[thechat] Astigmata

[Andy Warwick]

| On 2002/04/04, Seth Bienek said:

> > | On 2002/04/04, Salvatore Palmisano said:
> >
> > > -7.5 in both eyes.
>
> > 2002/04/04, Andy Warwick
> > (Handing over his -6.5 crown to Salvatore)
>
> I don't envy either of you.  I am -4.25, and I can't see the
speedometer on
> my car dash without my glasses, nevermind the road itself.
>
> At least you get the "legally blind" deduction on your taxes.  You DO
take
> the deduction, right?  It's $1000, you know.

As I'm in the UK it doesn't apply. And I don't think we have anything
similar, more's the pity.

According to the RNIB <http://www.rnib.org>

> Who can register as blind?
>
> A person is registrable as blind if she can only see the top letter of
the eye test chart (used by opticians and doctors) or less, at a
distance of three metres. This is sometimes called 3/60 vision: the
blind person can see at three metres distance what a person with normal
vision can see at 60 metres. However a person who can see further than
this may still be eligible for registration if her visual field is also
restricted.
>
> Who can register as partially sighted?
>
> A person is registrable as partially sighted if she can only read the
top letter of the eye test chart at a distance of six metres. If she can
read the next three lines down but her field of vision is limited she
may still qualify for registration. In this instance the person may not
be able to see the letters on the eye test chart any better than 'blind'
people but the field of vision may be less limited, or she may be able
to see more clearly than a blind person but only within a very limited
area.

They also state:

> The World Health Organisation defines 'profound blindness' as the
> inability to distinguish fingers at a distance of ten feet (3 metres)
> or less.

I assume that if this is corrected (or can be corrected) by
glasses/contacts you can't register.

AFAIK there is not tax break for being blind/partially sighted, though
there may be grants available.

I could be wrong on both those though. Never thought to check.

I always write my websites to work for blind/partially sighted peaople
by sticking to xHTMl and CSS, but never thought it might apply to me
sans contacts...

I do know I pay about £17 ($25) a month for my contacts, and over £200
($300) for my last set of glasses.

Maybe I should check...

Andy W