The American Foundation for the Blind defines legally blind as a person with 20/200 visual acuity or less. Blind or legally blind is acceptable to describe people with almost complete vision loss. Many people with vision loss are not considered blind. The foundation recommends that unless the person refers to themself as legally blind, use the terms low vision, limited vision or visually impaired.
Deeper dive
Findings from the 2018 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) revealed that an estimated 32.2 million adult Americans (about 13% of all adult Americans) reported they either “have trouble” seeing, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses, or that they are blind or unable to see at all. Some 23 million American adults between the ages of 18 and 64 and 9.2 million American adults 65 years and older report experiencing significant vision loss, according to the NHIS.
Use the term blind only when the person has complete loss of sight and the term legally blind when the person has almost complete loss of sight. It is best to ask the person which term they prefer and take that into consideration. Commonly used terms include:
- Limited vision: Acceptable when a person is not legally or completely blind
- Low vision: Acceptable when a person is not legally or completely blind
- Partially sighted: Used most often in British publications but acceptable if a person is not legally or completely blind
- Visually impaired: Use this general term to describe a wide range of visual functions, from low vision to total blindness. It is generally considered acceptable, although, as with the term hearing impaired, some may object to it because it describes the condition in terms of a deficiency.
It’s best to ask the person you’re speaking with how they prefer to be described.