Sam Seavey has Stargardt's Disease, and has spent over 30 years navigating life as a person who is legally blind. What he has learned throughout his journey led him to create a YouTube channel and website, The Blind Life, that takes a personal, enthusiastic and humorous look at "navigating life with low vision."
Diagnosed at age 11 with Stargardts Disease, a form of macular degeneration, Steve created this video which is intended to answer the question he's gotten so many times... "How do you see?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWICh2sqxjs
On his website, you'll find weekly videos, where he shares tips about the many types of assistive technology (both high tech and low tech) that make this journey more fun and less challenging. They include magnifiers, iOs devices, personal assistants, kitchen gadgets and apps using cameras and artificial intelligence to explore and navigate the world.
Steve says, "The Blind Life is a representation of what is going on in my life and what I enjoy, all from the Visually Impaired perspective. I enjoy sharing tips and tricks of navigating life with Low Vision, but I absolutely love showing all the new assistive technology that can help make our lives awesome!"
Learn more about Steve, watch the videos, subscribe to his channel.
Stargardt disease, also called Stargardt macular dystrophy, is an inherited disorder of the retina — the tissue at the back of the eye that senses light. The disease typically causes vision loss during childhood or adolescence, although in some forms, vision loss may not be noticed until later in adulthood. The disease causes progressive damage — or degeneration — of the macula, which is a small area in the center of the retina that is responsible for sharp, straight-ahead vision.
Learn more about the symptoms, causes and treatments from the National Eye Institute at the National Institute of Health.