In "Ray", what handicap does Ray have?

In "Ray," Ray Charles is blind.

The 2004 biographical film "Ray" follows musician Ray Charles Robinson, whose sight deteriorates during childhood and who becomes completely blind by about age seven. The film depicts his mother teaching him independence and later sending him to the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, where he learns to read music through Braille and develops his extraordinary musical abilities.

Blindness is central to the story, but the film does not present it as the source of Charles's talent. Charles began learning music when he was very young, before losing his sight, and he became a skilled pianist, singer, and arranger through training and persistence. His blindness shaped how he navigated the world and performed, but it did not define the full range of his career.

A related detail sometimes causes confusion: Charles was not born blind. Historical accounts generally place the onset of his vision loss in early childhood, with glaucoma often identified as the likely cause. By the time portrayed in the film's later musical chapters, however, he is fully blind.