About blindness

To be able to handle each person well while taking into account the diversity of the person related elements, it is vital to consider the many person related aspects when engaging with a variety of people. However, it’s crucial to recognize the similarities between them.

Being blind is being unable to see. The inability to see within the range of one’s eyes is another definition of blindness. It is also termed as the central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting lenses; or central visual acuity of more than 20/200 if there is a field defection which the peripheral field has contracted to such an extent that the widest diameter of visual field represents an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees (Saramago & Pontiero, 1999).

Causes and Categorization of blindness

Some of the common causes of blindness include: Cataracts, which are clouding lenses in one’s eyes and affect vision in older people. Glaucoma is another cause of blindness and it damages the eye’s optic nerve. It happens when the fluid pressure in the eyes slowly rises thereby damaging the optic nerve (Kinahs, 2006). Its category of effect is in African Americans and is a 15 % major cause. It affects African Americans at the age of 40, people over 60 especially Hispanics and people with family history of glaucoma. Macular degeneration is another cause of blindness and majorly affects people over the age of 60.Diabetic retinopathy is another cause and it affects the retina and causes blindness majorly in adults (Begum, 2003).

Types of blindness

There are three major types of blindness. Complete blindness, night blindness and color blindness. Complete blindness refers to the complete and total loss of vision which is also defined as having a visual acuity of 20/200 or worse in the better eye. Color blindness which is also called dyschromatopsia is the inability to distinguish colors. It commonly affects men than women. Majorly, it is difficult to differentiate between shades of red and green. Night blindness on the other hand is vision impairment that occurs at night or when the light is dim. It does not generally result in complete lack of vision but significant impaired vision. Partial blindness is another minor type of blindness.

Blindness capability differences

Some of the general capability differences of blind people include ability to read written material, ability to operate mobile phones due to voice recognition commands, and ability to participate in sports such as golfing and ability to perform their normal employment duties. Special concerns however of activities such as ice curling are incredible (Carroll, 1961).

Physical activity considerations for the blind

Some of the recommended physical activities for the blind include low point aerobics on equipment’s such as treadmill or stationary bikes which helps the cardiovascular workouts and balance and flexibility exercises or yoga that can be used to enhance body awareness and improve movement in space.

Conclusion

Blindness is inability to see and is one of the personal difference factors that should be taken into account when handling different people.

References

Begum, S. (2003). Cognitive development in blind children. New Delhi: Discovery Pub.

Carroll, T. J. (1961). Blindness: what is it, what it does, and how to live with it? Toronto: Little, Brown

Kinahs, S. (2006). Seeing beyond blindness. Greenwich, Conn: IAP- Information Age Pub.

Saramago, J., & Pontiero, G. (1999). Blindness. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, Inc.