An ophthalmologist will measure visual acuity and visual field to determine if a person is legally blind. Being legally blind affects your eyesight, but that doesn`t have to stop you from living a fulfilling life. 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. It is important to know that the recipe for total blindness is 20/200, but it is after that your vision has been corrected. That is, if your natural eyes see at 20/200, but you can improve it to 80/200 with glasses or contact lenses, then you are not legally blind. It varies from person to person. You may be able to see objects from a distance, but not from the sides of your eyes (peripheral vision). Or you may have good peripheral vision but difficulty seeing objects in the distance. 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. Valenzuela T, Mosier J, Sakles J.
Tunnelblick. YWAM 2013;38(1):32-4, 36-7. Visual acuity of 20/20 is considered “perfect vision” because no help is needed to see better, and the average person with good vision can clearly see what doctors have determined to be 20/20 vision. Some people (especially young people with good eyes) may see letters smaller than the overall size “20/20”. Nearly two-thirds of children with visual impairment also have one or more other developmental disabilities, such as intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, hearing loss or epilepsy. Children with more severe visual impairment are more likely to have additional disabilities than children with mild visual impairment. There are many conditions that can cause legal blindness, but the most common are age-related eye diseases. Age-related eye diseases, which are the leading causes of low vision and blindness: In the United States, the definition of legal blindness is twofold. The first part concerns visual acuity. This is based on a standard eye test with an eye chart such as the Snellen Eye Chart. 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 put this in perspective, let`s compare it to someone who has normal vision is 20/20: If you feel that your eyesight, even with a correction, prevents you from driving or working safely, you should consult an ophthalmologist to determine if you are blind within the meaning of the law. In other words, a person who is legally blind can see an object from a distance of 20 feet that a person with normal vision could see from 200 feet away. You may be surprised to learn that it is Uncle Sam, not the doctor, who determines whether you are legally blind. 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. Being considered legally blind means you can`t drive in any state. Talk to your doctor about your concerns. This term refers to someone who cannot see at a certain level.
Most health care institutions and government agencies agree that if your best eye vision is 20/200 with correction, then you are legally blind. 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. A visual acuity of 20/400 is very poor functional vision. The lower your functional vision, the more difficult it becomes to perform daily activities and tasks without visual aids, tools or special services. “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. Visual impairment is a visual acuity of 20/40 or more when wearing corrective lenses. Age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, is the leading cause of vision problems in people over the age of 60. This disease causes the central part of your retina, known as the macula, to deteriorate. The macula is responsible for producing crisp and clear images that allow you to do things like read and drive. The second part of the term blindness is based on your field of vision, which is how you can see to the side without moving your eyes.
