The government uses the term “legal blindness” to decide who can receive certain benefits, such as disability or vocational training. It`s not the same as being completely blind. Since legal blindness is a legal rather than a medical term, its definition may vary depending on the location. For example, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom define legal blindness as the correction of 20/200 vision in the individual`s best eye using contact lenses or glasses. With a vision of 20/200, the person means no more than 20 feet (six meters) away to see what a person with normal vision can see at 200 feet (60 m). Legal blindness is a term that applies to people with a certain threshold of visual impairment (20/200 vision). In particular, legal blindness is not the same as total blindness, in which a person cannot see anything at all. A legally blind person may have some sight and be able to 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 tools and other tools or resources to improve day-to-day operations. The visual impairment must be medically verified and validated by an optician or other physician in order for the person to receive benefits. Low vision, on the other hand, is defined as 20/70 vision in the best eye with glasses or contact lenses. While low vision can interfere with daily activities, vision loss is not as profound as legal blindness. Most legally blind people function quite well, especially if they have been visually impaired since childhood. Older children and visually impaired adults may need magnifying glasses for reading and telescopes for remote sensing. People with very poor eyesight may need to learn Braille and walk a dog or a showy stick. Treatments for legal blindness vary depending on the cause and stage of the disease.
Age-related eye conditions are usually prescription drugs or eye procedures to try to delay vision or prevent it from getting worse. Most government agencies and health facilities agree that legal blindness is defined as a visual acuity (central vision) of 20/200 or worse in the most conspicuous eye or a field of vision limited to only 20 degrees (peripheral vision). The visual acuity of 20/200 means that what the legally blind person can see at 20 feet, the average person can see clearly at 200 feet. As for the field of view, the average person can see 140 degrees without turning their head. You`ll be surprised to learn that it`s Uncle Sam, not the doctor, who defines whether you`re legally blind. If you are classified as legally blind, you cannot drive in any state. Talk to your doctor about your concerns. Some government agencies also consider the field of vision to determine legal blindness. The field of view is the entire area a person can see, including their peripheral vision, looking straight ahead.
Ophthalmologists express the field of view in degrees, with the normal visual field of each eye encompassing more than 120 degrees horizontally and 90 degrees vertically. Someone who has a field of view 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. Although you may have poor eyesight, are you legally blind? There is a legal definition of who and what is considered blind or even simply “visually impaired”. Are you nearby? Can you get additional benefits from your poor eyesight? Striem-Amit E, Guendelman M, Amedi A. “Visual” sharpness of the congenital blind person by means of visual-auditory sensory substitution. PLoS one. 2012;7(3):E33136. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0033136 To be considered legally blind, you must meet one of the two criteria of visual acuity (visual acuity) and field of view (the full range of what you can see without moving your eyes). To be legally blind, you must have a visual acuity of 20/200. This means that even with glasses or contact lenses, you can only read the first letter at the top of the Snellen diagram, if this is the case.
You can also be legally blind if you can see, but only in a very small window in your eye. Essentially, even if you can see, if you can`t see enough to function regularly, you can probably be considered legally blind. People often ask about the difference between being blind and being “legally blind.” Since “blindness” can mean many different things, legal blindness is the threshold at which a person is considered visually impaired for legal purposes such as insurance, receiving certain benefits, or enrolling in various programs. If you learn that you are legally blind, organizations like the American Foundation for the Blind can help. They have programs to help you cope with the physical and emotional effects of vision loss. A visual acuity exam is an eye exam that tests a person`s ability to identify the shapes and details of the objects presented. Visual acuity is expressed as a rupture. A person with normal vision has a visual acuity of 20/20. A person is considered legally blind if a visual impairment limits vision to 20/200 or one-tenth of normal vision.
Legal blindness does not mean that someone cannot see anything at all. In fact, most legally blind people retain some vision. You may be able to see objects right in front of you, but not on the sides (tunnel vision). Or they have good peripheral vision but have difficulty seeing objects right in front of them (loss of central vision). Most of the time, legally blind people have their field of vision so narrow or blurred that it is difficult to perform daily activities. Some people also have blind spots that can`t be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. American printing house for the blind. What is legal blindness? About 80% of blind people still have some vision.
It can be difficult to understand how a person with a particular eye condition can see some things without seeing others. While some people lose a lot of vision in a short time, others slowly lose their sight. Many diseases that cause blindness begin to affect a certain part of a person`s vision and then develop to remove more vision. For example, macular degeneration initially affects a person`s central vision (the vision that makes us see straight ahead). Visual examples of what individuals might see if they have diseases such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and retinitis pigmentosa can be found on the National Eye Institute website at: www.nei.nih.gov. Low vision or legal blindness can certainly be limiting, but there are many resources and tools to help you live your life with the greatest independence. Depending on the cause of your vision loss, you may benefit from eye exercises and strategies for participating in daily activities. You can also find the use of a stick, talking calculator, special computer software and other useful products to support legally blind people. Normal vision is 20/20. This means you can clearly see an object 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 said, if an object is 200 feet away, you`ll need to stand 20 feet away from it to see it clearly. But a person with normal vision can stand 200 feet away and see this object perfectly. Legal blindness occurs when a person has a central visual acuity (vision that allows a person to see straight ahead) of 20/200 or less in their best eye with correction. With a visual acuity of 20/200, a person at 20 feet can see what a person with 20/20 vision sees at 200 feet. An estimated 1.1 million Americans are legally blind. Certain conditions, such as glaucoma, cataracts, diabetes, and macular degeneration, can affect your vision to the point where you can be diagnosed with the disease.