Effective diabetes treatment requires the consumer to engage in diabetes self-management. Those who live with diabetes know there is no negotiating its demands. When vision loss enters the picture—as it frequently does—another level of complication and risk is added to the treatment regimen. This unit provides strategies and techniques for managing diabetes in the face of vision loss.

This course is available for CRC, ACVREP, and NBPCB credit.

Course Objectives:

1. Recognize the importance of self-care and self-management in dealing with diabetes.
2. Identify the seven self-care behaviors for effectively managing diabetes.
3. Describe methods for measuring correct food portions with limited vision.
4. Explain why physical activity is important in managing diabetes.
5. Identify areas that must be monitored daily.
6. Describe low vision or nonvisual techniques for taking medications correctly.
7. Identify methods of coping with stress associated with diabetes and vision loss.
8. Recognize low vision or nonvisual methods for reducing risks and avoiding complications.
9. Identify resources for services to older adults with combined vision and hearing loss.

The following are recommended screen reader and browser combinations.

Mac: Voiceover with the latest version of Safari,

PC: JAWS or NVDA with Firefox.

Note that currently, course quizzes are not functioning properly for Microsoft screen reader users with Chrome or Edge.

The course shows a start date, but this is simply the date the course was made available to the public. They are self-paced. So, there is not an end date. You can enroll at any time.

This course was developed by the National Research & Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision (NRTC) at Mississippi State University. We are the only national center funded to conduct research related to employment for people with blindness or low vision, and training and technical assistance for the federal Older Individuals who are Blind program. As a national center of excellence, we offer resources on a variety of topics for service providers, businesses, and persons with vision loss on our websites:

For daily content relevant to the field of blindness and low vision, connect with us on social media: