual disabilities, with multiple causes.

Some individuals are born with vision loss, while others obtain it over time — whether it be from an accident, illness, or other medical condition. Examples of health conditions that can impact eye health include but aren’t limited to:

• Autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or Graves’ disease;
• Diabetes;
• High blood pressure;
• Liver disease;
• Lyme disease;
• Migraines;
• Nutritional deficiencies.

Common types of visual impairments are:

• Astigmatism;
• Blurred vision;
• Cataracts;
• Color blindness;
• Glaucoma;
• Hyperopia/farsightedness;
• Lazy eye(s);
• Light sensitivity;
• Loss of central vision;
• Loss of peripheral vision;
• Myopia/nearsightedness;
• Night blindness;
• Partial blindness;
• Total blindness.

Some conditions can be treated with non-invasive remedies like glasses or contacts, while others may require more serious corrective measures like LASIK surgery. Because of the wide spectrum of impairments and treatment plans, all suspicions of a visual disability should be diagnosed and treated by a trusted ophthalmologist.

How Common Are Visual Disabilities Among College Students?

The CDC stated in a report on the prevalence of vision loss that as of 2017, 7.08 million Americans had some form of vision loss or blindness. In the same report, they claim that more than 1.06 million Americans with vision loss or blindness are younger age 40.

Meanwhile, another report on blindness statistics states that as of 2016 about 1.15 million individuals with vision loss of some kind had some college education and about 598,000 had a Bachelor’s degree or higher. While these are large numbers, it is difficult to pinpoint how many college students are visually impaired with certainty.

Common Challenges for College Students With Visual Disabilities

Most of the challenges that college students with visual disabilities face are common struggles the visually impaired within the general population face as well. These challenges include but aren’t limited to:

• Educating roommates on visual disabilities and how to live with someone who is visually impaired;
• Lack of resources available in braille;
• Navigating/familiarizing yourself with campus;
• Technological challenges like difficulties using software required for some courses.

Those who travel for their studies face an entirely different onset of challenges. Traveling with a visual impairment is a difficulty on its own.

Students who relocate to attend college or visit home for the holidays, no matter the distance, are encouraged to pay closer attention to eye care while they travel. Doing so can help to eliminate one less stressor and ensure you’re as comfortable as possible during your travels despite the other challenges you’re bound to face.

Common On-Campus Support Options

Most colleges provide students with a variety of on-campus resources to assist with their medical needs. Contact your university’s student resource center to inquire about the following possible accommodations for the visually impaired:

• 3D map of the campus/map of the campus in braille;
• List of accessible resources;
• Resources for remote learning;
• Technology alternatives for learning (like downloadable apps and/or audio recordings of the lecture).

The resources will vary depending on the college. Don’t hesitate to reach out for assistance on finding the resources that are available to you as a student with a visual disability.

Helpful Assistive Technologies

As everyday technology continues to develop, so does the assistive technology used to help individuals with visual impairments. Technological developers are aware of the broad spectrum of vision loss and thus have created a wide array of assistive technology and devices — everything from color-correcting glasses to vision-correcting surgeries.

Let’s take a look at a few additional types of assistive technologies that help those with vision loss:

• Corrective eye surgery;
• Corneal cross-linking;
• Laser cataract surgery;
• Implantable contact lenses (Visian ICL);
• LASIK eye surgery;
• Minimally-invasive glaucoma surgery.

In the meantime, you can be focusing on your eye care by researching ways to maintain their health. This includes understanding how your diet impacts your vision and what you can do to improve your eye health.

Scholarships and Grants

Listed below are scholarships and grants for students with vision loss and other eye-related disabilities.

• American Council of the Blind (ACB) Scholarship Program: Scholarships ranging from $2,000 to $7,500;
• The Christian Record Services Anne Lowe Scholarship: Prize amounts vary;
• The Lavelle-Brother Kearney Scholarship Program: Prize amounts vary based on eligibility;
• Lighthouse Guild Scholarships: Scholarship recipients will receive “unrestricted scholarships to aid their transition from high school to college or university.”

Be sure to read the scholarship eligibility requirements thoroughly to ensure you’re able to apply.

Organizations for Advocacy
No matter where you fall on the vision-loss spectrum, you’re not alone. Numerous organizations advocate for those with visual impairments and other disabilities.

• Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD);
• The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU);
• The American Council of the Blind (ACB);
• The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB);
• The National Federation of the Blind (NFB);
• DREAM: Disability Rights, Education, Activism, and Mentoring.

Joining an organization as a college student is beneficial in many ways. They help promote self-growth, improve and develop soft skills, and provide access to a genuine support system of like-minded individuals.

Further Reading for College Students With Visual Disabilities

Aside from the resources listed above, there are further resources to consider that are great tools for students with visual impairments like:

• Braille keyboard stickers;
• Mobile apps like VoiceOver, TalkBack, and MyMoveo.
• Optical Character Recognition (OCR) systems;
• Portable recording devices to record lectures;
• Screen magnification software;
• Talking calculators.

No matter what type of visual impairment you have, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the resources available to you as a student with a disability. Likewise, finding an advocacy group to join during your studies is a great way to reassure you that you’re not alone.