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This page was composed by a high school student who is legally blind and a primary school student who is totally blind. The questions reflect the sort of things that we commonly get asked. This is the most common question that young blind people are asked by their friends. This is also one of the hardest questions to answer. If you want an answer read the rest of this FAQ and the rest of this site. The question is too broad to answer here. For someone who has been blind from birth, this is a very hard question to answer. It is hard to describe what you can see if you�ve never seen before as you have nothing to compare it with. A better approach is to describe what you can see so that we can compare our level of vision to yours. The next question people ask is "Are things blurry?" I honestly wouldn�t know. My point is, that I don�t know what it is like to see with full vision, therefore I don�t know what I can and can�t see. For more information, Go to our Vision Impairments page. There are many causes of blindness and vision loss, too many to describe in this FAQ. For more information, go to our Vision Impairments page. Braille is a system of raised dots on paper that blind people can read by touch. It does take a lot of practice but once you have got the hang of it is possible to read braille as fast as reading a print book. For more information, go to our Braille page. I get asked this at school a lot. It�s actually quite funny how they�re always going "Can I have a go at your stick?" A cane is a hollow aluminium tube with a plastic ball on the end. The height of a cane varies depending on the height of the user and most are foldable. Some people seem to think that it makes you see. It merely tells you where things are so you don�t bump into them. Although many blind and vision impaired people use canes, their use is more limited than people would think. Although they will prevent you from walking into trees or falling down holes (if used correctly) they are of very little use in a new environment ie, they won�t tell you where you are and where you are going. For more information, go to our Canes page. We do not actually walk the dog in the normal sense of the term, but the dog is guiding the blind person. For more information, go to our Guide Dogs page. No, because they can't see where they're going and it is illegal to drive without a licence. Some people who have a minor vision impairment can drive a car. They use canes or dogs (if needed) to get to the bus-stop or train station. When catching a bus, you can get large print number cards to signal the right bus, so when you see a bus coming (or what you think is a bus) you hold them up so that the right bus will stop. We also get a pass which lets you and a guide onto public transport for free. If you have trouble with the public transport, you can get help from a transport officer who is trained in assisting people with disabilities. For more information, go to our Transport page. The reason they do this is that their vision impairment probably includes a limited focus which means that their eye is not able to focus on small objects at a long distance. This means that the person must have the book or paper closer to their face than fully sighted people would. Large print books are often used to allow the reader to read from a more comfortable distance. People say this to try and be clever. It�s not very original though. I have had that since primary school, so the joke is wearing thin. It isn�t a very good measure of people�s vision either. You may be able to see someone's fingers, but you still can�t read, or see long distances. I always pass the "how many fingers am I holding up" test, but that doesn�t mean that I have full vision. I can�t read normal print and I can�t see very far, but I do have OK close vision, and I can see things if they are big and bright enough. >By the way, what do a teacher and an eye doctor have in common? They both test pupils! Return to Dogs, Canes and Talking Microwaves main page Go to Association for the Blind of WA |