There are many ways for the blind to go from one place to another. Using a long white cane when you walk allows someone who is blind to locate steps, curbs, streets, driveways, doorways, bicycles, elevators, escalators, people, chairs, tables, desks, or any other object or place. The cane is long enough to be about two steps ahead of your feet as you walk, so you find things with your cane before you get to them.

Yes. A very small percentage of people who are considered legally blind have no sight. Each individual is different based on his or her eye condition. Some individuals may see light, shadows or certain shapes. Others may have perfect central vision and no peripheral (side) vision or the reverse. Some individuals may see well indoors, but in extreme light or darkness, they have difficulty seeing.

Not particularly however all of them enjoy the experience because it's a unique way to share what it feels like being blind with their friends and relatives.

Blind people can use the same gas or electric ovens, microwaves, grills, mixers, food processors, blenders, electric knives, skillets, fryers, crock pots, and other kitchen tools and appliances as the sighted use. We can put Braille labels on the microwave touch buttons, and some blind people like to use Braille or a special marking glue to put dots on some of the stove or oven temperature dials.

No, people with AMD almost never become totally blind. Although the wet AMD frequently results in loss of central vision, the peripheral (side) vision is only rarely affected by wet AMD. This means that even persons with severe AMD who have lost the central part of vision in both eyes, making it difficult to read or drive, will still be able to get along fairly well.

Blindness and visual impairment most often occur later in life when diminished tactile sensitivity makes learning braille difficult. For persons who have been unable to read print from an early age, however, braille is a very important key to literacy. Among this population, the use of braille is very common.

No! Though many patients become legally blind, most people with macular degeneration lose the quality of their central vision and do not become completely blind.

Most people who are blind have some residual vision, such as light perception, detection of movement or detection of gross shapes.

Just about anything. Here's a list of some occupations in which blind people are working today, but there are many more.

Most articles of clothing will have at least one distinct way of identifying them by feel. They will have different buttons or snaps or bows or ties or the fabric or texture will be different. Some dresses or skirts will have belts or elastic at the waist or different kinds of pockets. You might know that the red shirt is the one with the funny-shaped buttons, or the blue pants are the ones with no pockets.

Some blind people are able to see some colors. Sometimes a blind person might have enough vision to see all colors, or maybe he or she can only tell bright colors. Some blind people can see some colors but not all of them, or they might have a hard time telling blue or black or brown apart, or pink from white. Some blind people do not see any colors. It is important to learn about colors even if you cannot see them.

There are many kinds of food that can be identified by touch, such as fruits and vegetables, hot dogs, chicken, and other items. But things like cans of soup, cereal boxes, canned vegetables, gallons of milk, ice cream containers, and other things may be hard to identify. Many blind people like to shop with a friend who will help to find things and can read the different brands and types. Or a blind person might use a store employee who can help find the groceries.

It takes some practice to become a good reader of Braille, just as it does with print. We learn Braille by feeling the different dots in each Braille "cell" and memorizing what the different combinations of dots stand for. It is best to learn Braille when you are young, even if you can still read some print. That way, you have had many years of practice and experience to develop good Braille skills by the time you are an adult.

Most blind people are too busy to think about blindness very much. But being blind is nothing to be ashamed of. Blindness is a perfectly respectable characteristic of a person. Most blind people would be glad to answer any questions you have about blindness, just ask them. When someone first loses sight, then he or she might be unhappy.

Blind people's senses, hearing, touch, taste and smell, are not innately or biologically different from anyone else's. We use our other senses; thus, we become adept at taking in information in these ways. The key word is use; the more one uses something, the more fine-tuned it becomes.

Many different foods and packages can be identified by the size, shape, or kind of container they come in. Boxes of spaghetti, ketchup bottles, tuna cans, bags of rice or beans, flour, sugar, coffee or tea, chocolate syrup, peanut butter jars, nuts, and other kinds of snacks are some of the packages that are easy to tell what they are.

Yes. It is easy to put Braille on decks of cards, including cards for games like Uno. Some cards are printed with very large numbers and letters for people who use large print. Many games such as Scrabble can be played with Braille letters and a board with raised or tactile squares. Backgammon boards can also be tactile and so can boards for chess or checkers. These pieces can be made of different textures, shapes, and colors to tell them apart, or a small piece of tape can be put on one set.

If a person's best corrected visual acuity is 20/200 or less, or if their visual field is no more than 20 degrees, the person is defined as legally blind. The absence of any usable vision is called functional blindness or total blindness. Only about 1 in 10 people who are visually impaired are functionally blind. The majority of legally blind people have usable vision and are partially sighted.

Some resist out of pride: they don't wish to be considered "blind!" They may fear becoming helpless and dependent if they admit to being legally blind. Others feel it is unnecessary as they still retain some functionable vision. All of these reactions make it difficult for people to accept the help that is available to them.

Most people dream, whether or not they are blind. Visually impaired people who have some degree of vision dream with images, sounds, etc., just like sighted people. Usually the images they see in their dreams are comparable in clarity to how they see in real life. People who have been totally blind since birth experience dreams through sound, touch, smell, and taste, but not vision.

No. Most visually impaired people who wear sunglasses have some vision, and wear sunglasses because their eyes are sensitive to bright light. Some totally blind people choose to wear sunglasses to protect their eyes, or if their eyes are disfigured, but there are many blind and visually impaired people who don't wear sunglasses.

Just about anything. Here's a list of some occupations in which blind people are working today, but there are many more.

In this age of technology, blind people can use computers just like sighted people can. We use a variety of adaptive software that make computers accessible for the blind. Some of these programs include screen-reading technology that use a voice synthesizer to read out loud what is on the screen and give continuous verbal feedback. When using this speech software, we do not use a mouse. Instead we use keyboard strokes to activate various commands.

Pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, loonies and toonies are easy to tell apart. Most are different sizes. Quarters and dimes have ridges around them, while pennies and nickels are smooth. Loonies have a curved edge and toonies do not. There are many ways that paper money -can be identified. Some of us like to keep different bills in separate places in our wallets, especially if it is a larger bill we don't often carry with us.

The faces of some watches open so a blind person can feel where the hands are and can feel Braille dots at the different hour points. Some watches talk and speak the time. Many talking clocks have different types of alarms that we use in our home, in our office, or when we travel. For people who can read some print, there are also clocks and watches with large print faces.