Low Vision Aids: What Each Type Is For and Where to Start

Low vision aids are tools that help you do specific tasks with the sight you have, and most people end up using several. VisionAware, published by the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), says "your aids must be task-specific," and adds that many people use four or five different aids (VisionAware). A magnifier for the mail, a lamp for the stove and a setting on your phone are three aids for three jobs.

Below: what each kind of aid is for, where to get assessed and trained, and where braille and screen readers come in. Pages checked on October 30, 2026. This is general information, not medical advice. It doesn't cover eye conditions or treatment, or what any program or insurer pays. Ask an eye doctor or the program for those.

Key points

• Aids are task-specific. AFB agrees: "Low vision optical devices are task-specific" (AFB).
• Start with an assessment. If vision loss is "getting in the way of everyday activities," the National Eye Institute (NEI) says to ask your eye doctor about vision rehabilitation (NEI).
• Your phone and computer may already magnify. Apple, Microsoft and Google each document it.
• Training is part of the aid. A prescription "is only the first step," says VisionAware.
• Touch and speech are options too. Bump dots, braille labels and screen readers don't depend on how much you can see.

Low vision aids at a glance

Sources: VisionAware low vision devices, VisionAware non-optical devices, NEI vision rehabilitation.

What low vision means

NEI defines low vision as "a vision problem that makes it hard to do everyday activities." Glasses, contact lenses and standard treatments like medicine or surgery can't fix it. NEI lists three common types: central vision loss (trouble seeing things in the center of your view), peripheral vision loss (trouble seeing things at the edges) and night blindness (NEI).

That is why aids are chosen by task: a tool for reading a bill does nothing for a bus number across the street. For legal blindness, see what is legally blind. For how vision loss can look, see what do blind people see.

Magnifiers for close work

VisionAware sorts optical aids into near devices (reading, writing, sewing) and distance devices. For near work it describes three types (VisionAware):

• Stand magnifiers rest on the page, and "the lens automatically sets the focus for you." They suit longer reading but are bulkier.
• Handheld magnifiers are portable and good for quick "spot" reading of a menu, a price or an appliance dial. VisionAware notes "holding them is tiring," so they are a poor fit for long sessions.
• Magnifying reading glasses (sometimes called microscopes) keep your hands free and give a wide field of view. The trade-off is holding the page very close, which can block the light.

VisionAware says mastering a device takes weeks of regular practice. A reading stand helps: it holds the page steady, brings it closer and keeps your head out of the light.

Telescopes for distance

A handheld telescope, a single-eyepiece monocular, suits quick looks at a street sign, a house number or an aisle number. A telescope mounted on eyeglasses leaves both hands free and suits longer viewing. Both give a smaller field of view (VisionAware).

Safety comes first. VisionAware says "Do not walk while looking through a monocular," and for glasses-mounted telescopes, "Do not walk or move about while wearing them." Bioptic telescopes, set in the upper part of the lens, are the type some states allow for driving under strict conditions; the rules differ by state (see can blind people drive).

Video magnifiers (CCTVs)

A video magnifier uses a camera to capture an image and show "a highly magnified, high-contrast version on a screen." VisionAware says it can go well past optical aids, often above 70x, and lets you sit upright instead of holding the page close (VisionAware). It describes three formats:

• Desktop units with a large screen and a platform for the page.
• Portable units, battery-powered, with 3-inch to 13-inch screens.
• Wearable devices, covered in smart glasses for blind people.

You can usually change the magnification and the colors, such as white text on black, and many models let you write under the camera. For prices and who pays, see assistive technology for the visually impaired.

Light, glare and contrast

VisionAware's lighting page says "proper lighting isn't a luxury; it's a necessity." Its points (VisionAware):

• Bring the light to the task. The farther a light is from the page, the weaker it is.
• Avoid shadows. Right-handed readers put the lamp on the left, left-handed readers on the right. Keep the bulb below eye level and shaded.
• Control the sun. Blinds soften it, and working with your back to the window keeps it from reflecting off the page.
• Mind the color temperature. Specialists generally recommend a color temperature "up to 5000K."

For glare, VisionAware describes absorptive sunglasses that can be fitted over your own glasses, and says a low vision exam is the best place to try lens colors (VisionAware).

Contrast works the same way. VisionAware's example: "a white sheet of paper is more visible against a dark desktop." It suggests a dark cutting board for light food, solid colors instead of patterns, and "contrasting dots or stickers to mark dials" on ovens and microwaves (VisionAware).

Large print and reading setup

APH's research-based guidelines say large print means 18 points or larger. Print between 12 and 18 points is "enlarged print" and doesn't meet the standard (APH). VisionAware gives the same size, and says large print collections are "available at most public libraries" (VisionAware).

If you make your own documents, both organizations agree on the basics:

• Plain type. APH says fonts for people with low vision "should not have serifs." VisionAware names Arial as an example of a sans-serif font.
• No italics, no columns. APH says columns make the hardest part of reading, the jump to the next line, harder.
• Strong contrast. VisionAware recommends bold black print on a "matte (not glossy or shiny) white or cream background." Light lettering on a dark background is sometimes easier.

A typoscope, "piece of black plastic with a cutout opening," helps your eye stay on the line. A yellow acetate sheet laid on the page can raise contrast (VisionAware). For a typeface built for readability, see Atkinson Hyperlegible.

Magnification built into phones and computers

NEI says phone and computer settings can "increase contrast, make text larger, read out loud to you, and more." We name features, not menu steps, because those change with each update.

