How To Interact With Blind People
I realize this might sound a bit strange to a sighted reader especially someone who is kind enough to want to help when you see a blind person but there are helpful and unhelpful ways of interacting with the blind.
How to interact with blind people. Hence speaking louder or slower does not contribute into anything rather than making the whole interaction awkward. Many people don t understand how to interact with us or even worse sometimes do things that put us in physically dangerous situations. When talking to a visually impaired person speak normal.
Do include us in conversations. This is a guide about interacting with blind people. Remember that not all blind people are 100 blind.
Don t pet feed or distract a guide dog. People with visual disabilities come in all shapes sizes and colors. Do treat blind people as individuals.
Awkwardness can often arise when sighted people interact with blind or visually impaired people so i want to give a bit of a helping hand to stop that from happening. If people who are blind or have low vision extend their hands to shake do so. This depending on the level of auditory visual loss and other factors like environment and other conditions could greatly affect the individual s communication and basic self care skills.
People who are unable to communicate are not dumb but instead hold a great deal of potential for personal development. Students must learn to communicate effectively with different people. They are not pets.
Some legally blind people have limited vision others can see some in different light levels such as dusk or cloudy light and yet others may have pinhole vision or peripheral vision. The most important thing is that you actually include us in conversations. Ask people who are blind or have low vision what they want or need.
They each have their own strengths and weaknesses just like everyone else. Here is thus a simple guide to interacting with the blind. Curriculum available from aph is a social skills awareness curriculum for grades k 12 in which students who are blind or visually impaired interact and get to know each other.
Perhaps we are unsure of how to interact what to do and not to do how to keep from offending. Do not direct questions through their companion. Many of us are uncomfortable around the blind.
When seating people who are blind or have low vision put their hands on the back of the chair and they will then be able to seat themselves. Talk to them. Congenital deaf blindness is when a person is born without hearing and sight.
