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Older adults with vision impairment rarely present with vision loss alone. Arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, dementia, hearing loss, frailty, depression, and multiple chronic conditions often interact to influence safety, mobility, cognition, participation, and successful rehabilitation.Each 90-minute session of this 6-part workshop provides vision rehabilitation professionals with practical knowledge about the health conditions they encounter every day. Rather than focusing on diagnosis or medical management, the series emphasizes how common age-related conditions affect everyday function and what rehabilitation professionals can do to better support clientsAuthor Bio: Dr. Peggy Beckley, OTR/L, CVRT, COMS, CLVT, FAOTA, is an occupational therapist and Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association who provides vision rehabilitation services through Clinical & Educational Consultants in St. Louis, Missouri. She holds bachelor s and doctoral degrees in occupational therapy, along with advanced degrees in health care, social work, and education. She also completed graduate certificates in Orientation and Mobility at The Ohio State University and Low Vision Rehabilitation at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. Dr. Beckley's clinical, educational, and research interests focus on low vision rehabilitation, healthy aging, and maximizing independence and participation for older adults with vision impairment. She has more than 30 years of experience as a clinician, educator, and speaker, and has presented nationally on topics related to vision rehabilitation and aging. Drawing on her interdisciplinary background in occupational therapy, gerontology, and vision rehabilitation, Dr. Beckley will explore common health conditions affecting older adults and their functional implications for vision rehabilitation professionals. |
