tips of how to interact with blind people.

1. Blind does not mean can’t nor does it mean stupid. It is only a physical challenge.
2. Bear in mind that blind people treat their guide dogs and white canes as extensions of their bodies. Never distract,feed, flert, and pet guide dogs from their job or touch, move or grab a cane without the owner’s permission. Imagine if someone moved your keys once you've established a location in which you can readily and quickly retrieve them. That’d slow you down. Plus, it’s personal property. The keys allow the sighted person to drive a car which is a mobility tool and the white cane and or the guide dog allows the blind individual to travel effectively, independently and safely which also acts as a mobility tool.
3. Identify yourself and others who may be with you when meeting someone who is blind. Ideally, instead of saying "This is John" (or whoever), have those who are with you introduce themselves, one at a time, to the blind person. When conversing in a group, remember to identify the person to whom you are speaking, i.e. using their name — otherwise the blind person will be confused as to whether or not you are speaking to them. Remember: they can't see when you are and when you're not addressing them, so the use of names in conversation is essential for them to get their bearings and build a 'visual' image in their mind of everyone's positions and surrounding objects. Never talk to a third party who might be with them such as their driver, reader, teacher, tutor, guide dog etc. Remember, you are addressing them.
4. If you offer assistance, wait until the offer is accepted. Then listen or ask for instructions. Many blind people will accept help; however, make sure that they are aware that you are going to help them and offer your arm, not your whole body. Never touch or grab a blind person in efforts to assist. This is socially awkward.
to guide a blind persone: identify yourself, offer your services and, if accepted, offer your arm to the student's hand. Tell them if they have to step up or step down, let them know if the door is to their left or right, and warn them of possible hazards.
The sighted guide is responsible for the safety of the blind person at all times, regardless of the errors on the blind person's part. The guide must be especially careful to monitor obstacles at various levels from head to toe. These obstacles not only include furniture, fixtures and people, but also overhanging head-high obstacles as well as slight irregularities in the walking surface, such as carpets, doorway moldings and changes of texture in the walking surface. If the blind person trips, it is the guide's responsibility to support the blind person. The guide should choose or adjust walking pace to accommodate the needs of the blind person.
Never place an item in their pockets or grab an item of theirs in efforts to assist. This is socially awkward.
Remember: they are blind, not quadriplegic.
5. Do not clap, point, repeat or sing when attempting to guide a blind person. This would be somewhat rude, imagine how you would feel if someone was guiding you with clapping, pointing, or singing. Be consistent and specific when you are describing things and giving directions. The more accuracy, the more consistency, the more direct and the more description you use, the more effective your interaction will be. Blind people respond to intelligence.
6. Do not do for them what they can do for themselves such as serving themselves, finding things, getting things, carrying things etc. The last thing anyone needs is enablement for disablement.
7. Do not shout; speaking loudly to the blind person is not going to make him or her see you. just speak in a normal tone of voice as usual. Remember: they are blind, not deaf.
8. Relax. Don’t be embarrassed if you use common expressions such as “See you later” or “Did you watch  this?” that seems to relate to a person who is blind. Just as a person who uses a wheelchair still goes for a walk, a blind person will still be pleased — or not — to see you. In other words, blind people use the same expressions as those who are sighted.
9. Avoid stigmatizing words such as 'handicapped'. Blind people do not use that word in reference to themselves and few sighted people use it. Many blind individuals go as far to not use it. Don't use the word 'disabled' as it doesn't accurately describe them. Instead, go ahead and use the word 'blind' when describing them and talking to them.
10. do not treat blind people like they are stupid. Asking stupid questions or dumbing-down a conversation is completely ridiculous. In most cases, the blind person is highly educated and conversation with a blind person can be a learning experience.
11. give them the respect that you would give anyone else and don't treat them differently. While stupidity may be contagious, blindness is not.
12. if you are going to ask a blind person about their blindness, for goodness sake, just ask. In most cases, they do not mind answering your questions, however, wording it in a way that is insulting to their intelligence is not recommended.
13. When a blind person is ready to order at a restaurant, please do not assume that they are not of mental capacity to place the order for themselves.
Nothing makes a blind person angrier than when a waiter or waitress asks the person sitting with the blind person what they want to eat.
14.  Make efforts to understand blindness and blind individuals through interaction and research.
15. Drop the negative/misleading attitudes/beliefs.
16. Don't assume that they can see you or they will know who you are just from hearing your voice.
17. Spread the word .

