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tial function that creates a problem for the visually handicapped. Mobility has two components: mental orientation and physical locomotion. Lowenfeld (1950) defined mental locomotion as the "ability of an individual to recognize his surroundings and their temporal or spatial relation to himself", and locomotion as "the movement of an organism from place to place by means of its organic mechanism". Both are essential.

One of the greatest handicaps to the aging person is the loss of mobility. It is considered by many as the most severe single effect of the loss of sight, and creates conflict and frustration. But although good vision is desirable for mobility, it is not always necessary. Even limited sight, skillfully used, maintains orientation and mobility. As a general rule, if visual acuity is better than 20/400, there is little restriction of mobility.

Magnification makes it possible to correct or increase the resolving power of the eye by increasing the size of the retinal image. This is the basis of most compensating lenses. For example, if the best visual acuity of an individual is 20/80, the relationship makes necessary a magnification of 4-times if the individual is to see normally. Correction can be made in only three ways: by decreasing the distance of the object from the eye, by increasing the size of the object (as enlarging the print in a book), and by angular magnification through the use of one or more lenses in front of the eye.

A COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY

With the trend moving toward a population of older people in our society, it is only natural that aging has become a community responsibility, as well as an opportunity.

There has been a growing interest in the older citizens, in hundreds of communities throughout the United States. This in turn has been transformed into activity designed to cope with the challenge of aging.

All of our fifty states have now established commissions or committees on aging. Scores of conferences have been held, and geriatric organizations and meetings are becoming more prominent.

The American Optometric Association and many individual optometrists are deeply active, for good vision is a deterrent to many of the worst handicaps of age.

Because optometry's interest is so keen and its function so important in alleviating problems of the senior citizen, it is only natural that many community projects are spear-headed by local and state optometric societies. Among those that have proved successful are:

Community Clinics For The Partially Sighted

Community vision screenings are conducted at cost to patients. This is a valuable community project because it enables aged individuals who have reduced or limited incomes, because of their physical limitations, to get good vision care.

Many of these clinics are conducted in cooperation with the public health department, service clubs, and other organizations. Vision clinic programs can be arranged in most communities upon request.

Senior Citizen Plan For The Indigent Aged

This is a community project in which citizen's groups and local optometrists cooperate for the welfare of the community's indigent aged. The citizen's groups contribute ophthalmic material, while the optometrists contribute their time. This is a very valuable combination that can benefit a large number of otherwise neglected senior citizens.

Eye Care Programs For Homes For The Aged

As the title suggests, this program is designed specifically to benefit aged individuals in nursing homes, and shut-ins. This is particularly valuable in smaller communities and smaller homes where regular staff optometrists are not retained.

Where this program operates, local optometric societies provide a panel of local optometrists, who are made available to provide visual screening services for the homes. They also offer consultation as to methods of

improvement of lighting conditions, general environment, types of printed material to be provided for reading, and other services helpful to comforting and aiding the partially sighted or blind aged patient.

Public Information

One of the major problems facing any profession is education of the general public to facilities that are available. The more specialized the profession, the greater the problem. It has been found that the general public is usually several years behind in receiving correct information concerning vision care. Often the information is misconstrued or misinterpreted. There are times, too, where the public believes baseless information from an unreliable source, often nothing more than opinion or superstition.

To counteract the lack of reliable information, the American Optometric Association, through its Committee on Vision Care of the Aging, has established a special panel program available for meetings, radio, and television. Available to service clubs and citizen groups, as well as through the broadcasting media, the program presents information in an interesting and easy to understand manner.

Many optometric societies are also active in providing exhibits for meetings and programs sponsored by various senior citizens' organizations, hobby clubs, county and state fair boards, and other groups interested in the care of the aged.

Material and equipment, such as telescopic spectacles, glaucoma screening devices, books and articles on vision care, vision aids for the partially seeing adult, and specialized and unusual types of lens corrections, are shown. This affords the community an opportunity to see a wide variety of the latest ophthalmic devices.

The programs listed above are currently being used in various communities throughout the United States. Unfortunately, a lack

of manpower and funds has prevented their adoption in all communities. In many instances, optometric societies have spearheaded such projects, and have volunteered the services of their members. Most optometric societies will assist in any good vision program that provides general benefit to the aged.

RESEARCH

Basic research into new methods and techniques in vision care for the aging is at an all-time high. Many public and private organizations are conducting projects or clinical studies to improve and retain the vision of our most valuable generation

citizens.

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For the past several years, The American Optometric Foundation has sponsored research fellowships in major colleges of optometry. It has been estimated that at least 30 per cent of the Foundation's research has been directly related to the study of vision of the aging patient. Among the projects of major importance now under way is an investigation of motorists' vision, part of which is devoted to the problem of night vision of the aged driver.

The American Academy of Optometry has also been quite active.. Each year it conducts a program devoted to encouraging the presentation of research papers by practicing optometrists and faculty members of optometric colleges.

In a recent program, over 20 per cent of the papers presented related to vision care of the aging patient. Subjects of research were varied, ranging from a longitudinal study of refractive changes with age, to a discussion of special refractive techniques for decreased vision problems in the aged.

The National Health Institute has issued grants to some optometry schools in order to further research. As in most other professional fields, the big problem still remains attracting sufficient numbers of well-trained persons to conduct studies in the field of aging. This is not an easy task, and is greatly dependent on our newly awakened public interest. The stimulation of additional funds for use by qualified teams of researchers in optometric colleges is a big step.

Each new year brings great strides of accomplishment and new hope to the aging, thanks to research in vision. Past research has given optometry a fruitful beginning into understanding the prob lems of vision; current research will serve as the road to complete understanding. Gratefully, the aging person may look forward to several more decades of productive, "seeing", alert years - all because of the vision progress being made through research.

SUMMARY

America has entered into a new phase of social development. Greater life expectancy and a rapidly increasing older population has created new problems, more challenges, far greater potential for national growth and development.

Since 1900 the number of men and women over 65 has increased 41⁄2 times, while our total population has little better than doubled. Approximately 1 out of every 12 people are over 65, a total of about 15 million. By 1975, it is estimated the total will reach 21 million people. Another 40 million men and women are between the ages of 45 and 65. This means that almost 50 per cent of our population is over 40.

Our country's great strength lies in our aging and aged. Here lies a vast and growing reservoir of energy and experience. Harness this power through unhandicapped vision .... give it expression, dignity and independence, and it becomes an asset. Allow it to degenerate, vegetate and become dependent, and it becomes a liability.

Our age of mechanization and automation has afforded a rise in our standard of living, but it has also increased the amount of leisure. Work has become more specialized requiring greater visual efficiency, leisure time has become broader, requiring better visual acuity for true enjoyment. The frequency of retirement has increased, while age of retirement has decreased, requiring adequate visual acuity to keep the older person occupied. With these newfound "leisures", many older people are making use of their freedom from family and work responsibility. But many find themselves having the desire, but being hampered by visual defects. The un

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