Breathing life into the science of vision, the book illuminates scientific concepts by intertwining them with the personal stories of those affected by sight loss.

What is it like to go blind? Three hundred and fifty million people around the world live with severe vision impairment, ranging from those who can see a couple of letters on a sight chart to those who perceive no light at all. Vision Impairment introduces the readers to some of them, including artists, poets, scientists, architects, politicians, broadcasters, and musicians. Through their stories, this book discusses life with vision impairment–from childhood and education to dating, employment, and aging–as well as the portrayal of blind people in literature and film, the use of technology by people with vision impairment, and the psychological effects of losing vision.

Based on Michael Crossland’s extensive work in children’s and adults’ low vision clinics, and his twenty years of research into vision impairment, the book blends individual stories, key research findings, and the most recent scientific discoveries to present an informative yet optimistic overview of living with sight loss.
 

Michael Crossland is principal optometrist in low vision at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, and a senior research fellow in ophthalmology at UCL, UK.

List of figures
List of tables
Preface
Acknowledgements

1 What is blindness?

2 Swallowed by darkness: art and vision impairment

3 The visible deterrent: employment and education with vision impairment

4 Supernoses and birdlistening: other senses in vision impairment

5 Half the world disappears: brain-related blindness

6 The heinous sin of self-pollution: guilt, denial and the psychology of blindness

7 Look with thine ears: travelling and dating with vision impairment

8 The end of blindness?

Epilogue

Bibliography
Index