Just like you, the longer version

I wrote this article for one of my classes about 3 years ago.
November 15th, 2010

Just Like You.

Have you ever encountered a blind person and felt uncomfortable, and didn't know how to act? You are not alone. As a blind person, most of the people I meet don’t know what to do when they meet a blind person. They are somehow afraid of helping us. I became blind when I was 7 months old, so I have been blind almost all my life. I came to the USA in 2009 to complete my higher education, majoring in Computer Science. I’m writing this article to help people understand better about blind people and give them a clear idea to work with blind people more effectively. Blind people are just normal individuals, like everyone else. Interacting with blind students should not be an obstacle. In this essay I’m going to give students, teachers, and the general public advice and bring awareness to these issues from my perspective as a blind student to help them understand about us better.

To know how other students think about blind students and to give you a clear picture about their thinking of interacting with blind students. I have interviewed several students. I asked a CSU freshmen student, Greg Camacho if he met a blind person and how he felt, he said, "I have met a blind person and felt uncomfortable and didn’t know how to act". This is one of a lot of people I meet in my daily life. This is because people are not aware of what they can do to help blind people, not because they don’t want to help, but because they are afraid of offending us. Some people like to challenge themselves and try new experience. "I have spoken with a person that is blind and I may have had a few concerns in offending him but it was a normal and great interaction." (Kalie West) Blind people are normal people, yes each one of them is different, but they are normal.

People who have experienced working with blind people appreciate the experience they have had with blind people. There are always some rewards and challenges when you encounter a new thing in your life including dealing with blind people. The greatest challenge, in my experience, was finding the right tools and technologies which enable blind people to bring about their full abilities. There is always a barrier to break for them." (Auda Hazeem, the manager of Nattiq Technologies). The most rewarding thing is learning how to explain things without using sight as a reference; learning to be more mindful. Technology is one of the biggest obstacles we still have in our life. As a student majoring in Computer Science, getting the books in accessible format seems impossible. However, challenges are our life is something becomes normal. I asked Auda Hazeem about The advice that a sighted person who have had working experience with blind people could give, he said:" My advice for them is to always deal with blind people as normal people and not to be preoccupied with the fact that they are blind. Blind people don’t like petty or sympathy and they like to be evaluated based on their skills and abilities." As a blind person, I like if people treat me normally and don’t think because I’m blind, I can’t do something. One of the most common things I encounter in my life is when I go somewhere and I have someone to help me. When I ask a question, people talk to the sighted person instead of me even if I did start the conversation. Sighted people who help a blind person notice this. "They almost always do. I nicely ask them to address the blind person directly as he or she can understand, answer and interact without me being in the middle of the interaction." (Hazeem). People talks to the sighted people instead of the blind person because they think that we are somehow different than sighted people. As a blind person, the only thing that I can’t do is I can’t see, but I can do anything else. Talking to someone like me shouldn’t be a problem. People can ask the blind person about what kind of help he or she needs. It’s not a problem to say "I don’t know how I can help". We would be glad to tell you what kind of help we need. If you don’t know when do you offer your help, most of the times we will ask for your help. You can offer your help when you find a lost blind student going somewhere such as to class. Some blind people don’t like to get ask for help from someone instead, they try to find their way to class by themselves or they might call one of their friends instead. However, if you offered your help and the person doesn’t need it, they can say no thank you. In my email interviews with sited people who have experienced working with blind people, their suggestions for other people is to be patient when working with blind people, be open to making mistakes and learning about the unique experience, don’t be afraid to ask questions even if they seem too personal and always say who you are when you interact with a visually impaired person. Don’t assume that they know who you are by voice. A person interacting with blind people must make a serious effort to understand the nature of the challenges presented by visual impairment and develop a way of dealing with blind people which is systematic and professional. Blind people represent a valuable human resource which has been ignored by societies because of ignorance and the lack of empathy. Awareness is required to be spread out in schools and universities among other places, which prime people as how to deal with blind people as to help us enjoy the same equal opportunities you as sighted people enjoy.

