A visually impaired boy is sitting on a green paddle board in the middle of a lake

Entertainment for the Blind and Visually Impaired

May 26, 2022

People with visual impairments may experience loneliness, depression or social exclusion as a result of vision loss. There are activities to either do with your visually impaired child, friend, parent, or even independently as a blind person.

Simple things like reading their favorite books aloud to them. There are also talking books for independent reading, which can be purchased or loaned from a local library. Both Kindle from Amazon and Apple products iBook store books are accessible for the blind and visually impaired.

Trivia games are a great option to play. Typically board games are geared toward sighted people who can see the pieces. These games are becoming adaptive for the blind and visually impaired. Games that have started to use braille include: Monopoly, checkers, card games like poker, spit, etc., chess, Scrabble, Uno, Dominos and puzzles.

If you are an art lover, visiting a museum can be a lot of fun. Museums are becoming accessible by having tactile sculptures, exhibits and offering descriptive talking tours. Creating art of your own is another great activity, whether you like painting or sculpting with air dry clay. There are many classes available, or you can do it in the leisure of your own home.

Visiting a farm that offer days for people to visit with family-friendly activities is another option. This is a great opportunity to tour the farm, learn about farming and visit the animals. Another great activity that is therapeutic is horseback riding. Through the use of feeling and tactile aspects, a blind or visually impaired rider can guide their horse.

Summer activities can be a lot of fun, swimming in the lake, kayaking, going for a boat ride, fishing, or toasting marsh mellows are all great activities. Also, planting flowers or growing a vegetable garden.

A sensory treasure hunt is a fun activity for children, while on a walk describe items based on the five senses, texture, smells, noises, color, or if it can be eaten and let them guess what it could be.

There are many other enjoyable activities:

  • Join a support group
  • Go out for coffee
  • Have a picnic
  • Listen to music or podcasts
  • Crochet and knitting
  • Flying a kite
  • Walking
  • Chair yoga
  • Light exercise.