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=EDUCATION OF THE BLIND=

INTRODUCTION
Today, there is some debate whether we can use the term blind or not. Originally, the term blind included all people with impaired eyesight who could not readily meet society’s expectations of sighted abilities. With advances in medicine and improved access to rehabilitation and education, more people with various levels of impaired vision are able to equally participate in the mainstream of modern life. Some people prefer to use the word blind to identify all people with visual impairments. On the other hand, there are those who believe that the word blind should be reserved to identify those with little or no usable vision. The term low vision should be used for those people with some usable vision. Some might also suggest the term visually impaired be designated to cover the entire group of people who are blind and or have low vision. So, convincingly, we also follow the term visual impairment to indicate both totally blind and low vision. In this unit, you will learn the meaning and defines of the terms Blindness and Low vision, their rate of incidence and prevalence, and their characteristics.

USE OF TERMINOLOGIES
Professionals in the field of special education are using different terminologies such as visual impairment, visual disability, and visual handicap. These terms are used to represent children with defective vision who need special assistance or rehabilitation. However, these terms have different philosophical meaning and imply different applications.

Impairment
Impairment is basically a medical term but has become an educational term as well. Impairment in medical perspective means the damage to the tissues. It can be measured and cured and it does not impose obstacles to a larger extent with any of the social and vocational pursuits of the individual. By knowing the limitations the impairment may impose, a person can take all measures to compensate or even to ignore it for his normal functioning.

Disability
There are times however when the impairment leads a person to a stage of disability. The impairment develops to the extent that the individual cannot fully participate in the social and vocational pursuits. But this condition does not prevent the individual from overcoming his disability conditions and from using his skills to the optimum level possible. The disability is determined by its nature and extent and also on the basis of how much damage the impairment has caused.

Handicap
The disability surrounded by a distressing environment makes the person handicapped. Therefore, handicap is made, and not acquired, by blindness (Mani, 1992). As Helen Keller says, attitude of the public towards blindness is the hardest burden to bear. The ‘too much sympathy’ towards disability often contributes to negative attitude leading to more dependence of the disabled person. Sometimes this attitude is stereotypic in nature. In short, the terminologies ‘impairment’, ‘disability’ and ‘handicap’ have different implications in the educational context.

Check Your Progress

Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.		b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.

1.How do you differentiate between the terms blind and low vision?

2.How do you distinguish between handicap, disability and impairment?

DEFINITIONS OF BLINDNESS AND LOW VISION
It is necessary for us to know the clear definitions of the blindness and low vision. The services for those persons with visual defect will be based on the assessment their vision. Though legal definitions are available for the term blindness, other definitions too are used in the field of special education.

Legal Blindness:
The term ‘legal blindness’ is defined as central visual acuity of 6/60 in the better eye after correction.

Blindness
The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act (PWD Act), 1995 uses the terminology ‘Blindness’ and defines it as: (i)total absence of sight, or (ii)visual acuity not exceeding 6/60 or 20/200 (Snellen) in the better eye with correcting lenses; or (iii)limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of 20 degree or worse.

Totally Blind
Complete absence of visual perception is called totally blind.

Partially Sighted
For educational purpose one who has the visual acuity of 6/21 (20/70) or less in the better eye after the best possible correction which is useful most for learning.

Low Vision
Low vision is defined as “markedly reduced functional vision. Usually applied to the person with vision of legal blindness or poorer, who nevertheless has some remaining sight which is useful for certain purposes, or which can become so with special appliances and/or training” (Bourgeault, 1969).

The PWD Act has also included low vision as a separate category which requires assistance. Low vision is drawing the attention world over. As per the Act, “Person with Low Vision” means a person with impairment of visual functioning even after treatment or standard refractive correction but who uses or is potentially capable of using vision for the planning or execution of a task with appropriate assistive devices. This definition has been adapted from the WHO (1992) definition.

World Health Organisation (1992) defines ‘Low Vision’ as “a person with low vision is one who has impairment of visual functioning even after treatment and/or standard refractive correction, and has a visual acuity of less than 6/18 to light perception or a visual field of less than 10 degrees from the point of fixation, but who uses, or is potentially able to use vision for the planning or execution of a task.”

Check Your Progress

Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.		b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.

3.Try to give a definition for ‘Legal Blindness.’

4.How does the PWD Act define ‘Blindness’?

LET US SUM UP
In this unit, you learnt the different terminologies to indicate the persons with visual deformities. From the definitions, you understood that legally blind possesses the visual acuity of 6/60, whereas totally blind persons do not have any sight. Low vision condition is not at all considered as blind because these low vision persons have some useful vision.

UNIT-END ACTIVITIES
1.Survey the children with defect in school with the help of students and teachers and refer to those children for curative and rehabilitation aspects. 2.Observe and record the activities of children with visual defect which are different from sighted children.

POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
1.Blind child is as normal as sighted child.

2.Role of school to create awareness for prevention, identification and referral of visual impairment.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1.The word blind is reserved to identify those with little or no usable vision. The term low vision should be used for those people with some usable vision.

2.Handicap: The disability surrounded by a distressing environment makes the person handicapped. Therefore, handicap is made, and not acquired, by blindness.

Disability: The impairment develops to the extent that the individual cannot fully participate in the social and vocational pursuits. But this condition does not prevent the individual from overcoming his disability conditions and from using his skills to the optimum level possible. The disability is determined by its nature and extent and also on the basis of how much damage the impairment has caused.

Impairment: Impairment in medical perspective means the damage to the tissues. It can be measured and cured and it does not impose obstacles to a larger extent with any of the social and vocational pursuits of the individual. By knowing the limitations the impairment may impose, a person can take all measures to compensate or even to ignore it for his normal functioning.

3.The term ‘legal blindness’ is defined as central visual acuity of 6/60 in the better eye after correction.

4. Blindness: The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act (PWD Act), 1995 uses the terminology ‘Blindness’ and                defines it as: (i)total absence of sight, or (ii)visual acuity not exceeding 6/60 or 20/200 (Snellen) in the better eye with correcting lenses; or (iii)limitation of the field of             vision subtending an angle of 20 degree or worse.

SUGGESTED READINGS
1.Kundu, C.L. (2000). (Ed.). Status of Disability in India -2000. New Delhi: RCI.

2.Mani, M.N.G. (1992). Techniques of Teaching Blind Children. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers.

3.Manivannan, M. (2005). Educating Visually Impaired Children. Venkatasamudram: Mugil Publishers.

4.Pandey, R.S. and Advani, Lal. (1995). Perspectives in Disability and Rehabilitation. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House.