Ninety-year-old Marie Dolan is becoming a whiz on her iPad, not so much by seeing what’s on it, but by listening to it.

Dolan has macular degeneration and is considered legally blind. But on a recent Tuesday morning, she was learning how to use the Voiceover app, a visual assistant for those who are blind or have low vision.

She was working with Beverly Bennett, a certified vision rehabilitation therapist and the manager of the Independence with Low Vision Program at ElderCare of Alachua County.

Dolan, who lives independently,  sat in front of her iPad while Bennett provided instructions. “Ask Siri to turn on Voiceover,”  Bennett said. Dolan complied.

“So now anything you touch on the screen instead of opening it, it will tell you what it is, Bennett said. “Touch anything and it will tell you the name of the app and then you can double-tap to open it.”

And voila, Dolan was off and scrolling, making her way through her iPad and finding new ways to stay in touch with the world.

“I usually have a very heavy hand. So, I’m very proud of myself, “ Dolan said. “My fingers are doing the right thing. I’m very excited about this new stuff coming up. I hope my memory will stay long enough for me to remember it.”

Dolan has learned a lot from the low vision program. You would hardly know that she can barely see you if you were sitting in her kitchen with her, having a conversation. She appears to be looking at you and is quick to move around.

Bennett says the program is funded by the Florida Division of Blind Services. The idea is to help people with low vision learn how to maneuver around their homes or get around in the outside world with training, tips and suggestions.

When you are visually impaired, daily activities, from making a cup of coffee, preparing meals, using the oven, using the washer and dryer, or just walking around safely, become more difficult, Bennett said. 

“All of those visual tasks become really challenging when you have vision loss. We provide training on adaptive ways to do things when you don’t see well,” Bennett added.

One example she gave was using the microwave, which can be challenging because it’s all flat and smooth, and if you don’t see where the numbers are, it can be hard to operate. 

So, what she might do is put a bright orange touch dot on the 30-second button, and two dots on the clear-off button.

“Find it by feeling it. That’s an example of a low-tech method,” Bennett said.

She has made simple adaptations like this in Dolan’s home, which allows Dolan to prep her meals and do her own cooking.

“I’m so thankful for all this.  Even things like buttons on your stove. Say, you want to cook rice. Rice is the hardest thing to make sure you don’t burn it. Beverly put a little button on the lowest setting for gas on my stove.

“Now I have full confidence that in 30 minutes I am going to have perfect rice without taking the cover off,” Dolan said.

One particularly useful gadget is the liquid level indicator Dolan has in her kitchen. It’s a small, portable device that clips onto the rim of a cup or mug with moisture-sensing prongs, which provide an audible or vibrating alert when the liquid reaches a certain level, preventing spills. 

It’s been seven years since Dolan was declared legally blind, but she’s adjusted.

“You just sort of guess at everything, and eventually you figure you can do it,” she said.

Bennett said she and a co-worker see about 120-130 people a year who are Alachua County residents, most of them seniors.