Blindness

A watch made so that people can tell the time of day by feeling it with their fingers.

A blind man at a mall is led by a guide dog.

Blindness is to not see anything. Some people are called blind, even though they can see a little bit. This is because they cannot see clearly, but only see unfocused shapes or colors.

In modern countries, few young people are blind. In all the world, blindness is mostly caused by malnutrition and diseases of old people, like cataracts and trachoma. People can become blind because of diseases or accidents, but sometimes people are born blind.

Legal blindness is defined as a level of visual acuity low enough to qualify for disability benefits and\or special accommodations. Legal blindness is also defined as being unable to be completely corrected by prescription glasses or contact lenses.

Some people are color blind, which means they can see, but cannot tell certain colors apart.

When people are blind they use such things as the alphabet in braille and guide dogs to do every day life things. In addition, they may wear sunglasses all the time to hide and \or protect their eyes.

Famous blind people have included Louis Braille, the inventor of the braille alphabet, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Helen Keller.

Blindness Media

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  The burden of onchocerciasis: children leading blind adults in Africa

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  Re-educating wounded. Blind French soldiers learning to make baskets, World War I.

• Scientists track eye movements in glaucoma patients to check vision impairment while driving.

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  Tommy Edison, a blind film critic, demonstrates for his viewers how a blind person can cook alone.

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  A folded long cane. The long cane is the primary mobility tool for blind and vision impaired people. Long canes are often foldable to save space.

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  Blind girl feels shape of vehicle near Mana village, Uttarakhand.

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  Visually impaired girl negotiating a rock while rock climbing

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  Watch for the blind. With loving memory of my great-grandfather Ephraim Rotter, who was blinded in the Holocaust and to whom this watch belonged.

References

• Book on the history of blindness Archived 2006-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
• Royal National Institute for the Blind Archived 2006-04-05 at the Wayback Machine
• Scottish Sensory Centre Archived 2005-07-13 at the Wayback Machine
• Blind Net
• Guide Dogs for the Blind Association