Effective training programs that will teach the professors who will teach the teachers and other professionals who will teach the blind must be devised so that the age-old cycle of dependency and despair can be broken. The Research Initiative of the National Research and Training Institute will focus on identifying and solving the root causes of these endemic problems. Yet far more people lose vision after retirement age than earlier in life. New programs must be developed and taught to state and local staff members in older blind programs, centers for independent living, older Americans programs, and rehabilitation programs. Classes must be offered and materials should be developed to assist state and local programs to help blind and visually impaired seniors to remain independent and continue to participate in the kinds of activities they hope for in their retirement years.
Blindness can happen to anyone.
Without training and opportunity, it can be devastating.