Legally blind means...

[Ann.without.an.e]

your vision is 20/200 or worse WITH correction.  As in, the eye doctor can't get your vision better than 20/200 even with the best glasses, etc they can find. Many people think it means that their vision is 20/200 or worse without correction and they call themselves legally blind when they aren't.  Sorry, sometimes you just need to get something off your chest..I'm just venting a pet peeve.  If you are legally allowed to drive then  you are not legally blind.  No state in the US will allow you to have a license if you are legally blind.  Just in case you were wondering ;)

 

Maybe this is just a mistake people around me make?

 

 

Edited June 7, 2016 by Attolia

[MomtoCandJ]

I was told WITHOUT my glasses I am legally blind.

I have astigmatism and myopia (the astigmatism is the main issue) in both eyes. If my lenses are not thinned, they are literally like the bottom of a glass Coke bottle.

Edited June 7, 2016 by MomtoCandJ

[Guest]

My poor husband has 20/400 vision without his glasses and even with correction his eyesight is worse than mine without my glasses *on*. It's one of those things I'm grateful for in terms of modern medicine because he would be hosed without it!

[Ann.without.an.e]

I was told WITHOUT my glasses I am legally blind.

 

 

YES, that's the confusion.  But you can't call yourself legally blind because you have correction.  I have a neighbor who is legally blind.  She can't drive, etc. because glasses can't get her correction far enough.  

[Ann.without.an.e]

My poor husband has 20/400 vision without his glasses and even with correction his eyesight is worse than mine without my glasses *on*. It's one of those things I'm grateful for in terms of modern medicine because he would be hosed without it!

 

 

My dd is 20/1100.  But she can be corrected to 20/40ish so she isn't legally blind.

 

And yes..I am truly thankful for modern medicine because she can't see past her nose without glasses.

Edited June 7, 2016 by Attolia

[J-rap]

The same is sort of true with hearing problems.  Without hearing aids, my dd cannot hear many conversational tones well at all.  With hearing aids, she hears them decently.  I don't even know how that classifies her.  

Edited June 7, 2016 by J-rap

[Ann.without.an.e]

This originally came up for me because dd was diagnosed with severe myopia at 5 and her vision then was 20/500 (it has worsened with growth).  So many  people would say "Oh, she's legally blind" so I asked her doctor if that was what it meant.  She clarified that without glasses she is but with correction she isn't.

[Guest]

I was told WITHOUT my glasses I am legally blind.

Mhmm, that's his diagnosis as well. He can drive with correction, thankfully.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Mhmm, that's his diagnosis as well. He can drive with correction, thankfully.

 

 

Anyone with 20/200 or worse without correction is legally blind without correction but they aren't overall, technically legally blind because they can be corrected.  I know it is nit picky but I have met several people in life who are truly legally blind and can't be corrected and their life is greatly altered.  I guess this is why it bothers me.  

Edited June 7, 2016 by Attolia

[EmilyGF]

My junior high German teacher was legally blind. Living in a CA suburb, she still took the bus to school every day. She could "read" work in class, but it meant holding her nose to it. She devised a complex system of having students check students' work (since she could barely see it) with appropriate punishments for cheating (lots of writing out sentences in German). She used the same books year after year after year so she wouldn't have to learn new books.

 

Oh, and she also taught Spanish and subbed in French. She learned Portuguese one summer. 
 

Best teacher I ever had. 

 

Emily

[Jean in Newcastle]

http://www.allaboutvision.com/lowvision/legally-blind.htm

 

Being legally blind has to do with the law regarding driving or the receipt of benefits. 

[lllll]

nm

Edited June 8, 2016 by _ ?^..

[MomtoCandJ]

My dh has a cataract in one eye and he can't see out of that eye. So that means he's legally blind? But the DMV gives him a driver's license ...

 

(He's getting it fixed in a few months.)

My dad was legally blind in one eye (with correction) and color blind in his "good eye" and was still able to get a driver's license.

[Matryoshka]

My dh has a cataract in one eye and he can't see out of that eye.  So that means he's legally blind?  But the DMV gives him a driver's license ...

 

(He's getting it fixed in a few months.)

