NFB Missoula member Sarah Streeter’s article “The Face of Blindness” first appeared in the Missoulian’s Opinion Editorials section on December 26th, 2023. To view in its original context, click the following link: https://shorturl.at/fBKMX

The Face of Blindness

What is the health problem you fear the most? Cancer? Heart attack? Becoming paralyzed? While these are all frightening to contemplate, surveys suggest that Americans have an even bigger fear: going blind.

But what would your life actually be like if your sight became impaired? What does it really mean to be blind? As members of the local chapter of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), we know what it’s like to live with sight loss, and we would like to share some of our experience and insights with you.

Vision loss is usually not an all or nothing condition. The most common causes of visual impairment in the US are diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma and cataracts. Each of these conditions generally take years to develop. AMD is the leading cause of blindness in those over the age of 60 and has the fewest treatment options. Just over two percent of the US population has some degree of vision loss. Applied to the estimated 2022 US population, this translates to about 7.2 million people in the US. Of these, just over one million are blind.

Medical and functional definitions of sight loss vary. In the eye doctor’s office, if your visual acuity with the best possible correction slips to 20-70, you are classified as having low vision, If you can read nothing more than the largest letter on the standard Snellen eye chart, your acuity is 20-200 and you are legally blind. Alternatively, if your peripheral vision fails to the extent that your field of vision is 20 degrees or less (think of looking through a narrow tunnel), you are also legally blind.

While these prescriptive definitions of vision loss provide measurable cutoffs that qualify an individual for various government benefits, schooling and so forth, they don’t tell the whole story. Organizations such as the NFB and the American Foundation For the Blind view low vision and blindness in functional terms. They consider a person to be blind or visually impaired when they must use adaptive tools or techniques to carry out tasks of daily living such as reading the mail, cooking, or driving.

Since sight loss is most typically progressive, this allows for adjustment over time. That adjustment can take many forms. First, perhaps, we might need magnification, more light or increased contrast. Eventually, we require screen readers and audiobooks to make text accessible. A basic course in everyday Braille may also be useful. Eventually, we may learn how to travel with a white cane or a guide dog.

While increasing disability and the need for adaptive tools may sound like the worst possible life outcome to someone who is fully functional, most of us with vision loss generally find ways to adapt and go on to live our lives. With the necessary tools, training, and technology, we can be quite independent. We have partners, children, and careers. We volunteer to help others and enjoy hobbies and recreation. In short, while we certainly face some added challenges related to our lack of vision, our lives look like those of other Montanans. 

You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future.

To contact the Missoula chapter of the NFB, email us at missoulachapter@nfbofmt.org.

Missoula Chapter – National Federation of the Blind