“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. Being legally blind means that you have terrible eyesight, even if you wear the latest glasses or contact lenses. 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. 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. 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 legal blindness threshold in the United States is 20/200. This means that your best eye of vision should have a BCVA equal to or greater than 20/200. 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. To be legally blind, you must meet one of two criteria: visual acuity (visual acuity) and field of vision (the full range of what you can see without moving your eyes). The term “blindness” covers a wide range of visual impairments, from visual impairment to complete blindness. Many people who have high prescriptions want to know if they are blind under the law or what order makes them blind under the law. Being visually impaired means that you have less than 20/20 vision. In fact, many people have some form of visual impairment, even if it is minor. However, only blind people in Canada can, in most cases, receive disability benefits. 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. Eye trauma or injury and genetic diseases, such as Usher syndrome, can also lead to legal blindness. There are many conditions that can cause legal blindness, but the most common are age-related eye diseases. Age-related eye diseases that are the main causes of low vision and blindness include: American Printing House for the Blind.
What is legal blindness? I hope it all makes sense now. If you still have questions about the concept of legal blindness, please contact below! You may be surprised to learn that it is Uncle Sam, not the doctor, who determines whether you are legally blind. A common test for visual acuity is Snellen`s eye chart. Someone who is legally blind could simply read the top row of the chart, a capital E, while wearing corrective lenses. The line under the capital E is the line for 20/100. There are also tests that can measure between 20/200 and 20/100. Someone who can`t see the line for 20/100 but sees somewhere between 20/100 and 20/200 would still meet the government`s standard of legal blindness, which is why they are listed as “20/200 or less.” The terms may also be used by health insurers to determine benefits and as part of the vision screening tests required by state departments of motor vehicles (DMV) when determining driver`s license eligibility. For safety reasons, people who are legally blind or visually impaired are generally not entitled to a driver`s licence.
Being considered legally blind means you can`t drive in any state. Talk to your doctor about your concerns. A person without a prescription for glasses or contact lenses can become legally blind, as can a person with a prescription of -10.00 D. The question is not what the prescription is, but to what extent this person can see when wearing up-to-date glasses. Since legal blindness is measured by your “best” eye, this means that you are unlikely to be considered disabled if you are blind in one eye. Another way of looking at it: if someone with 20/20 vision is standing next to a legally blind person, the legally blind person should approach up to 20 feet to see an object from 200 feet away, as well as the person with normal vision. Of course, it is not enough to use phrases such as “good,” “moderately good,” and “terrible” to try to define legal blindness. We need to be able to set precise levels of vision. Striem-Amit E, Guendelman 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 Being legally blind means that the BCAM in both eyes falls below a certain threshold. 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. Visual acuity (VA) is what we use to measure vision. It is usually depicted as a pause. You may also be considered legally blind if your field of vision is less than 20 degrees using glasses or contact lenses. This means that you have difficulty seeing to the sides (peripheral vision). When you are told that your vision is 20/20, it means the same as being told that your vision is 6/6. But even in Canada, everyone knows what the 20/20 vision means, but 6/6 would confuse many people. Most legally blind people function fairly well, especially if they have been visually impaired since childhood.
Older children and visually impaired adults may need magnifying lenses for reading and telescopes for remote viewing. People with very poor eyesight may need to learn Braille and walk with a guide dog or cane. 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. Note that “blindness” is the term for almost complete or complete vision loss.
Although this is the most commonly accepted form of visual impairment, other types of visual impairment also have disabling effects.