I dont see things the way you do.

Full disclaimer: I have good vision for someone with albinism. Corrected - ie with glasses - it's 15/60, which means something "normally sighted people" can see clearly from standing 60 metres away, I see only from 15 metres away. (So I need to be closer)

Most people with albinism have a best corrected vision of 6/60. Note that's the very best score possible if it's corrected. Usually visual acuity (readings) in albinism are much lower. The US equivalent is 20/200, the difference is purely metric - measuring in metres vs feet. While I do suffer from glare issues and vision issues, and while a lot of what follows pertains to me, (mostly without glasses on!) my issues aren’t to the extent of my brothers and sisters with the full tote “legally blind” vision. My visual acuity allows me to drive, something the vast majority of people with albinism are unable to do, so I am blessed with what I have. This is a privilege I take very responsibly. Therefore, the following is formed only from my thoughts and understandings, and is in no way meant to act as a voice for every person with albinism.  A lot of this information has been gleaned from conversations, emails and blogs, but remember as well as there being different types of albinism which affect people in varying ways, each person is unique with their own genetic makeup, personality, situation and location to mix in.

I have albinism and I'm not afraid to use it.

Having this condition means more than that I have whiter hair than your granny and pale skin tinged faintly pink or yellow.

It means I can't see very well. I can see, I just can't see well.

Let me try to explain.

What I see isn't blurry per se, but it's indistinct. I've heard it compared to pixels in a digitised picture. You see clear pixellation, I see an image that has the pixels muted. Like when you enlarge and enlarge a digital image and the pixels (squares) make the picture look unfocused Or seeing a small photo in the paper of someone and trying to read the saying on their t-shirt.


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