At the 2025 Optometric Management Symposium meeting, Bryan Wolynski presented the lecture, "Digital Accessibility for People with Vision Loss—The Power is in Your Pocket." Here, he discusses the main points of the lecture, which took place Thursday, November 13, between 10:30 AM - 12:10 PM, at the Grand Harbor North room. 

Transcript:

Hi, I'm Dr. Bryan Wolinsky, chief of Vision Rehabilitation at the Cleveland Sight Center. I just wrapped up my talk at the Optometric Management Symposium, titled “Digital Accessibility for People with Vision Loss: The Power Is in Your Pocket.”

Here’s the reality: by 2050, the number of Americans living with vision loss will grow by 50%, largely due to age-related eye disease. And by 2034, there will be more people over the age of 65 than under 18. That means we’re more likely to have a person with low vision sitting in our exam chairs.

So what can you do? Of course, refer to a low vision specialist—but what about right in that moment, right there in your exam chair?

Everyone has a smartphone. Technology has been a game changer for people with vision loss. Whether it’s an iPhone or an Android device, these phones come loaded with built-in accessibility tools: magnification, text-to-speech, color inversion, and the ability to increase font size. They also include screen readers, like VoiceOver on iPhone or TalkBack on Android.

Optometrists—or their staff—can make an immediate impact by simply showing a patient how to turn on “Spoken Content,” an iPhone accessibility feature that allows the screen to read aloud with just a tap. This goes far beyond Siri. You can also show patients how to adjust contrast and text size to make reading emails or texts easier.

Reading is the number-one complaint among people with vision loss, and magnification apps can make a world of difference. There are also many powerful, often free apps that help people read, shop independently, describe a scene, or even explain a photo from their library using AI.

You don’t need a grant, specialized equipment, or advanced optical formulas to start helping right away—it’s really about awareness. The power is already in your pocket. Let’s make sure your patients know it too.

Smartphone accessibility—and knowing how to use it—can give a person with vision loss greater independence and the tools they need to achieve their goals. OM