How to Make Your Kitchen Safer for Visually Impaired Person?

There are number of general kitchen improvements you can make to help your blind loved ones achieve maximum independence.Helping your family member with blindness or visual impairments stay safe and complete activity in the kitchen is essential, especially when you are not around.

You need to make some simple adaptations to help your blind loved ones achieve maximum independence while working there. From contrasting colors to labeling foods, there are many adaptations to make the kitchen an accessible place for the blind or partially sighted person.

Create a High Contrast Kitchen:

People with a usable vision can work in the kitchen area easily when they can distinguish between the colors. He or she can’t distinguish between the two ends if countertops and cabinets are of similar shades. Make sure to place dark object against light background and vice versa. For example, you must install dark colors countertops against light cabinets and light color cabinet if countertops are dark. Paint your cabinets a light color if you have already dark countertops.

You can also color you kitchen sink and faucet to make them contrasting with your countertops.

Labeling Foods:

It is common to have foods containers of the similar shapes and sizes at the kitchen. But it is difficult for the people with sight problems to identify these “similar looking” products cans.

You can help them identify the products by labeling it in various ways. For example, you can use rubber bands, file cards or tactile dots on those containers. A family member with poor sight can use magnifiers to read or identify the labels. You can use braille labels (like dotted tape) if your loved one is blind.

Lighting Adjustment:

Special lighting can be a great aid for visually impaired person. A person with usable visibility needs certain adjustments in lighting for having a comfortable vision. For example, you can adjust the kitchen’s curtains or install a rheostat (dimmer) on light switches, if a family member is sensitive to glare. Night lights illuminate the room with the soft light while task lighting is the good choice for close up work.

Provide Them Kitchen Safety Equipment:

Kitchen accidents are the biggest concern with the blind persons working at the kitchen. You can ensure their safety with the changes in your kitchen tools and equipment. For example, shop a chopping board that is light on one side and dark on the other, helping them to contrast for whatever food needs to be chopped.

Encourage them to use finger guard to avoid cuts or purchase knives having cutting guards to make a certain size cut to food with each slice. Pizza cutter and kitchen shares are also the welcome addition to the list of safety tools for blinds at the kitchen.

With these simple kitchen adaptions, you can ensure the safety and independence of the person with visual impairment.