Skip to main content
Second Sense - Beyond Vision Loss

Community-Based Workshop Topics

Are your group members feeling frustrated about specific tasks? Stressed?

We will teach them how to take a new approach!  All of these classes are offered to your group at your meeting site.  No need for special travel arrangements!

Empower your group to live a more fulfilling and productive life by learning how to do everyday tasks in a new way.  Taught by our certified vision rehabilitation therapist, our free, educational and hands-on workshops teach skills to maintain independence and increase confidence.

Five pictures showing vision rehabilitation techniques: Barbara using a CCTV to sew on a button, using a technique to guide a key into a lock, Alex and Gina doing human guide, using a 20/20 pen and page-writing guide and Donna using scissors to safely cut up a chickenChoose from any of the following topics or talk to us about a custom program geared specifically to your group’s needs and interests.

What You Need to Know

Many resources are available to help locate services, provide recreational enjoyment and build independent living skills.  This educational workshop helps to better understand the process of adjusting to vision loss.

Where Did I Put It

This interactive workshop provides strategies for labeling and organizing items in the home, introduces key products to increase independence and much more.

Magnifiers and More

Learn about the different types of magnification devices and their proper use to enhance the reading experience.  Strategies to maximize vision using contrast and lighting are also shared.

Names, Dates Times and Numbers

This workshop will offer your group members different techniques and devices they can use to record and retrieve information independently.

Learn strategies for making handwriting legible, taking notes and keeping a calendar using tools that make the task easier.

Dining with Confidence

Put the pleasure back into dining with this interactive class.  Learn how to gracefully reach for table items, find food on the plate and cut meat and other large items.

More Than Just an Elbow

Learn the safe way to escort and be escorted using the human guide technique.  This active training class teaches how to safely travel through a variety of environments including moving through tight spaces, around obstacles and up and down stairs.

Slice, Dice, Measure and Pour

This hands-on, single or multi-session class teaches safe techniques for using a knife, measuring and pouring ingredients and adapting small appliances.

Leisure Crafts

This small group, single or multi-session class provides guidance and instruction for a variety of crafting including knitting, crochet, quilting, and basic and advanced sewing.  Adaptive techniques are shared and individualized guidance is provided on projects.

Buttons and Dials

Learn ways to manage the many controls in the home environment.  Instruction is provided for pressing the correct buttons on phones and remotes, along with techniques for using tactile markings to identify important settings on appliances.

Home Safety

Prevent accidents and decrease frustration with simple changes in the home environment. Tips for arranging furniture, marking stairs and preparing for emergencies are shared in this educational workshop.

Laundry Day

Learn strategies for caring for clothing. Tips and techniques are shared for sorting items, avoiding ironing and choosing and organizing laundry supplies.

Shopping with Success

Discover how to make shopping a fruitful and enjoyable experience by learning how to plan a shopping trip, ask for sales assistance, organize money and put away your purchases when you get home.

What Do You Do for Fun?

Don’t let vision loss stop you from having fun! Explore ways to adapt games, participate in social activities and get the help you need to get involved.

Out and About

Feel more confident on outings! Learn tips for crossing streets, communicating with others, and using taxis and public transit in this intermediate-level workshop.

Our independent living workshops and classes are free of charge. To learn more and to schedule a workshop at your location, contact Kathy Austin at 312-236-8569 or send Kathy an email to learn more.