I believe so yes.

Only 10% of legally blind are fully blind.

Tbh I usually say visually impaired or legally blind but sometimes more out of brevity or getting pissy about it I will just say blind! When you vi daughter heard me use blind to describe her I had to explain that sometimes people don't understand the term VI or legally blind so it's just easier to say blind.

This is a really common question for non-totals to have. Blind is blind, whether that's totally blind, legally blind, low vision, visually impaired, we're all blind. When I first became VI, I refused to call myself blind because I wasn't a total, and I was rightfully told I was being silly.

Yep, still counts.

I generally describe myself as “mostly blind”. It gets the point across succinctly without getting sidetracked explaining legal blindness vs total blindness. But sometimes, if I really need to drive home the point, like another poster, I’ll say “I’m blind”.

Sometimes blind is just easier for sighted people to understand. We don’t quite have the concept of legal blindness in the UK but I think I’d meet the criteria. If I’m talking to a professional or others who are familiar with the distinctions then I always say severely visually impaired. If it is relevant that I can’t see but not how much - like a call centre- I say blind

Yes you’re stressing over nothing, but I get it. I’m also legally blind but still have some useful vision. When I lost my vision I also worried about labels and whether I was “blind enough” to use a cane. Now I just do what I need to do to make it through the day safely without worrying about those silly things.

yes, but i understand your qualms. i still have some vision left and i have referred to myself as blind on multiple occasions.

I have also used the term “visually impaired” to avoid confusion because i think sighted people understand it better. but if you want to get technical, “visually impaired” refers to a loss of vision that is not fixable by visual aids (like glasses). blindness is a broader term used to describe any loss of vision that is caused by injury or a genetic condition.

but yes, referring to yourself as blind is ok and most people will understand

Yes.

In medical terms we are closer to blind then sighted. I'd say picture it in a line graph form. Blind on one side. Super eagle with a telescope on the other. Middle being norm sighted folk.

We drift towards the blind further then those who just have " bad eye sight " so to speak.

To also address the feeling of feeling silly. I and many others relate to it. The most common complaint for anyone with a disability is explaining it to the uninformed over and over and.. you get the point.

I just shorten it to " eyes are busted " this quickly sweeps the issue under the rug.

Another option is "low vision" - I use that sometimes because it's shorter than "visually impaired" and in my experience saying "visually impaired" sometimes makes people think that just means I need glasses. So "low vision" implies that my ability to see is much lower than other people's.

I am also considered legally blind, but I have enough vision that a casual observer would have no idea. So I don't use the word "blind" on its own except around people who already know my situation, because otherwise it requires a bunch of explanation to avoid a misunderstanding. It's not that I think it's inaccurate or misleading, it's just that people literally don't understand that blind can mean more than having zero sight so I find it causes more confusion that clarity.

Well it is for various legal things and a lot of legally blind people post on this sub, for instance. If I am talking to someone, though, I don't say "I'm blind" or they are surely going to think I mean totally. I may say i am legally blind or just that my vision sucks. lol.

I’m in the UK and considered partially sighted under our descriptions for visual impairment. I’m sure it also used to be referred to as partially blind, but I personally really struggle with using the word blind. I may only have a field of vision that’s the width of my shoulders, and a few other issues, but I don’t think I’m blind. I say visually impaired mostly, but I do use a cane at times because of my vision issues and find that does help a lot. Online I’m starting to use low vision as it’s recognised by those in the USA and elsewhere more than partially sighted.

Depends who you ask as to whether it's offensive/whether it's causing confusion etc.

Personally, in my line of work (accessibility consultant) I've found the term "blind" to do more harm than good, as "legal blindness", often just shortened to being "blind" can and often does include usable and/or residual vision, which I've never had. Consequently I deliberately say I'm a "gamer without sight", as that should hopefully be cleaer, but I've also had people recommend I talk to other consultants who, though they describe themselves as "blind" have enough vision to work with in (for instance) videogames etc which can lead to some very awkward moments.

As for your case, OP, I can understand the blurry line you're walking to an extent. I'm not going to tell you what to do or say with regard to this though, but with you the best of luck discovering how you want to define yourself.

Yes…. No….. and yes… and no……


I am totally blind what a lot of people usually think of as blind and I kind of like it that way because I can’t always relate especially to higher partials. In a sense there is still a difference between can see a bit and nothing at all.

The totally blind community has a bit more of a culture to it, usually meaning a little more agnst and drama to it and a close knit one. I go to a community college and now at this point most of us know about each other. I highly dislike one of them but that’s another story for another day. Because so few of us is totals too we say the blind community is small. Heh!

I don’t see anything inherently wrong with calling yourself blind no. But then as a totally blind person we see the need to distinguish ourselves and say. Oh they ar partials and we are totals.

Wanted to chime in here, as my wife is blind. She posts here sometimes, so she might have some input. It probably bothers me more than her, but I really wish that there was a distinction between visually impaired and blind. It is true, like others have said, that only a small percentage of those that are considered blind have no vision at all. My wife is one of those people and both of her eyes are prosthetic. So she doesn't even have a perception of light or dark anymore. For info, I am 100% sighted. It's extremely frustrating when I'm doing research to find things for us to do (or just for her) and trying to figure out if said thing is accessible. I can't tell you how many times I find something that claims to be blind accessible or have information that may be useful for us, and come to find out that it includes things like 'high contrast colors' or 'extremely large text'. Like... That doesn't help. She blind. As in completely blind. Not sorta blind. Games are a big issue with things like this. It's fairly frustrating.