To know the blind perspective in this issue, I have interviewed several blind people. One of the significant challenges I have encountered lies in the fact that blind individuals are often put under a single, universal label which encompasses certain pre-conceived notions and prescribed methods for working with people who have a vision limitation. In other words, sighted people already have their own assumptions as to what a world without vision must be like, and they have come up with specific ways to handle and accommodate ALL visually impaired persons in academic and professional settings. What this means for me as a student is that I must constantly be demonstrating that my ways and needs are not those of every other blind student. The ways and needs of another blind student may very well not agree with mine. Unfortunately, quite a few people are inclined to categorize us as merely blind we can’t see; that’s what we all have in common; it’s that simple. As a result, once they’ve met or worked with one blind student or even if they’ve only heard about working with a blind student, they draw from that experience or information: they try to apply the same theory, use the same system, and suggest the same accommodations for all future blind students. I’ve run into this situation with a few professors and with the staff members of Resources for Disabled Student Office. They see a blind student, they have all the answers when it comes to working with a blind student; they know how things are done with your average blind student; and they proceed accordingly, leaving little room for the student’s input. "You’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all," as the saying goes. It’s very frustrating, always trying to make people understand that you can participate, complete course work, and show your understanding of the subject in a way that might be more efficient or comfortable for everyone. There is no absolute method of dealing with a visually impaired student. A blind student can accomplish a great deal, if his or her needs are listened to. The trouble is persuading someone to listen. The question of finding or receiving help also presents some singular difficulties. For my part, the scenarios here are relatively varied finding an available seat or a free table, figuring out where the back of a queue is, receiving a handout that needs to be filled out and turned in at the end of class, or, just getting plain turned around and LOST. It happens, even to the most experienced travelers. A number of sighted people will either disregard the circumstances completely, or they will hesitate to approach and ask if everything is all right or whether they might offer any help. It’s a problem when no one comes forward to help because everyone thinks someone else is going to do it first. On the other hand, it is due in great part to the fact that sighted people don’t want to offend or overstep by offering someone assistance without asking for it. A number of blind people feel they can manage perfectly well on their own and sort out their own situations when they offered help. Therefore, they will definitely refuse it. Sighted people consequently, they are more unsure about asking someone else and receiving a similar response. As a result, those blind individuals who do require a hand from time to time can find themselves in awkward situations, surrounded by sighted people, but quite on their own. There are options in that case one can always call a passerby or get someone’s attention and ask for assistance. Very often, a blind person won’t get very far without raising his or her voice and asking. That’s what we must do if we want to get on in life we must ask. On the other hand, the fact that many people choose to walk on by or disregard, when they could very well make a difference. I asked a blind student about the most difficult challenges she has encountered in her life, she said:"One of the most difficult challenges for me, personally, is when a person is so concerned about making a mistake that they won't approach me. I think that every blind or visually impaired person who I know prefers that people openly approach them and speak normally to them. The second challenging thing is probably related in that people are not aware of all of the technology that I use, so every time that I do something with a new colleague or acquaintance, I start from square one in explaining how all of my computer things work and what Freddie, my guide-dog, does. It is not such a difficulty because I don't mind explaining it all, but it is equally such a pleasure when someone already knows this."(Christine Difato). From looking to these perspectives, dealing with blind people varies from one person to another.

　

Dealing with blind people is a universal problem, but it shouldn’t be an issue. People shouldn’t be afraid when meeting a blind person or dealing with them. I hope that these various perspectives from sighted people who have had experience with blind people and the blind people viewpoint would be helpful for people who haven’t experienced working with blind people. I also hope that the tips I provided will help sighted people feel more at ease the next time they meet a blind person.
 

tips in making online courses accessible

a lot of universities in the world have started a while ago with providing online courses, but how many of those courses or universities have thought about blind people when they designed their course? below are some tips to help make the online courses more accessible:

1. Work closely with the student to determine what accommodations will be helpful. Students who are blind have likely encountered many barriers and will be resourceful in determining what works and what does not work for them.

