Visual, or vision, disabilities are categorized by a decreased ability to see, with several variations and increments or total lack of eyesight (blindness). The point at which a visual impairment becomes a disability, and the extent to which definitions and labels are influenced by the use of assistive technology or the limitations created from the deficit, may be subjective or personal.
Disabilities in this category may be congenital or the result of injury, aging, disease, or other reasons.
Vision disability statistics
Statistics and measurements on disability vary according to the definitions and reporting methods used. Generally, the presence of vision loss or disability increases with age.
Key metrics on vision disability:
Accommodations and technology for visual disabilities
Disabilities, even in the same category or of the same type, impact individuals differently. The technology or tools someone uses and the accommodation requests they may have can vary significantly.
Some accommodations for people who are blind or have other visual disabilities include:
Some assistive technology people who are blind or have other visual disabilities use include:
- White canes
- Screen readers
- Braille displays
- Speech-to-text or dictation software
- Portable magnifiers or magnification software
- Optical character recognition (OCR) tools
