Supporting someone with sight loss: a guide for family and carers
How to guide someone safely, how to describe things, what not to do, the help you can get as a carer, and where the person you support can turn.
Guiding someone safely
RNIB's advice is simple: if you think someone needs help, ask, and let them tell you what help they want. If they do want guiding:
- Introduce yourself and talk directly to the person, not to whoever is with them.
- Ask how they like to be guided. Most people take your arm above the elbow and walk half a step behind you, so your body tells them about turns and slopes.
- Say when kerbs and steps are coming, and whether they go up or down.
- Mention hazards ahead and say where they are: "there is a bin on your left".
- To help someone sit, place their hand on the back of the seat first, so they can find it themselves.
- Never walk away without saying you are leaving.
Describing and everyday habits
- Use clear directions: left, right, straight ahead, and the clock face for food on a plate ("potatoes at three o'clock").
- Say who you are when you arrive, and say when you leave the room.
- Do not move things without saying. A chair pushed in or a cup moved is a lost object or a bump.
- Keep doors fully open or fully closed. Half open is the dangerous one.
- Keep floors clear and lighting even. Good light and strong contrast help more than most equipment.
- Offer help with the things which are hard, and leave the things which are not. Sight loss does not remove a person's judgement.
Help for you as a carer
You are a carer if you regularly look after someone because they are ill, older or disabled, including a family member. The NHS lists the help a carer's assessment can recommend: someone to take over so you can have a break, help with taxi fares, gardening and housework, training to lift safely, local support groups and advice about benefits for carers.
- Carer's assessment: free, for anyone over 18. Contact adult social services at your council, or the children with disabilities team if you care for a child. It usually lasts at least an hour, often face to face, and you can bring someone or use an advocate.
- Carer's Allowance: for people who care at least 35 hours a week for someone who gets certain benefits. You do not have to be related or live together. It can affect other benefits and is taxable above the Personal Allowance. In Scotland apply for Carer Support Payment instead.
- Helplines: Carers UK 0808 808 7777, Age UK 0800 678 1602, Independent Age 0800 319 6789, and Contact for families with disabled children 0808 808 3555, all free. The RNIB helpline is 0303 123 9999.
Help for the person you support
- A low vision assessment finds the magnifier, lighting and contrast which help, with NHS-funded magnifiers. No registration needed.
- Registration as sight impaired opens benefits, concessions and council support.
- An Eye Care Liaison Officer (ECLO) at the eye clinic can start all of this from the first appointment.
- Rehabilitation officers from the council teach safe ways to cook, get about and use a cane.
At appointments
Go along if you are wanted, take notes, and ask for the three most important points in writing. The questions checklist on this site can be prepared together on a phone.
Low vision services and magnifiers Registering as sight impaired Benefits and money with sight loss Questions to ask at an appointment Charities and helplinesCommon questions
How do I guide someone with sight loss?
Ask first, and ask how they like to be guided. Most people take your arm above the elbow and walk half a step behind you. Say when kerbs and steps are coming and whether they go up or down, mention hazards and where they are, and never walk away without saying you are leaving.
Can I get help as a carer?
Yes. Anyone over 18 who cares for someone regularly can ask their council for a free carer's assessment, separate from the assessment of the person they care for. It can lead to breaks, practical help and advice on benefits for carers.
What is Carer's Allowance?
A benefit for people who care for someone at least 35 hours a week, where the person cared for gets certain benefits. You do not have to be related to them or live with them. In Scotland the equivalent is Carer Support Payment.
Sources
Checked 4 October 2026. Official pages change, so follow the NHS page for the current position.
- Written by
- The Omnirx.io team, from the NHS pages above
- Sources checked
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Glanced (2026) Supporting someone with sight loss: a guide for family and carers. Omnirx.io team for Medstack Ltd. Available at: https://www.glanced.co.uk/nhs/carers/ (Accessed: ).
Educational information, not medical advice. Your own eye-care team's advice comes first.