Abstract

In the world today many people are either partially or totally blind. Blind refers to the total loss of eyesight (Brockmeier 1992: 10) as opposed to degree of visual impairment. Blind persons might experience difficulty in moving around and knowing where things are, doing some activities of daily living, writing, reading and following visual signs or commands. Cory (2003) observed that “some of those who are blind may have some perception of light?. On the other hand, Visual impairment is the term used for people who have some degree of sight, but who have a limited range of sight and focus that cannot be easily corrected with spectacles, who are squint, who need special lighting to be able to see, who have blurred vision sometimes as a result of cataracts, or who have tunnel vision (Howell and Lazarus 2003). Visual impairments are “those who are blind or have low vision”. People with a visual impairment normally need some assistive devices and services which take into account the level of needs. Some people require very specialized spectacles, Braille or large print and other equipment to assist them to compensate for their low vision. The low vision constitutes a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from disease, trauma, or a congenital or degenerative condition that cannot be corrected by conventional means, including refractive correction, medication, or surgery (Etheridge and Mason 1994: 10). It is clearly argued by scholars and information professionals that person who is visually impaired has different needs from a student who uses a wheelchair or a student who suffers from physical disabilities, or those with learning disabilities. The Royal National Institute for the Blind RNIB (2006) describes persons with visual impairment as people with irretrievable loss of sight. These include persons with partial sightedness, low vision and total blindness (Arditi and Rosenthal 1998).