Legally blind

[Jumpinbare]

One of my house mates is legally blind. He is not totally blind, but he does not see well enough to avoid obstacles and needs to use the cane. I am legally blind. I am extremely nearsighted. But I wear glasses that correct my vision to better than 20/20. My housemate is obviously not allowed to drive. I am not allowed to drive without glasses (that's actually printed on my license).

While we share the status of legal blindness, I haven't thought of myself having a visual disability. I have worn glasses every day of my life since third grade. I don't normally think about them. Calling myself legally blind when I lived with a legally blind person who is much worse off than me made me feel like an imposter.

My current glasses are due for replacement. The hinges are loose from wear, making the frames loose on my face. Three days ago, I took them off while moving a box because I was sweating and the glasses were falling off when I looked down. After moving the box, I went to put the glasses back on, AND COULDN'T FIND THEM.

I went through the next 2 1/2 days without glasses. There were several tasks I tried, but couldn't do. Even when relaxing, I couldn't watch TV. I couldn't drive either, so my moving around was limited (I don't even live near a public bus route).

It finally hit home that yes, I am indeed visually disabled. There is absolutely no disputing it, and it profoundly affects what I can do. Because I have been relying on an artificial device (eyeglasses) to live my everyday life, I have just been unaware of the impact my legal blindness has.

When I first found I was autistic, I didn't believe it and had to research the heck out of it before being convinced. In the process of that research, of course I read about masking, and realized that masking was how I had gotten by all my life.

Still, reading on the forums how people have described being so much worse off than me, I have felt like an imposter, just as with my blind friend. This experience of losing my glasses sort of made it all click. An "aha moment".

Yes, others are worse off than me. But without the masking techniques I learned way back (cause remember, I'm an old geezer now), I would not have done well at all. The masking became almost as automatic as the eyeglasses. Get out of bed, put on the glasses. Leave the house, put on the mask.

Huh!

BTW, I found the glasses yesterday about 6PM

 

[Judge]

Do you have someone who can visually inspect your glasses just to see if those tiny screws need tightening? And of course to have tiny screwdrivers to tighten them with.

I know how difficult it can be if I take my glasses off and try to tighten those screws because without vision correction I just can't see or focus on things so small and so up close. Lucky for me I have another pair of glasses for more up close viewing.

Of course with long term wear and tear, sometimes tightening those screws may not matter.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

It never occurred to me that I might be legally blind without my glasses. I certainly can’t get by without them, although my near vision has improved since I had cataract surgery.

I doubt I am legally blind without my glasses, but I am certainly vision impaired and this post brought that to my attention.

I believe I was in fourth grade when a school screening brought it to my parents’ attention. I remember sitting in those little wooden chairs set up in the nurse’s office. All the little children were reading from a chart posted on the wall. I could not see any of the letters. I was so ashamed and then totally amazed when glasses brought a whole new world alive to me.

I always have spare glasses with me. I have a pair in the car. More in the house. I take a spare pair on my canoe trips.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

I got sick of glasses, simply had them lasered now have 20/20 vision.

 

[FayetheAspie]

I have myopia. Really bad distance vision but really good up close vision. If my lense falls out I need help finding it but then can see up close details like those needed for actually screwing it back together the best of anyone in the house.

 

[Jumpinbare]

Do you have someone who can visually inspect your glasses just to see if those tiny screws need tightening? And of course to have tiny screwdrivers to tighten them with.

I know how difficult it can be if I take my glasses off and try to tighten those screws because without vision correction I just can't see or focus on things so small and so up close. Lucky for me I have another pair of glasses for more up close viewing.

Of course with long term wear and tear, sometimes tightening those screws may not matter.

These glasses have been stepped on, knocked off my face, etc. I bent the frames back into shape each time. As my Georgia relatives would say, they're slap wore out.

 

[Kavigant]

Very good analogy, @Jumpinbare.
Another thing about ASD which can cause imposter syndrome is the fact that, for many of us, our symptoms are so situational.
As long as I am sitting at home or at my boring desk job, nestled safely within my routines, I can convince myself that I'm not autistic at all. But if a crisis breaks out, and/or I'm faced with competing priorities, or a period of unpredictability, a "totally inexplicable" meltdown is certain to commence.

 

[velociraptor]

I take a spare pair on my canoe trips.

I'm not legally blind without my eyewear, but I am certainly less functional. I have spare pairs stashed around. I even put a spare pair into my emergency kit on my paddle board in case my pair I'm wearing goes into the drink on me.

 

[Sherlock77]

I've worn glasses for over 40 years, I can't function without them, but I don't think that is defined as "legally blind", that usually refers to people who can't correct their vision problems even with glasses

 

[oregano]

I went through a time starting in the mid aughts where I was hanging out in online forums with people who convinced me that my autism was a minor impediment to success.

Under their tutelage, I tried to start two small businesses, both of which failed due to (surprise!) the effects of autism, to the point that I was threatened with a lawsuit due to poor work related to autism effects and the ideas that were planted in my head by those online forums. I ultimately had to change my cell phone number due to angry customers and debt collectors.

I had gone into deep debt to finance these businesses, and wound up owing a large amount of money. I finally declared bankruptcy, and my mom had to front the retainer fees for the lawyer (law counsel). In addition, I owed my mom lots of money too, so I lived on very little while paying her off.

In the end, I realized that, yes, I really am disabled and it means that I can't do things others have no problem with. I eventually was kicked off all those forums for "negativity" and "victim mentality" and "whining" and any other excuse they could come up with when their ideas didn't work.

