What is blindness?
The terms blind or blindness are used often, but have very inconsistent meanings when referring to the vision of a young child. Most people associate the word blindness with total lack of vision. But officially, the term blind is equivalent to legally blind, which, in adults, refers to a corrected (glasses on) visual acuity of 20/200 or worse in the best eye (see the next question to learn what this means), or a visual field that is limited to 20o or less. Most young students who are blind have at least some visual function (ranging from being aware of the difference between light versus dark, to distinguishing vague shapes of nearby objects, to being able to tell how many fingers you are holding up several inches from their face). Depending on the cause of the visual impairment, an infants visual function may change (either improve or deteriorate), as he or she gets older. It is very rare for a blind child to have absolutely no light perception. Unfortunately, the term blindness is no
Related Questions
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