Is Being Visually Impaired the Same as Being Legally Blind?

Years ago, my school division sent me in Southern Ontario to follow a course that would prepare me to teach Braille to one of my future students. While studying over there, I did not only learn so much more than Braille but I also met two friends that were legally blind. One was using a white cane and large print while the other was blessed by the precious assistance of a guide-dog.

That is when my knowledge became not only practical but also part of my everyday life with them during my stay there. Believe me, I did not only learn about reading and writing Braille but also how to guide, play, prepare activities, explore and experience everyday tasks and activities like someone that either was born or became legally blind.

What is the difference between being visually impaired and legally blind? Well, being visually impaired means that your vision is either affected by visual problems such as having no peripheral vision, having very low eyesight while it is superior to 5% or having problems seeing in certain areas of your vision such as in front, in spots, not seeing in 3-D or in color, etc.

What does legally blind means? All that it means is that your vision is 5% and less or that your visual impairments are so severe that the percentage of actual vision also fits in this category.

One thing that I soon discovered was that despite poor eyesight, it is amazing to see how acute other senses become with time. My friends made me pay attention to all the information that other senses give you but unfortunately as most people rely so much on visual cues, we tend to be oblivious to details and information that we come to take for granted.

My friends also explained to me how to describe an activity without forgetting important steps, how to guide someone effectively, how to act with and around a guide-dog and so much more.

As time went by, I also learned the emotional ups and downs associated with facing the difficulties related to gradually becoming legally blind, how to become independent and not depend on solely on others. And finally, dealing with the mourning involved with the loss of sight and the fact that they will never be able to enjoy fully the beauty of a sunset, butterflies and other visual treasures that we take for granted.

The most important lessons that I actually learned during this course is the fact that not only people should learn to appreciate the countless benefits of sight but also how to appreciate and live in visually impaired and legally blind peoples shoes by using a blindfold or specially designed goggles.

My name is Sylvie Leochko. As a teacher, I had both the opportunity and the experience to learn about Braille, visual impairments and blindness. If you wish to learn more about the visually impaired, I encourage you to visit the following site: http://visually-impaired.blogspot.com

Cheap Auto Insurance
If you are looking for the absolutely cheapest auto insurance you can buy and still drive legally in your state then what you are looking for is a basic liability policy and nothing more.Every state makes a low cost basic liability policy available to its drivers, although the dollar amounts of the coverage that the policy provides vary from state ...

Cheap Auto Insurance in California
California is known as the land of cars. Almost everyone in the state drives a vehicle of some kind, and the state is adamant that every single one of its drivers is covered by insurance. For many people purchasing auto insurance represents a financial hardship and so the state of California has devised two forms of auto coverage that are so low-...

Should You Design Your Own Website?
If youre anything like most small business owners, you probably think that web site design is expensive - possibly too expensive for you to justify the expense. If thats the case, then it can be tempting to just design your small business web site yourself. You have a computer, complete with Microsoft Frontpage, you have a copy of Photoshop - why p...

Wavefront LASIK Surgery - How it Differs From Conventional LASIK
First, whats in common? Wavefront LASIK (also called Custom LASIK), and traditional LASIK both: Use an excimer laser Create a tiny flap on the corneal surface to expose the underlying tissue to be worked on Modify the shape of the cornea by vaporizing tiny pieces that were impairing your vision Are extremely precise Advantages of Wavefron...

How to Sell a Feeling
To be totally in tune with the needs of your customers or prospective customers you have to listen to them. Listen to them it sounds easy enough to do but not everybody gets it right. What you must always bear in mind when you are selling something is that you are not selling an item or object you are selling a feeling.I was taught this particula...

Helping the Blind
For the last decade, groups of cell biologists, chemists and physicists all over the world have been focusing their motivation of research for the improvement of human life. Biological backgrounds interpreted with the chemical understandings of a living cell have led physicists to fabricate Intelligent Devices sensing alternative to those organs wh...

Cheap High Risk Auto Insurance in Arizona
Finding cheap high risk auto insurance in Arizona is a lot easier than you might think. In fact, there are just a couple of steps you need to take if you want to get the very lowest price possible for your auto insurance.The first thing you have to know is that the state of Arizona offers a special extremely low-cost type of auto insurance called ...