• iPhone and iPad. Apple's Magnifier "works like a digital magnifying glass," using the camera, with filters, a flashlight and a freeze-frame option. Text Size and Bold Text change the text on screen (Apple).
• Android. Google says you can "zoom or magnify to see your Android device's screen better," in full-screen, temporary or partial-screen modes. Some options need Android 13 or later (Google).
• Windows. Magnifier is built into Windows 11 and Windows 10, with "nothing to download or install." It offers full-screen, lens and docked views (Microsoft).

Screen readers

A screen reader speaks what is on a screen. NEI lists "technology, like magnifiers and screen readers" among vision rehabilitation services (NEI). It is a different kind of aid from magnification: it replaces reading by sight, rather than enlarging it. For how screen readers work, see screen readers for the blind and phones for blind people.

Touch: bump dots and braille labels

VisionAware describes locator or bump dots, raised dots with an adhesive back, used to "mark appliances, dials, computers, and keyboards" (VisionAware). Its labeling guide offers raised and tactile markings for people who are blind "or if your vision changes from day to day," including braille clothing tags with a few braille letters you can learn "without reading the entire braille system" (VisionAware). More in braille labels.

Where to get assessed and trained

A low vision exam

VisionAware says to consult an eye doctor who specializes in low vision. That doctor does a low vision exam and prescribes devices for your goals. Bring a list of the tasks that matter most and samples of what you read, such as mail, bills or needlework. Then comes training: "Receiving a prescription for a low vision aid is only the first step" (VisionAware).

Vision rehabilitation

NEI says you can start with your eye doctor, who may connect you with providers such as occupational therapists or orientation and mobility specialists. You can also seek services on your own, even without an eye doctor. NEI's examples include "assistive products, like lighting and reading stands," daily living skills training and emotional support. It points to directories from the Rehabilitation Services Administration, the American Optometric Association and the American Academy of Ophthalmology (NEI).

State vocational rehabilitation

The U.S. Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) funds state vocational rehabilitation (VR) programs. They focus on work: the program is for people whose impairment "results in a substantial impediment to employment" (RSA). RSA's directory lists 78 VR agencies, 22 of them for people who are blind or visually impaired (RSA state directory). Eligibility and services depend on the agency, so ask yours.

For veterans

The VA's Blind Rehabilitation Service serves eligible Veterans and active duty Service members with a visual impairment (VA). A Visual Impairment Services Team (VIST) coordinator is often the entry point and provides "lifetime care coordination." The VIST fact sheet says to contact your local VIST coordinator or primary care provider (VA VIST fact sheet, December 2022).

When basic low vision care "is no longer sufficient," the VA lists Intermediate and Advanced Low Vision Clinics. The Advanced clinic sheet lists "Training on how to use assistive technology" among services that may be included (VA Advanced clinic fact sheet, November 2020). What the VA provides to any one person is for the VA to say.

Talking books

The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) at the Library of Congress lists "People Who Are Visually Impaired" among those it serves and has a short eligibility quiz (NLS). See talking books for the blind.

When magnification isn't enough

No source we read sets a point at which magnification stops being the right tool. That is a judgment for you and your low vision specialist or rehabilitation team. What the sources show is that braille and speech sit in the same toolkit. VisionAware's large-print page says "In addition to braille," print size and lighting are two of the most effective ways to support reading with low vision (VisionAware). NEI puts screen readers beside magnifiers.

Here is our reading. A magnifier means holding something close, and a video magnifier means a screen and a surface. Braille labels, bump dots and a screen reader don't ask your eyes to do the work. Some people add them for jobs where reading by sight is slow or tiring, such as labels, lists and notes, and keep magnification for the rest. For learning braille later in life, see learn braille as an adult.

Where Braillito fits

Braillito, our app, teaches braille. It teaches the braille cells in lessons with exercises you play, with lives, levels and a daily streak: 59 lessons in 8 worlds in English. It also has a translator, a dictionary and a cell builder. The English lessons are uncontracted braille (grade 1); they don't teach contracted braille or transcription, and Braillito isn't a braille transcriber.

Braillito isn't a low vision aid: it doesn't magnify anything, light anything or read anything aloud. If you or someone close to you has low vision and braille for labels and notes is on your mind, the cells are where it starts, and a vision rehabilitation specialist can help you decide how much braille fits. The translator on braillito.com shows how a word or short phrase looks in UEB, but it only applies the rules a program can apply, so it doesn't replace a transcriber. Without paying, the braille translator works in any browser.

Braillito is a subscription with no free version; depending on the plan, it starts with a free trial or a discounted first period, if it's your first subscription (is Braillito free?). Get Braillito.

Frequently asked questions

What are low vision aids?

Tools and changes that help you do tasks with the sight you have: magnifiers, telescopes, video magnifiers, lighting, large print, phone and computer settings, and touch aids such as bump dots. VisionAware says they are task-specific, and a low vision specialist chooses them with you.

What kind of magnifier is used for macular degeneration?

The sources we read don't rank magnifiers by eye condition, and we don't either. AFB's guide says macular degeneration "affects central vision the most," and NEI lists central vision loss as one type of low vision. VisionAware says a low vision specialist prescribes aids for your specific tasks. Ask an eye doctor who works with low vision.

How do you read with macular degeneration?

We can't give medical advice. AFB says improved lighting and slight eccentric viewing, "learning to look slightly to the side," "can make a considerable difference" in how well you see (AFB). A low vision specialist can teach what suits you.

Do insurance, Medicare or the VA pay for low vision devices?

We don't say what any plan pays, because the official pages we read don't promise it. Ask your plan, your state VR agency or your VA care team. The VA's Advanced clinic sheet says services "may include" the items it lists. For options, see assistive technology for the visually impaired.

Do I need to learn braille if I have low vision?

That is for you and your rehabilitation team to decide, and no source we read sets a threshold. VisionAware lists braille next to print size and lighting as ways to support reading.