Roughly 7 million Americans are blind. A recent Perkins School for the Blind study surveyed 1,000 people of all ages around the country. Among the findings:

80 percent feel sorry for the blind.

53 percent say they are uncomfortable around blind people.

82 percent think the blind can’t play sports.

81 percent think the blind can’t babysit.

70 percent believe people who can’t see can’t shop for clothes.

46 percent say they cannot think of a worse condition than blindness — including terminal illness and Alzheimer’s disease.

Only 28 percent think a person who is blind could do the respondent’s job.

Cate McQuaid