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Facts About Blindness

February 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Everyone knows that blind people have little to no vision, but there is much more to this serious and life altering condition that the general public does not realize.

More People are Blind Than You May Think

There are over 15 million visually impaired and blind people in the United States alone.  21% of people over the age of 65 are visually impaired.

Blindness is Not Just for the Elderly

Over 17 million school aged children around the world suffer from blindness or another serious vision impairment.  Reasons that young people can be blind include accidents, optic nerve malfunction and retina damage during the first year of a child’s life.

Misconceptions and Stereotypes

Many people may think that all blind people see nothing but darkness.  In reality, only 10% of legally blind individuals can see nothing at all.  Anyone who has vision of less than 20/200 can be considered legally blind even if they can still see in some capacity.  On television shows and in the movies, it seems like almost every blind person can read by using braille and use seeing eye dogs to get around.  In reality, 90% of visually impaired people do not use the braille system.  Many blind people can also get around fine with a cane or walking stick and do not opt to use a seeing eye dog.

Blind People Like to Be Treated Just Like You

Since many people have never met a blind person, some people get nervous and feel like they have to treat blind people in a special way.  It is important to remember that blind people like to socialize just like you do.  Blind people want you to make jokes, tell stories and have you treat them like any other person.  Don’t assume that all blind people are completely isolated.  Many blind people hold jobs and have hobbies.  As technology continues to improve, there will be even more options available for blind people to be handi-capable.

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Regular Eye Check Up Needed To Prevent Eye Problems.

January 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

There are many diseases that can cause a person to become blind. It is very important that there is a regular eye check up done by people of all ages to ensure that the person does not become blind. As the person becomes older, it is much more important for the regular eye check up. There are many clinics that will help the person to have a regular check of the eye.
The eye check up is done to identify the presence of any damage to the eye and the various parts of the eye. Retinal damage is common in diabetes.
Since diabetes is on the rise in many countries and societies, more and more people are suffering from this problem. It is very important that the treatment of the eye is done early enough. For the treatment to be early, the identification of the problem also needs to be early. For identification of the problem, the person needs to undergo health checks and focus on eye check up.

The common method of testing the eye is to check the visual acuity by using the Snellen’s chart. This is a test that is done by making the patient view a chart with varying sizes of numbers or alphabets and the person has to read the largest to the smallest numbers. When the person is not able to read any of them, then it denotes that the person has some kind of visual problem.

Regular eye check will also help to identify the presence of any problems earlier than usual. This is because of the fact that if a yearly eye check is done, any new problems can be treated as soon as they appear and this will prevent any lasting problems like blindness. If there are no regular eye checks done, then the person may even become blind.

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Cataract Is A Leading Cause Of Blindness

January 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Cataract can lead to blindness in a person. Cataract is one of the most common problems that are seen all over the world. It is also the most common cause for a person to become blind. There is a lot of ignorance present in the community about cataract and the need to get it treated with surgery.

Cataract is one of the leading blindness problems in society, whether it is developed or not developed. There are various kinds of cataracts that are present in a person. A person may have age related cataract. This is in fact the most common kind of cataract that is seen in the general population. This occurs because of the normal ageing process. In this kind of cataract, the individual who is blind because of cataract has a layer of tissue on the eye. This tissue forms over a period of time and needs to be removed for the person to be able to see properly.

Vision check is done for the person with the Snellen’s chart to check the actual visual acuity. Once this is deceased, the cause of the lack of vision is identified using various diagnostic test and then surgery is performed to treat the condition, if it is cataract that has caused the blindness.

Other than the age related cataract, there are two other kinds of cataracts that are commonly seen. One of them is the diabetes induced problems. This is commonly the damage to the retina called as retinopathy. This can also hasten the process of cataract formation in   person. There are many studies that have been done to identify the link between diabetes and cataract. The other kind of cataract is the steroid induced cataract. This kind of cataract is seen in a person who is treated with steroids like prednisolone and hydrocortisone.

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Problems Associated With Blindness

January 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment

There are a lot of problems that a person has to face in case he is blind. The person is at a disadvantage in the society. Other than this, the person may also have complications in case he is blind. It is very important that the blind person tries to overcome the problem by trying to develop the various other senses. Some of the common problems that are faced by the blind person are listed here.