 

My dd might be legally blind in one eye (not sure of the numbers, but she still can't see squit with it even with correction), but the other one's decent enough.  I'm still a bit worried about her driving (she has her permit now!), as it does affect her depth perception as well as peripheral vision on one side, but I'm really hoping she'll be able to compensate, as not being able to drive in this country is very, very limiting.

[Lawana]

My dh has a cataract in one eye and he can't see out of that eye. So that means he's legally blind? But the DMV gives him a driver's license ...

 

(He's getting it fixed in a few months.)

No, not legally blind, because one eye has vision better than 20/200.

 

Each state sets the vision adequate for getting a driver's license. Most states allow persons with vision in only one eye to get a driver's license.

[lllll]

nm

Edited June 8, 2016 by _ ?^..

[prairiewindmomma]

Low vision is the range between corrected 20/40-20/200. The range goes counting fingers/hand motion/light perception/no light perception.

 

(edited out personal story)

Edited June 12, 2016 by kbeal

[Ann.without.an.e]

My dh has a cataract in one eye and he can't see out of that eye. So that means he's legally blind? But the DMV gives him a driver's license ...

 

(He's getting it fixed in a few months.)

I think one eye with good vision is ok. I have a friend blind in one eye and she drives.

[Ann.without.an.e]

My dd might be legally blind in one eye (not sure of the numbers, but she still can't see squit with it even with correction), but the other one's decent enough. I'm still a bit worried about her driving (she has her permit now!), as it does affect her depth perception as well as peripheral vision on one side, but I'm really hoping she'll be able to compensate, as not being able to drive in this country is very, very limiting.

I imagine that it is scary for you to think about. My dd is corrected to 20/40 and uncorrected she's 20/1100. I worry about her driving one day. She's generally unaware of her surroundings.

She bumps into things a lot, etc. I think because her vision is so bad there is a gap in her peripheral vision. She absolutely won't try contacts even though I think that would help her.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Sorry - double post

Edited June 7, 2016 by Attolia

[Lolly]

It has always bugged me too. Dh has had his optometrist tell him he was legally blind without correction also. Umm..nope...that without correction nullifies the legally blind part. That phrase is sort of like hearing a double negative to me. I hear it all the time. I don't say anything about it, but inwardly I cringe. I have no idea why it bothers me. I do understand what they are saying, but it is impossible to be legally blind if you can see alright with correction. The fact that doctors say it mystifies me.

[vonfirmath]

Anyone with 20/200 or worse without correction is legally blind without correction but they aren't overall, technically legally blind because they can be corrected.  I know it is nit picky but I have met several people in life who are truly legally blind and can't be corrected and their life is greatly altered.  I guess this is why it bothers me.  

 

My aunt is legally blind -- cannot drive even with correction.  But my eye doctor has definitely told me i am legally blind without my glasses and I MUST wear glasses or contact lens to drive.  So when I say I am legally blind without my glasses -- that is what I mean. It is a way of saying how bad the vision is, not whether or not I can drive.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

My junior high German teacher was legally blind. Living in a CA suburb, she still took the bus to school every day. She could "read" work in class, but it meant holding her nose to it. She devised a complex system of having students check students' work (since she could barely see it) with appropriate punishments for cheating (lots of writing out sentences in German). She used the same books year after year after year so she wouldn't have to learn new books.

 

Oh, and she also taught Spanish and subbed in French. She learned Portuguese one summer. 

 

Best teacher I ever had. 

 

Emily

 

 

I'm legally blind, and this is pretty much how I live my life. On the bright side, as soon as a kid can read in my family, they get to learn to read train tables and bus schedules... :-).

[Crimson Wife]

The same is sort of true with hearing problems.  Without hearing aids, my dd cannot hear many conversational tones well at all.  With hearing aids, she hears them decently.  I don't even know how that classifies her.  

 

Hard of hearing. But there is no legal distinction between "deaf" and "hard of hearing". It's a distinction that audiologists and other hearing health professionals make, but the government doesn't get involved in saying who falls into which category.

 

[LostSurprise]

Laws can be different between state, federal, schooling options, EEOC, etc. 

