The document discusses several common causes of visual impairment and blindness, including age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease, and Usher syndrome. It describes how blindness can be inherited, caused by disease or accident. Early vision tests can detect impairment in infants. While blindness presents challenges, programs exist to help blind children learn Braille, use assistive technology, and attend special schools with the aid of sighted guides or therapy dogs. Treatments range from glasses and surgery to stem cell research, but some vision loss cannot be reversed.