 

[Au Naturel]

One of my house mates is legally blind. He is not totally blind, but he does not see well enough to avoid obstacles and needs to use the cane. I am legally blind. I am extremely nearsighted. But I wear glasses that correct my vision to better than 20/20. My housemate is obviously not allowed to drive. I am not allowed to drive without glasses (that's actually printed on my license).

While we share the status of legal blindness, I haven't thought of myself having a visual disability. I have worn glasses every day of my life since third grade. I don't normally think about them. Calling myself legally blind when I lived with a legally blind person who is much worse off than me made me feel like an imposter.

My current glasses are due for replacement. The hinges are loose from wear, making the frames loose on my face. Three days ago, I took them off while moving a box because I was sweating and the glasses were falling off when I looked down. After moving the box, I went to put the glasses back on, AND COULDN'T FIND THEM.

I went through the next 2 1/2 days without glasses. There were several tasks I tried, but couldn't do. Even when relaxing, I couldn't watch TV. I couldn't drive either, so my moving around was limited (I don't even live near a public bus route).

It finally hit home that yes, I am indeed visually disabled. There is absolutely no disputing it, and it profoundly affects what I can do. Because I have been relying on an artificial device (eyeglasses) to live my everyday life, I have just been unaware of the impact my legal blindness has.

When I first found I was autistic, I didn't believe it and had to research the heck out of it before being convinced. In the process of that research, of course I read about masking, and realized that masking was how I had gotten by all my life.

Still, reading on the forums how people have described being so much worse off than me, I have felt like an imposter, just as with my blind friend. This experience of losing my glasses sort of made it all click. An "aha moment".

Yes, others are worse off than me. But without the masking techniques I learned way back (cause remember, I'm an old geezer now), I would not have done well at all. The masking became almost as automatic as the eyeglasses. Get out of bed, put on the glasses. Leave the house, put on the mask.

Huh!

BTW, I found the glasses yesterday about 6PM

It takes a bit of courage to admit that one is disabled and must rely upon a device to maintain one's accustomed life. People with more severe disabilities don't have that option.

Disability is a statistical function. It means one cannot do something that an arbitrarily high percentage of people can. At some point, able and disabled merge with no clear line, so we make up delineations. If your vision were to start improving, it would eventually cross a line. Suddenly, you're not legally blind anymore, but you'll still need glasses to drive.

The people who insist on using "differently abled" are not doing themselves or anyone else any favors. Calling something by a different name doesn't change what it is. Very soon, reality sets in, and the new name has the same meaning as the old. Some people will mock the new term as an inability to accept reality.

 

[Au Naturel]

I've worn glasses for over 40 years, I can't function without them, but I don't think that is defined as "legally blind", that usually refers to people who can't correct their vision problems even with glasses

Actually... there is an arbitrary line, and people who can correct their vision can still be legally blind.

In the US, having vision of 20/200 or worse, or having good vision in a cone of less than 20 degrees is legally blind. If your vision is correctable, you are no longer legally blind while wearing your glasses. Hence, you can drive.

 

[Jumpinbare]

Actually... there is an arbitrary line, and people who can correct their vision can still be legally blind.

In the US, having vision of 20/200 or worse, or having good vision in a cone of less than 20 degrees is legally blind. If your vision is correctable, you are no longer legally blind while wearing your glasses. Hence, you can drive.

In my case, my left eye is 20/400 and my right is 20/800. Field of view is normal, no significant astigmatism. Just straightforward myopia (nearsightedness).

 

[jsilver256]

But I wear glasses that correct my vision to better than 20/20

In the USA, legal blindness refers to corrected vision:

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10052.pdf

We consider you to be blind if your vision can’t be corrected to better than 20/200 in your better eye. We also consider you blind if your visual field is 20 degrees or lessin your better eye for a period that lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months

Similarly, the standard for deafness is based on how well you can hear with devices like cochlear implants. I have a cochlear implant, but my speech comprehension is still basically zero. People who become deaf as adults and get cochlear implants right after do not usually qualify as "deaf" because their hearing can be corrected.

 

[FayetheAspie]

In my case, my left eye is 20/400 and my right is 20/800. Field of view is normal, no significant astigmatism. Just straightforward myopia (nearsightedness).

I don't know the numbers for my eyes, but I have myopia too. There were so many things about distance vision that I never knew people could see until I had my glasses .I was so amazed that I could actually see the eyes and nose of the collie we had at the time that when we got home with the glasses and exclaimed "Snoopy's got eyes and a nose and not just a bunch of fur." Our dog was named Snoopy. Of course I had seen his eyes and nose before but never clearly from such a distance.

 

[Sherlock77]

Actually... there is an arbitrary line, and people who can correct their vision can still be legally blind.

In the US, having vision of 20/200 or worse, or having good vision in a cone of less than 20 degrees is legally blind. If your vision is correctable, you are no longer legally blind while wearing your glasses. Hence, you can drive.

On that note, I wouldn't even try to drive without my glasses, let alone walk around, my drivers license does indicate that I require glasses

 

[Au Naturel]

I am fortunate that I was nearsighted as a youngster, which has improved with age. Of course, my close focus is a bit iffy now. However, my right eye is very weak. It causes me not to perform well on the driver's test. It was undiagnosed amblyopia as a kid and wasn't detected until 5th grade and mandatory eye exams. I think it is around 20/40. It cannot be corrected with glasses but due to the eye test scores I am still required to wear corrective lenses.

 

[Jumpinbare]

In the USA, legal blindness refers to corrected vision:

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10052.pdf


Similarly, the standard for deafness is based on how well you can hear with devices like cochlear implants. I have a cochlear implant, but my speech comprehension is still basically zero. People who become deaf as adults and get cochlear implants right after do not usually qualify as "deaf" because their hearing can be corrected.

I was going by what my opthamologist told me.