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.