2. Give students plenty of notice in the event that research papers are to be assigned — someone may have to aid in that literature search, both in finding materials and in translating them.    You may want to extend deadlines for this  student.

3. if there is any Important information  on the webpage, please make sure that you put them in a bolted list, numbered list etc . underlining the text is not readable by the screen readeron a webpage.

4. If you are assigning reading from a textbook, remember that the page numbers in your copy may not correspond to scanned or large print. In addition to providing the page number, also give descriptive information regarding the section you want the student to read, such as ”the first word or the sentence in the paragraph or by  providing the paragraph number such as fifth paragraph in Chapter 5. ”

 

The degree of impairment and the student's background and training (like the degree of proficiency in using a screen reader) will affect the usefulness of the various strategies and suggestions. The student with a vision impairment will most likely need assistance in all aspects of science programs. The various strategies given below will work for most vision impaired students--some may not. Accessible description will be necessary for pictures, graphics, diagrams, videos, etc.;

If  you are posting videos of yourself, you will probably want to provide all descriptions yourself (i'm sure that RDS will be able to help with the description if needed). If you are showing a video from an external website , describe the action by writing it below the video link. If you distribute videotapes as handouts, any action or an explanatory text that is crucial to understanding the text of the presentation should be described.

If you are going to use Skype for conference calls, have each speaker introduce himself or herself to the audience so that the speakers' voices are keyed for the audience as to their identity.

The best way to send Handouts for visually impaired people is via email.  If this is not possible prior to your presentation, make your materials available to them within a short time after your presentation.

(please note, this is the first post about online courses, so for sure will be more in the future.)

friends you don't need in your life

Friends are supposed to be there to help you, right? Maybe not. Some may be the very reason of your unhappiness. The only solution is to give them a boot out of your life. Here are some friends that you might consider kicking out:
So, here’s my observation of people to invite out of your life:
Energy vampires. Some people just wear you out; you feel more tired and stressed, less vital after interacting with them. These folks seem to believe that the main job of their friends and colleagues is to help them feel better.  I once had a friend who required hours and hours of “processing” – his pain, difficulty, emotional upheaval, the unfairness of his past life: everything needed to be gone over ad infinitim. Sadly, no matter how deeply you listen, no matter how much counsel you offer, no matter how much you put your own needs on the back burner to support these folks, it will not be enough.  Think about the friends and colleagues who consistently take more from you than they give back, and ask yourself why you’re still offering yourself to be sucked dry.
“I Me Mine” people are the center of their own universe, and if they’re in your life, you are always going to have to work around their needs and preferences.  Collaboration, reciprocity and give and take are not part of their vocabulary.  Do what you can to minimize your interactions with these folks (although they may let you know in no uncertain terms that you’re being unreasonable or unfair not to be available to fulfill everyy whim).
Liars.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  Fool me three times – why are you still on the list of people whose calls I return?  If someone is consistently unreliable, or tells you things that aren’t true, or says one thing to you and another thing to someone else in order to protect themselves….cut them loose. Liars are the worst.  Energy Vampires and I Me Mines are a pain and make your life more difficult – but Liars can create honest-to-goodness legal and moral problems.
The great thing to realize is that you actually have the power to do this.  You don’t need have to these people in your life.  You can kindly but firmly minimize your interactions with them.  And that frees you up to invite wonderful people into your life.
 The Advice-Giver

You know those people who give all the advice they can muster but never seem to take it themselves? That’s the therapist. They constantly give you advice even when you don’t ask for it. If advice is all they give you, it may be time to say goodbye, but if you love them for other reasons, avoid any conversations that could lead to their advice.
 The Selfish

This one is practically a no-brainer. Some friends just think of themselves before any other human specimen. If you’re tired of a friend is so selfish that it drives you nuts, haul out the boot.
The Flaw Finder

