In my opinion, absolutely yes. I would call myself blind in your situation. I still have usable vision so I prefer to add a “legally” in there.

I'm legally blind and I call myself blind because it's easier and involves fewer technicalities... so I would say do what makes you feel comfortable

I can sympathize and relate to this question. I have a degenerative cornea disease and without special contacts, I am legally blind. I need walls to hold to when walking around in my house type blind.

I am extremel photophobic, so my special contacts are heavily tinted. I can drive during the day and I am, more or less, fully sighted. Once the sun goes down....it is a completely different story. The best example I could.give is trying to walk/drive with a welders helmet on. Possible during a bright day or well lit room, impossible in dark light.

So I struggle with calling myself "blind", even though I am severely vision impaired depending on the situation. I am still too embarassed to use my white cain for depth perception, and feel self conscious because I think most people who see me wonder why a "blind guy" is reading a magazine or looking at his phone.

depends how you want to look at it, you can go by your new sight number, it sounds like it's not 6/36 anymore, below 6/60 is considered legally blind (I think, bad memory)

but otherwise it's what you feel most comfortable with

I had a similar struggle in my younger years. Despite being legally blind, I resisted the idea of being identified as blind. I still had sufficient vision to be able to mask myself as being partially sighted. However, I came to realize that a label didn't change my vision & what I couldn't see. It's up to you but I prefer the simple identification.

You are most definitely blind. Welcome to the blind club. I’m totally blind. I was born like that but I could understand why it could be hard for you to cope with right now. I recommend learning grade 2 braille and also, get trained up on the computer because it’s your friend now. You’ll be fine. It will just take time.

If you don't mind me asking how premature were you? I was born 4 months premature in 1997, and I have ROP I still have sight in my left eye 20/400 give or take in my left eye and 20/40 in my right eye but without thick ass-glasses I'm blind as a bat lol

I've had this same issue. I'm blind in one eye and legally blind in the other. I only use a cane if I'm alone or in an unfamiliar place or out at night when I have no functional vision. But because I wear glasses people get thrown off by that. So many times I've had people assume that because I'm wearing glasses I can't really be blind or shouldn't be using a cane. Most of my life I've just told people I'm sorry, I can't see very well, to explain things, but since more recently as my vision has worsened I usually say I'm legally blind. For me, saying I'm blind when I still have at least a little, sometimes useful vision just seems to throw people off and so I avoid it for that reason. But if you have no functional vision it may not be the same for you. Really, just do whatever you feel most comfortable with and whatever helps people around you to understand best.

Legal blindness is not only how sharp is someone seeing, how's your visual field (have you tunnel vision or other damage done from glaucoma), contrast, light and dark adaptation issues? Not only visual acuity counts that's what my teachers of eye rehabilitation center said to me. I refused to said I'm "blind, legally blind" yet i was way below minimum requirements, i had to learn Braille and improve white cane skills, learn using computer without mouse (that was a hocking! They unplugged the mouse and i had to remember all those shortcuts for all those programs, turned off monitor because i was used to lean into it yet i didn't saw a thing even with magnifier) When i said i was "low vision" or "severe low vision" i just got enlarged text printed out and other stuff that was useless because it was meant for people with much better functional vision like 0,5 or those who used 16x magnification. If 16x magnification wasn't enough you were classified as functionally legally blind, sent to eye doc, learned Braille to keep up with the speed of the group. Saying I'm"legally blind" really helpes me in all life areas i didn't have to explain if i really struggle with doing something because of my vision like completely inaccessible ATMs, touch panel scales at supermarket or elevators without buttons. Yes i use cane but sometimes people don't notice it?

Your eye situation is so similar to mine (ROP both eyes left blind retinal detachment, right 200/1000 had too in 2017 cataract surgery to control severe glaucoma)

ROP here too. same exact situation. Blind in left eye, partial sight in right. Had cataract surgery at fourteen and glaucoma surgery in 2009. Right after my 26? bday retina in right eye gave up along with my optic nerve. That was August of 2010. Totally blind now with no light perception:

Just wanted to chime in with my story to say I get you totally.

Edit: Absolutely. Blindness is a spectrum and you can define what that means to you. Honestly sounds like it fits your case anyway.

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