Born Blind and Becoming Blind: A Journey Through Two Lenses
- SensAble
- Jun 3
- 7 min read
Table of Content:
Vision is different from sight. It's how we process the world, identify faces, read emotions, and create memories. What then if you're born without it? Or if you gradually lose it after decades of having it? The experience of being born blind is vastly different from becoming blind later in life, and both come with unique challenges, adaptations, and inner worlds.
This blog delves into both journeys, not just from a medical lens but from deeply personal, psychological, and social angles. We'll break down the science, the stigma, the tools, and the truths behind being born blind versus becoming blind.
Stick around till the end to understand how different journeys of blindness shape different lives—and how empathy and innovation can bridge the gap.
Key Takeaways:
People who are born blind often have enhanced non-visual senses and different mental models of the world.
The experience of becoming blind later in life involves grief, memory, and adaptation.
Emotional and psychological support looks different for both groups.
Adaptive tools like screen readers, tactile maps, and smart canes make both journeys more navigable.
Understanding the unique needs of each group helps design more inclusive solutions.
Understanding What It Means to Be Born Blind
To be born blind is to begin life without the ability to see—not as a loss, but as a different starting point. Unlike someone who becomes blind later, individuals blind since birth never form visual memories. This doesn't mean they lack perception—it means they develop a different set of perceptions that are just as rich, detailed, and meaningful, only rooted in other senses.
What defines being born blind?
No reference to visual memory: Concepts like the colour blue or a sunset have no experiential meaning.
Alternative mapping of reality: Spatial awareness is built through soundscapes, texture, and echo-location.
Non-visual mental imagery: People blind at birth often describe thoughts and dreams through sound, emotion, and metaphor rather than pictures.
Being blind from birth does not mean living in darkness—it means living in a sensory-rich world shaped by sound, smell, language, and experience. The question, "Can you be born blind and still understand the world as deeply as others?"—absolutely yes. Just through a different lens.
Causes and Types of Congenital Blindness
So, why are people born blind? Blindness at birth can be the result of a range of medical, environmental, or genetic factors—some avoidable, some not. For many, the question " how are people born blind?" opens up a world of complex biological and prenatal scenarios.
Common Causes:
Genetic Disorders – Inherited conditions such as Leber Congenital Amaurosis and Retinitis Pigmentosa interfere with retinal function or development. These are among the most common reasons for people being born blind by birth.
Infections During Pregnancy – Prenatal exposure to viruses like rubella, cytomegalovirus (CMV), or toxoplasmosis can impact fetal eye development. Such infections may not harm the mother but can have serious consequences for the child.
Premature Birth – Babies born prematurely face risks like Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), where abnormal blood vessels grow in the retina and can lead to detachment or scarring, causing blindness.
Birth Trauma or Oxygen Deprivation – Lack of oxygen (hypoxia) during birth can cause damage to the visual cortex or optic nerves. Sometimes this damage leads to cortical visual impairment (CVI), where the eyes may be healthy, but the brain cannot process visual input.
Congenital Cataracts or Glaucoma – These are less common but significant conditions where vision is either cloudy or affected by pressure in the eyes from birth, leading to long-term vision impairment if untreated.
Types of blindness from birth include:
Total blindness – No light perception whatsoever.
Light perception only – Ability to sense light, but not distinguish shapes or movement.
Partial vision – Severely limited field of vision or blurry images; often classified as legal blindness.
Some families often ask, "Can people be born blind even if there’s no known family history?" Absolutely. While genetics plays a big role, many cases arise from environmental factors, infections, or complications during birth. The journey of being born blind starts with diverse medical backstories, but understanding the cause is often the first step in finding the right support.
What a Person Born Blind Might “See”?
Let’s unravel the question often asked but rarely understood: "What does a blind person see if they were born blind?" The answer, straight from many individuals who are blind from birth, is neither poetic darkness nor empty blackness. It’s nothingness. Not black. Not shadows. Just the absence of visual experience—something those with sight often find difficult to conceptualise.
Imagine trying to describe the taste of a fruit you've never eaten or a sound you've never heard. That’s what it’s like trying to explain vision to someone who’s never seen.
Those born blind build their understanding of the world through a symphony of other senses:
Soundscapes and echolocation help them map physical spaces. Experts like Daniel Kish, who pioneered human echolocation, describe forming detailed spatial awareness using tongue clicks and echoes.