 

My uncle is legally blind and has been since an accident when he was 2. His eyes and their surrounding muscles were physically damaged. He went to a blind school. His wife is blind. He participated in the Paralympics. He can now drive in the state of Indiana with a newer type of corrective lens which corrects enough for at least one eye. It gives him awful headaches but he enjoys a limited amount of daytime driving. He says he'll never move from Indiana because he couldn't get his license anywhere else in the Midwest. (I have no idea how true that is but it is true he couldn't get a license in his home state.)

 

He's still considered legally blind and he can't wear the glasses at work or in daily life. They are that disruptive. 

 

 

So yes, he is legally blind (according to the government, state, his employer, his family) but he can drive, now. (Cue family jokes.) I don't think they even invented those lenses until the late '80s/early '90s. 

[foxbridgeacademy]

I'm 20/525 in one eye and 20/575 in the other, but with my glasses I see fine.  

 

 

[Ali in OR]

My severely disabled dd is blind, among other things (underdeveloped optic nerves--no correction possible). I never know how exactly to describe it because she is not completely blind. If I hold her favorite toy in front of her face she will reach for it. She reaches for me when I'm standing close to her. She knows when to open her mouth when a spoonful of food is coming. She is non-verbal and low IQ so she can't even really participate in vision tests. When she turned 18 we signed her up for social security income as a disabled adult. She would qualify even if she wasn't blind, but they made us see an eye doctor anyway to confirm that she was really blind. I got the impression that it's helpful to her to be able to check off the box that says she's blind, so it was important to them to get the official diagnosis (they weren't impressed that she hadn't seen an ophthalmologist since 3 months old!). So anyway, I continue to say she's blind but perhaps legally blind is more accurate.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

My severely disabled dd is blind, among other things (underdeveloped optic nerves--no correction possible). I never know how exactly to describe it because she is not completely blind. If I hold her favorite toy in front of her face she will reach for it. She reaches for me when I'm standing close to her. She knows when to open her mouth when a spoonful of food is coming. She is non-verbal and low IQ so she can't even really participate in vision tests. When she turned 18 we signed her up for social security income as a disabled adult. She would qualify even if she wasn't blind, but they made us see an eye doctor anyway to confirm that she was really blind. I got the impression that it's helpful to her to be able to check off the box that says she's blind, so it was important to them to get the official diagnosis (they weren't impressed that she hadn't seen an ophthalmologist since 3 months old!). So anyway, I continue to say she's blind but perhaps legally blind is more accurate.

 

You are right to call her blind, but many people misunderstand "blind" to mean living in total darkness when in fact there is a range of how blindness presents.

 

You could switch to "legally blind" if you find yourself explaining constantly, but your usage is correct... It's others lack of information that is causing any confusion. ;-).

[jenn-]

I am not "legally" blind because I can get 20/20 with correction still. I am well beyond (20/1200) the legally blind defined level without correction. I to have been told I'm legally blind without correction by the eye doctor. I think they use this terminology to say "don't drive without your glasses".

 

As for those with concerns about driving with one eye, our body does amazing thing to compensate. I've lost a contact more than once and had to drive home that way. It only take a minute or two before my brain pretty much shuts down the eye's input receptors and only the good eye contributes. I would assume that someone who always lives like that has found a similar compensation. If you think your dd is bumping into things because of limited periphal vision, I'd insist she give contacts a try before turning her out on the road. If she still bumps into things, she might just be clumsy like my oldest boy has always been (just unaware of his surroundings because he daydreams while walking around).

[Ann.without.an.e]

My severely disabled dd is blind, among other things (underdeveloped optic nerves--no correction possible). I never know how exactly to describe it because she is not completely blind. If I hold her favorite toy in front of her face she will reach for it. She reaches for me when I'm standing close to her. She knows when to open her mouth when a spoonful of food is coming. She is non-verbal and low IQ so she can't even really participate in vision tests. When she turned 18 we signed her up for social security income as a disabled adult. She would qualify even if she wasn't blind, but they made us see an eye doctor anyway to confirm that she was really blind. I got the impression that it's helpful to her to be able to check off the box that says she's blind, so it was important to them to get the official diagnosis (they weren't impressed that she hadn't seen an ophthalmologist since 3 months old!). So anyway, I continue to say she's blind but perhaps legally blind is more accurate.

 

 

Sorry for your dd :(  It sounds like she is blind since she can't be corrected.  Not all blindness is life in total darkness.