Against the background of legal blindness, these are the consequences of defects or damage in various ocular tissues. The eye is a complex organ, and even the smallest tissue damage can significantly affect vision. The term „visual impairment“ is usually used in educational settings to describe a visual impairment that requires specialized educational services. The visually impaired student faces the challenge of disability in the same way as a completely blind student. Accommodations include the use of readers, audio tape and drawings with raised lines. The visually impaired student may be able to use large printed books and a surveillance television (CCTV) or other magnifying device. Some visually impaired students can take notes in class by printing very large with a marker or marker. Others will record lectures for later use. „Legal blindness“ is a definition used by the U.S. government to determine eligibility for job training, rehabilitation, education, disability benefits, equipment for the visually impaired, and tax exemption programs. It`s not a functional definition of low vision and doesn`t tell us much about what a person can and can`t see. „Legally blind“ is the definition of blindness used by the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) to determine whether a person is eligible for disability benefits, tax exemptions, and training for the visually impaired. Legal blindness includes total blindness, but not all people who are legally blind are completely blind.
Many blind people, for example, can see shapes and colors. Striem-Amit E, Gendelman M, Amedi A. „Visual acuity of congenital blind persons by visual sensory substitution for auditory. PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e33136. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0033136 The Iowa Department of the Blind also serves people who are functionally blind. A person is functionally blind when they have to use so many alternative techniques to perform tasks that are normally performed with vision that their daily lifestyle is significantly altered. These alternative techniques could include reading a newspaper while listening to the phone or using Braille to read a book. The government uses the term „statutory blindness“ to decide who can receive certain benefits, such as disability or vocational training. This is not the same as being completely blind. If you are completely blind, you cannot see any light or shape.
Among people with eye diseases, only about 15% can see nothing at all. If you are legally blind, you can still see, but not so clearly. People who are legally blind are not always completely blind, so they may be able to read. However, reading can be difficult depending on the degree of impairment. An eSight tool can help blind people perform everyday tasks such as reading. Like the term „legal blindness,“ „visual impairment“ is not a functional definition that tells us a lot about what a person can and cannot see. It is more of a classification system than a definition. You measure your eyesight by wearing glasses or contact lenses. Their vision could fall below 20/200 without them. If it improves when you put on your glasses or contact lenses, you are not considered blind under the law. Some government agencies also consider field of view to determine legal blindness.
The field of view is the entire area that a person can see, including their peripheral vision when looking straight ahead. Ophthalmologists express the field of view in degrees, with the normal field of view of each eye covering more than 120 degrees horizontally and 90 degrees vertically. Anyone who has a field of vision of 20 degrees or less, even using glasses or contact lenses, is considered legally blind in some countries. This is also known as „tunnel vision“, which means that the individual has difficulty seeing objects on the left and right sides of their body when looking straight ahead. Total blindness is the complete absence of light perception and shape perception and is recorded as „NLP“, an abbreviation for „no light perception“. Another way of looking at it: if someone with 20/20 vision is standing next to a legally blind person, the legally blind person should approach up to 20 feet to see an object from 200 feet away, as well as the person with normal vision. Like visual impairment, there are many different definitions of visual impairment. „Visual impairment“ is a broad term that describes a wide range of visual functions, from visual impairment to complete blindness. Eye trauma or injury and genetic diseases, such as Usher syndrome, can also lead to legal blindness.
Most of our funding comes from people like you. During 2020, we studied the impact of COVID-19 on people who are blind or partially sighted and advocated for meaningful responses to the pandemic. This work is only possible thanks to donations from people like you. If you appreciate the information you found on our website, make a gift today! When determining right blindness, the field of vision (the part of a person`s vision that allows them to see what is happening on their end) is also taken into account. A field of vision of 20 degrees or less is considered blind under the law. Ophthalmologists can help diagnose right blindness. Normal visibility is 20/20. This means that you can clearly see an object from 20 feet away.
If you are legally blind, your vision is 20/200 or less in your best eye or your field of vision is less than 20 degrees. That is, if an object is 200 feet away, you must stand 20 feet away from it to see it clearly. But a person with normal vision can stand at 200 feet and see this object perfectly. According to the American Foundation for the Blind, legally blind is not the same as completely blind, which is used to describe the inability to see anything with both eyes. Most people who are legally blind have some eyesight. There are many causes of legal blindness, including accidents, injuries, and eye diseases. The four main causes of legal blindness are eye diseases, namely age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. Poor vision is used to describe a loss of visual acuity while maintaining some vision.
It applies to people with vision who are unable to read a newspaper at a normal distance, even with glasses or contact lenses. People with visual impairments often need lighting adjustments and/or increased pressure to read something. There are two specific types of visual impairment: Legal blindness does not mean that someone cannot see anything at all. In fact, most people who are legally blind retain some eyesight. You can see objects directly in front of you, but not on the sides (tunnel vision). Or they have good peripheral vision but have difficulty seeing objects directly in front of them (loss of central vision). In most cases, people who are legally blind have their field of vision so narrow or blurred that daily activities are made more difficult. Some people also have blind spots that can`t be corrected with glasses or contact lenses.
The reason some people use this term is because there are many different types of „blindness.“ People mistakenly believe that all blind people see only darkness or literally nothing at all. In fact, blindness may involve seeing colors or light, or having greater visual acuity in some parts of their field of vision, while others are blurred or absent. To be legally blind, you must meet one of two criteria: visual acuity (visual acuity) and field of vision (the full range of what you can see without moving your eyes). A legally blind person with 20/200 vision (with the best corrective lenses) would have to be 20 feet away from an object to see it, and someone with 20/20 vision could see it from 200 feet away. Legal blindness is a term that applies to people with a certain threshold of visual impairment (vision 20/200). Remarkably, legal blindness is not the same as total blindness, where a person cannot see anything at all. A person who is legally blind may have some vision and perhaps see things like shapes and colors. Legal blindness can be the result of accidents or eye diseases, including cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.
Those who are legally blind may be entitled to disability benefits such as those offered by the Social Security Administration in the United States. Various government agencies and non-governmental organizations also offer benefits and assistance, including low-visibility aids and other tools or resources to improve daily functioning.