Touch and texture replace shape and visual form. For example, a person may know the concept of a dog not by its image, but through fur texture, warmth, sound, and movement.
Smell and vibration become indicators of location, identity, and even mood. Some report recognising people by scent or footsteps.
Dreams and imagination are shaped through stories, interactions, and experiences, not through visual symbols.
So when you ask what someone born blind sees, it’s not just the wrong question—it’s the wrong framework. They're not missing out. They're mapping the world differently.
Their brain isn’t deficient—it’s efficient. Studies using fMRI scans have shown that people blind since birth use the visual cortex for language, memory, and spatial reasoning. In a way, their brain repurposes what’s not being used for vision into other high-functioning tasks.
This doesn’t just challenge how we think about blindness—it reshapes how we define seeing.
Want to explore tools that support visual independence? Explore Vizion 1.
Born Blind vs. Becoming Blind Later
Adapting to blindness is a deeply personal and context-driven journey, and the moment it begins—at birth or later in life—shapes everything from emotional resilience to practical learning.
Being Born Blind:
The world is built without visual expectations. From the start, individuals learn to navigate spaces, build relationships, and form identities without any sense of sight. There's no comparison or loss—just a different way of perceiving and participating.
Language and learning are inherently non-visual. Tactile, auditory, and sensory-based learning tools are introduced early. For instance, Braille, tactile books, and spatial audio become second nature.
Routine skills are learned differently. There's no re-learning phase—there's just learning. Everything from pouring water to using a phone is taught with accessibility as the starting point.
Social understanding develops via cues like tone, language, and texture. Emotional intelligence often leans on understanding vocal patterns or environmental sound shifts.
Becoming Blind Later in Life:
A major phase of unlearning sets in. What was previously taken for granted—such as walking down a familiar street or establishing eye contact—now proves difficult.
There is usually a period of grieving. Visual memory can be both pain and comfort. People might “see” their memories in dreams or long for visual experiences, which can either inspire or emotionally drain them.
Daily skills must be reapproached. Tasks like cooking, navigating transit, or even using tech can feel overwhelming before training kicks in.
Technology often serves as a lifeline. Screen readers, text-to-speech apps, and audio description services become critical for continuity.
Both groups adapt, but they start from entirely different baselines. One never knew vision and built an entire life around its absence. The other must restructure a previously visual world. Neither path is easier—just different in rhythm, support needs, and emotional tempo.
Psychological and Emotional Differences
Blindness is not just a physical condition; it’s deeply emotional.
For Those Born Blind:
Less likely to suffer from visual grief or trauma.
More resilient to spatial anxiety.
Higher adaptability when exposed early to inclusive environments.
For Those Becoming Blind Later in Life:
Higher rates of depression and anxiety in the adjustment phase.
Visual memory can lead to nostalgia, which may either motivate or emotionally exhaust.
Identity shifts are more pronounced.
Tools and Support Systems for Both Groups
Whether blind from birth or becoming blind later in life, tools and tech can dramatically improve the quality of life.
Assistive Tech for All:
Screen readers (like NVDA, JAWS)
Voice command devices (Alexa, Siri)
Tactile graphics and Braille
For Born Blind Eyes:
Orientation & Mobility (O&M) training from an early age.
Early education with sensory learning methods.
For Later-life Blindness:
Cognitive retraining for tech usage.
Emotional support groups.
Challenges Unique to Each Experience
There is no “worse” or “better”— just different realities.
Challenges of Being Born Blind:
Limited exposure to visual cultural context (e.g. emojis, colour-coded signs)
Greater reliance on others for early education
Struggles with mainstream schooling without inclusive design
Challenges of Becoming Blind Later:
Coping with job loss or career changes
Social withdrawal or dependence
Navigating accessibility retroactively
These differences matter when designing tools, campaigns, education systems, and empathy.
Conclusion
Whether someone is blind by birth or becomes blind after decades of sight, both paths demand resilience. But they also highlight how important inclusive design, societal empathy, and accessible tech are.
Next time someone asks, "Are people born blind always more adjusted than others?"—remind them that it’s not about better or worse. It’s about access, mindset, and support.
If we as a society can understand the nuances between the two experiences, we can design smarter tools, write better policies, and—most importantly—listen more deeply.
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