People often ask about the difference between being blind and being “legally blind.” Because “blindness” can mean many different things, blindness under the law is the threshold at which a person is considered visually impaired for legal purposes, such as insurance purposes, to receive certain benefits, or to be accepted into various programs. “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. Basically, if it`s at least 20/70, can`t be corrected — even with touches, glasses, or surgery — and interferes with your daily activities, it can legally be considered a “visual impairment.” While the terms “poor eyesight,” “legal blindness,” and “total blindness” may sound similar, they describe different things. Opticians and government agencies generally define legal blindness as a person who has 20/200 vision in the best eye, even with glasses or contact lenses, indicating a significant vision deficit. Here is a definition of low vision that refers to visual acuity: If a visual impairment reduces visual acuity to 20/200 or one-tenth of normal vision – which is 20/20 even with glasses or contact lenses, a person in North America is considered legally blind. 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. Few people today are completely blind. In fact, 85% of all people with eye diseases have some kind of vision; About 15% are completely blind.
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. Blind people are “legally blind,” but some people who can see with strong eyeglasses say they are legally blind without their glasses. This means that without glasses, they might not see well enough to see certain things, drive, etc. Visual acuity below 20/200 is considered blind under the law, but to truly fit the definition, the person must not be able to achieve 20/200 vision, even with prescription glasses. Many people who would be legally blind without glasses can function well in everyday life with proper glasses or contact lenses. 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! American printing house for the blind. What is legal blindness? 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. While low vision or legal blindness can be limiting, there are many resources and tools to help you live your life with the utmost independence. Depending on the cause of your vision loss, you may be able to benefit from eye exercises and strategies to participate in daily activities. You may also find it helpful to use a stick, talking calculator, special computer software, and other products to help people who are legally blind. Legal blindness occurs when a person has a central visual acuity (vision that allows a person to see right in front of them) of 20/200 or less in their best eye with correction. With a visual acuity of 20/200, a person can see at 20 feet what a person with a vision of 20/20 sees at 200 feet. Visual impairment, on the other hand, is defined as 20/70 vision in the best eye with glasses or contact lenses. Although poor vision can interfere with daily activities, vision loss is not as profound as legal blindness.
Glaucoma accounts for 9-12% of all cases of blindness and is characterized by high pressure in the eyeball.