Of course the friend who constantly digs and shovels for your faults; correcting you or being negative is their hobby. It’s not hard to point out this friend in the clique. You can tell them lightly that they’re being too negative for your liking or just give them a kick.
. The One Who Makes Empty or break Promises
With a friend who breaks promises, you might consider questioning whether they’re your friend or not. Some friends just can’t commit and constantly make promises they can’t keep which can cause you disappointment. You don’t need a friend like that so if you’re at your breaking point, you should probably dump them.
 The Backstabber
If they purposely cause you unhappiness, they’re definitely not your friend. A backstabber is the last person you want it in your life. They might start small by spreading rumors about you that are false but their actions may become harsher in the future. It’s best to get rid of this friend ASAP smoothly.
The Gossip
 "Don't tell anyone, but…" The next morning, you've got an inbox full of people hounding you about the secret that your "friend" swore to uphold. Does this sound familiar? If so, then you might have unfortunately befriended The Gossip. Uncomfortable with vulnerability, this type of friend is constantly  breaking your confidentiality.
solution:
End the friendship: Ultimately, the only way to successfully extract yourself from a toxic friendship is to end it completely. Figley says, "Breaking up with anyone, whether it's a spouse, love relationship, or a friend, is not fun. It's even more important in this kind of context. In contrast to a love relationship in which you recognize you aren't compatible, this type of relationship is hurting you."

Relevance of braille proven during January, National Braille Month » Rocky Mountain Collegian

http://www.collegian.com/2013/01/23/relevance-of-braille-proven-during-january-national-braille-month/

In the wake of a new year, the population of students with disabilities can be put at the forefront with January being National Braille Month.Noah Habibi is a senior computer science major from Muskat, Oman who is helping CSU extend its online course material for students with impaired vision.At the age of seven, Habibi lost his eyesight because of a disorder referred to as retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease that directly affects the retina.Habibi studied at Arkansas State University but instead transferred to CSU because of the resources that the campus offers that Arkansas did not.Habibi said he also chose CSU was because there was another blind student who was a computer science major.
“I got in touch with this person and I decided that I should come here since someone else in the field is like me,” Habibi said.
Machines that Habibi uses for his classes include Jaws, voiceover, Brailler, Braille Sence (Braille note taker), victor reader stream, talking scientific calculator and the Piaf machine.
The Assistance Technology Resource Center provides Habibi with these machines, paying for all technology that is used for school.
Marla Roll, director of the Assistive Technology Resource Center and assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, explained the devices that Habibi and other students use.
“Screen reading software read every event that happens on the computer. Reading more at the html level,” Roll said. “That’s how they access information. We provide the actual software and we’ll teach them how to use it.”
There is also software available to convert documents into a format that can be embossed into braille by a braille embosser.
“It’s a pretty powerful way to read. They can hear audio but they can also read with braille,” Roll said.
Roll explained that, with braille, it’s an active reading process and if it’s only read to you it’s more passive.
However, according to Roll the best option that CSU can present is refreshable braille that has been implemented at the university for over ten years.
“The refreshable braille display [sees] whatever is on the computer screen and pushes the equivalent on this braille keyboard,” Roll said. “They also have it read back to them at the same.”
There are assistive technology rooms spread out on the campus. One is located in the Morgan Library and has refreshable braille display –– technology that will scan and convert with braille or screen reading software.
Tactile graphics, which represent more graphical things in a tactile way, are other tools for blind students.
“It’s like a raised drawing all the lines are raised. That becomes really important for graphical or visual kinds of things,” Roll said. “You can take a map of campus and turn into a tactile graphic and feel the different buildings on campus.”
She also sees there is a problem with the move to more web based education.
“The more we move to online content, I have a worry that these students might get left behind,” Roll said.
Dani Castillo, a journalism professor at CSU who teaches web design teaches in her classes how to make websites and other online media into something that can be accessible to all audiences.
“There are a lot of people who don’t even think about it, we just key websites the way we see them,” Castillo said.
Habibi is currently assisting CSU with its online course materials to make it more accessible to the blind. And in the future he hopes to extend his major to creating more resources.
“I will just be writing programs and helping with accessibility to make sure that software is accessible for my people, websites and that’s my goal is to help with accessibility,” Habibi said.

By Bailey Constas