Information About Visually Handicapped People

Visual impairment disabilities can occur in varying degrees from partial vision loss to near-total or total blindness. Visually impaired people also include those who have a severely reduced visual field, commonly known as tunnel vision.

Causes

• The leading causes of blindness and other visual impairment include glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, optic nerve atrophy and diabetic retinopathy. Other causes include retinitis pigmentosa, corneal disease, cancer, corneal opacities and blinding trachoma.

Statistics

• According to the World Health Organization, of the approximately 314 million people who are visually impaired worldwide, about 45 million of them are blind. Most visually impaired people are female, age 50 and older (82 percent) and live in developing countries (87 percent).

Assistive Technology

• To travel and move around independently, many people with severe visual impairments use a white cane or guide dog. Depending on the degree of visual impairment, other available assistive devices include voice recognition software, Braille translators, speech synthesizers, screen readers, talking clocks, writing aids and global positioning system (GPS) navigation devices.

Legal blindness

• According to 42 U.S. Code § 416(i)(1)(B) (Supp. IV 1986), a person who has a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of a corrective lens, or a visual field of less than 20 degrees in diameter is considered to be legally blind.