Legal blindness is not what most people think. It is a level of vision defined by the U.S. government. 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. If you`re legally blind like 1.3 million people in the United States, you can still see — but not as clearly. But what does it mean to have poor eyesight? Is it just that your vision is blurry or unclear? Legally, it must be caused by eye disease and reduce your visual acuity to at least 20/70. This means that to see what most people can see from 70 feet away, you need to be as close as 20 feet. In other words, you can hardly get the 3.
Read the line from the top of Snellen`s eye chart (or the chart you read at the ophthalmologist with all the letters). If you`re not completely blind yet, but your vision isn`t what it used to be, you probably fall into the category of visually impaired adults. Visual impairment is sometimes referred to as «partial blindness», but because the term is not necessarily accurate, «visual impairment» is preferred. Third, let`s say your -9.25 eye can see 20/20 with a contact lens, but the -12.50 eye can only see 20/40, even with the best contact lens available. We would say that this last eye has some amblyopia and is therefore not entirely correctable at 20/20, whether with glasses, contact lenses, a lens implant or LASIK. This doesn`t mean you can`t treat such severe myopia, but it does suggest that you should be prepared in advance that one eye is slightly better than the other, even with full refractive correction. Legal blindness is determined when you wear your last prescription for glasses. There is no such thing as legal blindness «with glasses removed». There is also no legal blindness in one eye. Legal blindness, by definition, is based on the best corrected visual acuity of the eye that sees better. Your eye doctor will check your vision during a standard eye exam. 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. Although you may have poor eyesight, are you really blind within the meaning of the law? There is a legal definition of who and what is considered blind or even «visually impaired». Are you nearby? Can you get extra benefits from your low eyesight? For more information on definitions of statutory blindness, see Assessment of Disability in Social Security, a publication of the Social Security Administration. 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! 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. 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. 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.
Normal (average) vision is 20/20. This means that you can see a 20-foot object clearly what others can see at 20 feet. If you are legally blind, your vision is 20/200 or less in your eye that sees better. That is, if an object is 200 feet away, you 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 that object perfectly. Certain conditions, such as glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetes, can affect your vision to such an extent that you can be diagnosed as legally blind. You are also considered legally blind if you have a field of vision (the total area that a person can see without moving their eyes from side to side) of 20 degrees or less (also called tunnel vision) in the eye that sees better. You may be surprised to learn that it is Uncle Sam, not the doctor, who determines whether you are legally blind. 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. 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».
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. «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. Total blindness is the complete absence of light perception and shape perception and is recorded as «NLP», an abbreviation for «no light perception». 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.
In the United States, the Snellen Eye Chart (pictured left) is a test that ophthalmologists and optometrists use to measure a person`s visual acuity. It contains rows of letters, numbers or symbols printed in standardized graduated sizes. Striem-Amit E, Gendelman M, Amedi A. «Visual acuity» of congenital blind people by visual sensory substitution for auditory. PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e33136. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0033136 Another view: If a person with 20/20 vision is standing next to a person who is legally blind, the legally blind person should see an object 200 feet away, as well as the person with normal vision. For more information about the many types of read options available, see Read, Write, and Vision Loss on the VisionAware Web site.