Mobility and low vision: a review

Theories of mobility have been developed mainly with respect to mobility of the totally blind. How the normally sighted or the partially sighted are able to use visual information to move about in the world is not well understood. Whether the cues used by the sighted are the same as those used by the partially sighted in achieving mobility is not known. Thus the performance measures which are used have been developed on an ad hoc basis and may not be the best measures available for assessment of mobility or improvement in mobility in the partially sighted. The most important factors in mobility of the partially sighted have not been identified. They must be specified so that advice and training can be directed toward the most effective steps these patients can take in using their residual vision to achieve independent mobility.