Falls is one of the most common problems that are faced by blind people. If a survey of all the blind people is taken, it is sure that each and every blind person has had more than one fall. The reason behind this fact is that the person who is blind will not be able to see what is in front and is more prone to accidents.

Fractures are another complication that can occur in a person who is blind, because of the falls. A blind person may fall because of the barriers that are present. Other than this, the person may also move around which can cause the person to fall by tripping. Even people who are not completely blind and are only partially blind are prone to falls. This is because when the person walks in an area where there is limited lighting, it can cause the person to hit against barriers leading to falls.

The blind person also needs to be alert at all times and use other senses like the hearing sense to compensate for the lack of vision. If the person is not alert, then there can be problems like falls and injuries occurring. Many of the people who are blind develop their hearing sense to a higher level so that it helps them in preventing accidents and injuries that might occur otherwise.

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Importance Of Barrier Free Environment For The Blind

January 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

A barrier free environment is very important for each and every person who is blind. Vision is a very important sensory function of the person. There are times when the person may not be able to have proper vision. This is called as partial blindness. There are many other people who may not be able to see at all and this is called as complete blindness.

When a person is blind, the person may not be able to live life to the fullest. This is because the blind person may need to depend on other people to move around in the house and also outside the house. To prevent the person from becoming dependant on others and also to ensure that the person is able to be independent in living, it is very important to create a barrier free environment for the person.

A barrier free environment is a very important need for a blind person. This is because if there is some barrier, then the person will have a high risk of falling and injuring themselves. This can lead to fractures and other problems that can further reduce the independence of the person.

The importance of barrier free environment can be understood from the fact that those who are blind and live in a barrier free environment have a lesser risk of injuring themselves. They are also much more independent. A person who is blind and lives in an environment where there are a lot of barriers may have a high risk for injuries. The person will also need to be dependent on other people to overcome the problems that are associated with barriers. Quality of life too can be increased if the person has a barrier free environment and the individual will be able to live life better than usual.

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Advantages And Disadvantages Of Braille

January 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

There are various advantages of using Braille by people to read. Braille is a form of language that is used by the blind people to read. As we know blind people will not be able to see the shape of size of the alphabets. To make even blind people to read, this system of Braille was started.

This is a method in which the book in Braille form has various dots that are raised. As the dots are present on the paper and also because the dots are raised, the person who is reading the book needs to run the hands over the book or paper and the raised dots will help the person to read the words in the book.

Any person thinking of Braille will think of the many advantages that it has. Though the system of Braille has a lot of advantages, there are also some disadvantages of Braille. We will look at some of the other advantages before going into the disadvantages.

Learning is possible for the person who is able to read Braille. Even a blind person can educate himself thorough Braille and this is the major advantage of using this system to read. The disadvantage of Braille is that the person who is using this kind of books to read will have to spend a lot of money to read. This is a very difficult proposition for many of the people who are not economically well off.

The high cost of the books that are in Braille is just one of the disadvantages. The other disadvantage is that the Braille is present in English and there are no other fully compatible systems in any other language. There are a lot of people trying to use other methods similar to Braille for various languages, but it has not been as successful. This is a disadvantage because people who do not know English and have become blind will find it difficult.

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How Can A Blind Person Read?

January 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment
A person reading a braille book with two fingers

Image via Wikipedia

A blind person will find it very difficult to compete with other people as far as education is concerned. The reason for this is that the person who is blind will have to do a lot more hard work than the person who is not blind. The person who has normal vision will have a much better reading speed than a person who is blind. Blind people usually have Braille books to read. This can be used by running the hand over the dotted lines in the book.

For the person to read in this method will take a longer time than a normal person, but this is seemingly the only system that will help the person to read independently. There are also other methods that are used by some people to read the books without Braille. In these methods, they may have to depend on other people at least for some time.

A blind person can use the method in which all the information in a particular book is recorded in the tape recorder and then the person can rewind the tape and then listen to it. This will help the person to read a lot. There are many people who use this method to read because it is simple and effective. On the disadvantage aspect, it takes a long time for the person to record and then listen to all the tapes.

