“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. What are the main causes of blindness? According to the National Eye Institute, there are four main causes of blindness in the United States. 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.

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. 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. You may be surprised to learn that it is Uncle Sam, not the doctor, who determines whether you are legally blind. 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! Treatments for legal blindness vary depending on the cause and stage of the disease. Age-related eye conditions are usually prescription medications or eye procedures aimed at delaying or preventing vision from getting worse. 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. For more information on definitions of statutory blindness, see Assessment of Disability in Social Security, a publication of the Social Security Administration. 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. Each year, the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) surveys each state to obtain data on the number of legally blind children (up to twenty-one years old) enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in the United States who are eligible for free reading in Braille, large print, or audio. This is used to develop a “quota” of federal funds spent in each state on hardware in any alternative format. What does it mean to be legally blind? The definition of legal blindness was developed as a guideline to help people receive government support, such as Social Security disability benefits. The Department of Motor Vehicles also uses the definition to measure visibility and protect our roads from drivers who have difficulty seeing. Part 1 of the U.S.

definition of legal blindness says this about visual acuity: In 2015, a total of 1.02 million people were blind and about 3.22 million people in the United States had visual impairment (VI), as defined by the best corrected visual acuity in the eye that sees better. In addition, 8.2 million people had VI due to uncorrected refractive error. By 2050, the number of these diseases is expected to double to about 2.01 million people who are blind or have a VI of 20/200 or worse, 6.95 million people with VI and 16.4 million with VI due to uncorrected refractive errors. (Varma 2015) 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. 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. Total blindness is the complete absence of light perception and shape perception and is recorded as “NLP”, an abbreviation for “no light perception”.

Most government agencies and health care institutions agree that legal blindness is defined as visual acuity (central vision) of 20/200 or worse in the best sighted eye or a field of vision (peripheral vision) limited to only 20 degrees. 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. When it comes to the field of vision, the average person can see 140 degrees without turning their head. 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. Guiding Eyes for the Blind estimates that “there are currently about 10,000 guide dog teams working in the United States. Another frequently cited statistic is that only about 2% of all blind and visually impaired people work with guide dogs. We have all heard the term “legally blind,” but what does that really mean? How is it different from complete blindness and who is considered legally blind? The U.S. Bureau of the Census`s question on “significant vision loss” includes both complete or near-complete blindness and “vision problems, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses.” Did you know: The largest letter on the diagram (an E on most Snellen diagrams) is a 20/200 vision. If someone cannot distinguish this letter with his prescribed glasses, he is considered blind within the meaning of the law. About 80% of blind people have residual vision.

It can be difficult to understand how a person with a particular eye condition can see some things while not seeing others.