Visual Impairment Simulation

This simulation involved 4 masks and 4 hours of visual impairment. I had to wear each mask for an hour while doing my normal activities. 

Mask 1: Glaucoma

    "Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve, which is vital to good vision. This damage is often cause by and abnormally high pressure in your eye" (mayoclinic.org). It's the most common cause of blindness and usually comes without warning. 

     I found myself using one eye or the other to look at things, so I turned my head a lot. I was handed a sign up during class but I couldn't see it because it wasn't directly in front of me and I had to turn my entire body to see what was going on because my peripheral was shot. Trying to learn in class was difficult because I couldn't see the power-point presentation or what was written on the board. As I was walking across campus to my next class the benefit was that I couldn't see the stares of confusion from my peers, but I also couldn't see if anyone was in front of me. I depended a lot on my hearing and moving my head to perceive if anyone was around me.

Mask 2: Loss of an Eye

     After the first hour I was already annoyed that I couldn't see anything, but at least with this mask I had one good eye to see out of. I did notice that while taking notes I couldn't see where I was writing (as the description describes; my depth perception was off). Learning with only one eye wasn't too horrible but I can't imagine trying to run around or play the piano with one eye. It would be an adjustment (an understatement, I know). 

Mask 3: Lens Problem

     This one wasn't too hard because I'm already used to an astigmatism with my right eye. I was more frustrated with the extent of the blurriness and that I was wearing contacts already and I still had the same problem. Horror of all horrors I had to turn up the brightness on my phone to text (1st world problems), but it made doing homework on my computer more tedious because I couldn't make out some of the words. I eventually had to enlarge the print and turn on more lights so I could see what I was doing. 

Mask 4: Macular Degeneration

     There are 2 types of MD: Dry and Wet. Dry Macular Degeneration is when the center of the retina (tissue in the back of your eyeball) is breaking down. This is what usually happens. Wet Macular Degeneration is when the blood vessels near the retina leak (mayoclinic.org).
     This was more difficult than I thought it would be. I kept looking around the center blocks to see things, and then I'd remember I'm supposed to keep my eyes on them and rely on my side vision, which was difficult. I was doing laundry and homework at this time. Laundry wasn't too difficult but homework seemed near impossible. I was able to get through the last hour knowing I could come back and actually get started on my readings, but if this was my life then I'd probably have everything read to me.

Final Thoughts
     The biggest bother about this simulation was the mask itself. I STRONGLY HATE LOATHE things on my face. I usually have my hair pulled back and if I do wear my glasses the only part that's touching is the bridge of my nose. I was always adjusting the mask so it wasn't touching my face as much, or that it would be touching other areas because it was literally driving me MAD. However, regarding what I was supposed to learn was that visual impairments take up more time and energy than I thought they would. I thought the biggest hassle would be to wear corrective lenses but most of the time that's probably not even possible. At this time I'm not sure how I would make accommodations/modifications to my classroom to include students with these types of visual impairments.