Another method that can be used by a blind person to ‘read’ is to make sure that he or she tries to have a scribe read whatever is in the book. This can be useful if the person has to hear what is in the book only one time, but if the information needs to be learnt by memory, then it is very difficult to read and memorize all the information at one go.

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Disadvantages A Blind Person May Face In Society

January 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

A person who is blind may have a lot of disadvantages in the society. There are many people who are blind. These people are said to be visually challenged. The person who is blind may have some residual vision left. This is the reason for the vision loss to be categorized into various levels. There are some people who are considered to be legally blind. There are other people who are considered to be completely blind and others are partially blind.

Whatever the visual status of the person, if the person does not have normal vision status, then the person may be at a disadvantage in the society in a variety of ways. The first and the most important disadvantage that the person has is the lack of ability to read. Braille can be used, or the person can use a scribe. If the scribe is used, the person will need to try to have it read for more than once and so it is a waste of resources and is not usually possible. Braille on the other hand, can be very expensive. So, in the absence of Braille, the use of the tape recorder and cassettes is the best method of reading.

As the blind person may not be able to have the same education as a normal person, it causes more disadvantages too. There are very few societies where a person who is challenged will be able to lead a normal life. In most of the developing and under developed nations, it is very difficult for a visually challenged person to be able to lead a normal life. Since there are many disadvantages, unless a person is highly determined to succeed, a person will not be able to be successful in life, especially if he or she is blind.

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Read for the Blind or Low seeing

January 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When was the last time you picked up a book and began to read? Did you struggle with a word here or there; need extra light so that you could see the words, or did you find that the book wasn’t to your liking after all? These are minor concerns in the field of reading; ones that can be figured out without too much trouble and concern. But for the blind or low seeing, reading can be a problem, especially if the person has not yet learned how to read Braille. And this is where you can give some well-needed help and joy.

1. Make a visit to your local library. Volunteer to read to adults or children on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
2. Check with local organizations for the blind in your area, including schools and foundations. Make sure the organization doesn’t already have someone on staff who organizes this important task, and if not, offer your services for free and let the organization know what days and times are available to you.
3. Find out the needs within your local church. There may be someone who needs your help not only with reading but with writing a personal history of their life or addressing envelopes or other daily tasks.
4. Provide the services free of charge by placing an ad online or in the newspaper. Visit the client’s home to read.

In the end, a blind or low seeing individual wants to glean all you desire when you sit down with a book for the first time. So, speak clearly and with enthusiasm. Read what the client wants you to read, and skip those things he or she tells you do not interest him or her. If there are pictures, maps, or drawings, explain them so that the individual can see along with you. And above all, have a good time!

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How to decide what breed of dog is best for a seeing-eye-dog.

December 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Guide Dog puppies
Image by niallkennedy via Flickr

In the dark world of the legally blind, venturing into the noisy,crowded world of those not vision impared, it can seem a scary, dauntless task. For Those that do venture out, and make try to make their lives as normal as possible, a seeing eye dog is the most essential partner to them. Upon completion of formal training, a graduated guide dog is matched with those who need it the most. Normally a waiting list is in place for those willing and wanting to adopt and take home a guide dog.

A dog’s personality is a very important thing to consider when looking into adopting.

Is he Friendly? Shy? Does he lead? or prefer to follow? Is he loyal, and willing to work? or does he enjoy laying in the sun? When dogs are matched with their new owners, the owners must learn the dogs name, breed and temprament, in order to bond quickly and closely with their new family member.

The breeds most commonly used as Guide dogs according to the Guide dogs of America are: 70% Labrador Retrievers, 15% Golden Retrievers, and 15% German Shepherds. Labrador Retrievers make up the majority of dogs as they have been found to be the most successful breed used. The Labrador Retriever is the dog most often used for guide dog programs throughout the world, due to their friendly attitude and willingness to work hard.

A few days of one on one training is usually needed to help the new owner and the dogs adjust and to learn commands needed to show the dog just what tasks their owner needs help performing doing things such as walking across the street, picking things up,& walking up and down steps.Once a dog is matched with their new owner and the few initial days of adjustment and training are complete,both dog and owner are ready to begin their new life together as a family that relies on one another.

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