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Telephone: 01245 933572
Email: info@support4sight.org.uk
Support 4 Sight
17 Cottage Place
Chelmsford
Essex
CM1 1NL
How bad does your visual impairment need to be to be registered as a blind or partially sighted person?
The definition of blindness used in registration is still taken from the National Assistance Act 1948, which states that a person can be certified as blind if they are ‘so blind that they cannot do any work for which eyesight is essential’.
Your eye specialist (a consultant ophthalmologist) will decide if you can be certified as severely sight impaired (blind) or sight impaired (partially sighted) according to whether you meet the criteria for certification by measuring your:
- Visual acuity – your central vision, the vision you use to see detail.
- Visual field – how much you can see around the edge of your vision, while looking straight ahead.
Eye Conditions Glossary
We have put together a glossary for various eye conditions, including their symptoms and treatments.
Please click on the links below to find out more.
Terms often used when talking about different levels of sight loss:
Blindness
does not necessarily mean a person is totally without sight, although of course it can do. Some people may have no vision at all, others may have some perception of light only and others will have varying levels of residual vision.
Long-sightedness (Hypermetropia)
is where someone has difficulty seeing things which are close by e.g. reading or sewing.
Low vision
refers to a severe visual impairment where people are unable to read print at a normal viewing distance even with the aid of spectacles or contact lenses.
Partially sighted
Refers to having a significant degree of sight loss that cannot be fully corrected with glasses or contact lenses, but where vision is still present, allowing for some level of visual function.
Registered blind
The term ‘registered blind‘ is used when the vision of a person is reduced so much it meets a laid down criterion and the person wishes for this to be officially recognised as a disability.
Short-sightedness (Myopia)
is where someone has difficulty getting a clear image of objects which are in the distance e.g. difficulty in reading notice boards, problems seeing traffic approaching etc.
Visual acuity
is a term used to describe the sharpness of the images seen. It is generally measured by a Snellen Chart which has nine rows of letters in decreasing sizes. Perfect vision can be expressed as a group of numbers i.e. 20/20, which means an individual can see the same detail at 20 feet as a standard observer can.
Visual field
refers to what can be seen centrally (straight-ahead) and peripherally (off to each side and up and down).
Visual processing disorders
refers to problems regarding making sense of what is seen through the eyes, i.e. a difficulty in the brain interpreting what it is seeing.