1) More Americans than ever face the threat of Blindness from Age related Eye Diseases. (The Eye Digest)

2) The New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped estimates that there are 120,000 blind New Yorkers and nearly 1 million New Yorkers with vision loss. New Yorkers benefit from specialized vision rehabilitation services, especially the growing population of older New Yorkers with vision loss, and African-American, Latino or Asian New Yorkers who experience higher prevalence rates of vision loss.

2a) Nineteen percent of persons 70 years of age and older had visual impairments. Visual impairments, including blindness, increased with age. As the older population increases over the next 30 years, the number of older persons with visual and hearing impairments may increase significantly. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Aging Trends, No. 2, March 2004)

3) The leading causes of vision impairment and blindness in the US are primarily age related eye diseases. Cataracts affect nearly 20.5 million Americans age 65 and older. About 2.2 million Americans have been diagnosed with glaucoma, and another two million do not know they have it. More than 1.6 million Americans over age 60 have advanced macular degeneration. Diabetic retinopathy affects more than 5.3 million Americans age 18 and older. The number of Americans with age-related eye disease is expected to double within the next three decades. (The Eye Digest, www.agingeye.net)

4) On the basis of these criteria, it was estimated that 20% of Americans aged 65 and older, representing 17% of those aged 65 to 74 years and 26% of those aged 75 and older, report a vision problem. (Horowitz, Amy. The Prevalence and Consequences of Vision Impairment in Later Life. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, 2004.)

5) Poverty is a fact of life for many blind adults, especially older women. Few blind adults receive welfare. Most blind men in poverty receive food stamps, but most blind women in poverty do not. Nearly one in five (19 percent) lives in poverty. Only 19 percent are currently employed. All of the adults in the survey have worked in their lifetimes, either for pay or as volunteers. (Blind Adults in America: Their Lives and Challenges. A Report by the National Center for Policy Research for Women and Families. February 2004)

6) Blind adults are less well educated than the general population. The average number of years of education for blind adults is 11.4. Many (40 percent) did not obtain a high school diploma, 32 percent are high school graduates, 16 percent have some college education, and 12 percent are college graduates. In contrast, only 25 percent of the general population of adults does not have a high school education; 18 percent have a college or graduate degree. (Blind Adults in America: Their Lives and Challenges. A Report by the National Center for Policy Research for Women and Families. February 2004)

7) 90% of all hip fractures are based on a fall. 18% of hip fractures annually are a direct result of vision impairment. (Felson, Anderson, Hannan, Milton, Wilson & Kiel, 1989)

8) Finally vision impairment has been identified as 1 of the 4 most significant contributors to lost independence (along with mobility impairments, dementia and incontinence) among older Americans, with lost independence costing an additional $26 billion in medical and long-term care per year. (Alliance for Aging Research. Independence for Older Americans: An Investment for Our Nation’s Future. Washington, DC: Alliance for Aging Research; 1999)

9) Approximately 109,000 visually impaired people in the United States use long canes to get around. Just over 7,000 Americans use dog guides. Annually, 1,500 individuals graduate from a dog-guide user program. (American Foundation for the Blind. Quick Facts and Figures on Blindness and Low Vision. 2003)

10) Braille literacy is a growing concern in American schools. According to the National Braille Press (2002), Braille is the only medium for true literacy for people with profound vision loss. In the United States today, it is estimated that only ten percent of blind children are taught Braille. (Jaquiss, R. (2003). The Speech Assisted Learning (SAL): A review. Future Reflections 22(2). Retrieved March 30, 2004.)

11) Approximately 2.5 million people in the United States are “legally blind” – meaning that even with corrective lenses, they have less than 20/200 visual acuity or that their visual field is 20 degrees or less, regardless of acuity. Many of them have some residual vision. Only about 5% of blind people use Braille for reading; many people who are legally blind are able to read large print. (U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section Americans with Disabilities Act GUIDE FOR PLACES OF LODGING: SERVING GUESTS WHO ARE BLIND OR WHO HAVE LOW VISION, January 2001)

12) Many people who are blind or who have low vision wear very thick glasses or very dark sunglasses. Others carry white canes. Still others use service animals such as guide dogs. Some walk with another person who serves as a sighted guide. Some who are legally blind or who have low vision do not use a cane or a guide dog or wear glasses of any kind. (U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section Americans with Disabilities Act GUIDE FOR PLACES OF LODGING: SERVING GUESTS WHO ARE BLIND OR WHO HAVE LOW VISION, January 2001)

13) In 2003-04 the American Printing House for the Blind estimates 49, 270 children age 3-21, who are legally blind in the United States. (American Foundation for the Blind. Estimates of Severely Visually Impaired Children, Table 1, February 2007)