What S Legally Blind
For most of my years growing up i was legally blind due to severely restricted fields.
What s legally blind. Legally blind indicates that a person has less than 20 200 vision in the better eye after best correction contact lenses or glasses or a field of vision of less than 20 degrees in the better eye. Here we have the visual acuity of a nearsighted person. Technically my field of vision is less than 2 degrees.
A person with 20 or less vision pinhole vision is also legally blind in 2002 the number of people classified as legally blind in the united states was estimated. Legally blind is the definition of blindness used by the u s. That s roughly the size of a pinprick.
Under the new criteria if a person s visual acuity is measured with one of the newer charts and they cannot read any of the letters on the 20 100 line they will qualify as legally blind based on a visual acuity of 20 200 or less. Social security administration ssa to determine if someone is eligible to receive disability benefits tax exemptions and low vision training. You are not legally blind.
A person is considered to have low vision or visual impairment if their best corrected vision is 20 40 or worse. Definition of legal blindness states this about visual field. Totally blind students learn via braille or other non visual media.
Webmd medical reference reviewed by alan kozarsky md on october 05 2020. Being legally blind affects your vision but it doesn t have to stop you from leading a fulfilling life. This person isn t considered legally blind but they can have difficulty in.
Part 2 of the u s. Individuals can be legally blind based on either or both of these factors. Legally blind means you re essentially sightless in the eyes of the law if eyeglasses or contact lenses cannot correct your vision beyond specific standards.
Legal blindness is defined as a visual acuity worse than 20 200 even with best possible correction or a visual field that is less than 20 degrees. What a person with regular vision can see from 200 feet away a legally blind person can see from only 20 feet away. In the u s the standard definition of legal blindness is based on central visual acuity what s in front of you and field of vision what s above below and to the sides.