27 Aug 10 ways you can help a blind or visually impaired person

As I’ve grown up with a visual impairment, I’ve come across my fair share of people who don’t know how to help a blind or visually impaired person, people who are too helpful and others who aren’t helpful enough. People have often asked me how they can best help me and how to approach me in certain situations so I thought I would write a post on ways that you can help a person with a visual impairment.

 

 

This article originally appeared on:

LIFE OF A BLIND GIRL View On Original Website

 

 

I’ve previously discussed some of the things not to say to a blind or visually impaired person, so I thought this post would expand on that from a different perspective but still sharing some helpful tips.

Before we get into the post, I would like to point out that it’s important to remember that every blind or visually impaired person is different, what works for one person may not work for another. It’s also important to remember that every blind or visually impaired person has different levels of vision, there is a spectrum of sight.

With that in mind, here are 10 ways you can help a person with a visual impairment.

Ask if a person needs help

This is the first step to helping a blind or visually impaired person. Not everyone wants or needs help, and this is completely fine. If we turn down your offer of help, then don’t get offended by this, we want to do things on our own like everyone else.

Sometimes, people have a tendency of just grabbing and taking us where they think we should be going, this is not helpful at all and can be rather frightening. Similarly, people sometimes take over the task that we are doing, preventing us from doing it ourselves, this really isn’t helpful.

Introduce yourself

When you start a conversation with a blind or visually impaired person, introduce yourself so they know who you are. Remember that everyone has varying levels of vision, some visually impaired people are able to see you and recognise you, whereas others like myself are not.

If we know you well then you don’t have to introduce yourself because we will know who you are, however if we have met you for the first time or only met you a couple of times then it’s a good idea to introduce yourself. Many blind and visually impaired people like myself can recognise people’s voices so this usually isn’t an issue for people that we know and have spoken to before.

Don’t assume

Assumptions can often come naturally because of misconceptions and stigmas that many non-disabled people have, but they can be very frustrating for us blind and visually impaired people. Not making assumptions makes the situation so much easier for everyone.

If you’re unsure of something, then ask. Most blind and visually impaired people are happy to answer any questions that you might have, within reason of course. You don’t learn if you don’t ask right?

There is a lot of curiosity surrounding visual impairment and disability so it’s only natural that people have questions. Think about the question that you’re asking, is it invasive? Is it too personal? If it is then don’t ask, these sort of questions can often seem rude and put us in an uncomfortable position.

Treat a blind or visually impaired person like you would anyone else

Why is it when a non-disabled person meets a person with a disability, they think it’s acceptable to treat us like a child or shout at us? Let’s get things straight, it isn’t acceptable to do this, and it most definitely isn’t helpful. Would you treat a sighted person like that? Of course you wouldn’t.

One thing that annoys me is when people speak to the person I’m with, rather than speaking to me. I may not be able to see you, but this doesn’t mean that I can’t have a conversation with you.

Speaking to us like you would do anyone else and treating us like an average human is not giving us special treatment, it’s simply being polite.

Don’t change your vocabulary when talking to a person with a visual impairment

I’ve never heard a blind or visually impaired person say that they are offended by someone saying words such as ‘look’ or ‘see’, we all use those words, they’re part of our vocabulary so there’s no need to change the things you say to us.

Many non-disabled people think that we find these words offensive but let me reassure you, we really don’t.

You don’t need to change the language you use when talking to a blind or visually impaired person, or any disabled person for that matter.

Just ask, don’t grab!

This is a hot topic on social media, some non-disabled people think it’s ok to grab a blind or visually impaired person and take them the way they think they should be going or drag them, this can be very concerning for a blind or visually impaired person, it can leave them feeling disorientated or completely off track. It does more harm than good.

If you are in a situation where you need to guide a blind or visually impaired person then make sure you guide them correctly. If you are asked to guide a blind or visually impaired person, let them take your arm, or ask them how they would prefer to be guided. Don’t grab their cane or other mobility aid or drag them.

Give detailed descriptions

It’s rather annoying when someone tells you that something is ‘over there’, but where is over there? Is it to the left, to the right, straight in front of me…where is it? Describe things in detail such as ‘it’s to your left’ or ‘in front of you’.

If you’re guiding a blind or visually impaired person then make sure you tell them important aspects such as when you’re approaching steps and whether they go up or down.

Add image descriptions on social media

This is a bit of a random one but hear me out…

Many social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram have options to add descriptions to images you upload, making them accessible to everyone, including people with a visual impairment. Despite the feature being available, many people don’t do this. It’s probably a case of them not knowing that the feature is available, but it would be great if more people started using this feature..

If you’re a Twitter user, you can enable the option to add image descriptions in your settings – accessibility – then click the box next to ‘compose image descriptions’ – an option will then appear whenever you add a photo to a tweet which will prompt you to add a description to it.

If you’re an Instagram user, you can also add descriptions to images you upload. When uploading an image to the platform, press the advanced’ button and it will then come up with a box where you can add alt text, this will then be read out by screen-readers.

For many people, visual content is as important as written content. For blind and visually impaired people like myself, many of us can’t see images so descriptions are vital.

If you’re a blogger, you can add photo descriptions to your pictures by writing them in the ‘Alt text’ box when you’re editing your image (people normally use this for SEO purposes without knowing that it can benefit blind and visually impaired people). Once you’ve added the description, it will be read to a visually impaired reader via the screen reader they use on their phone or computer.

Adding descriptions allows visually impaired people like myself to gain an idea of what photos people are posting so that we can appreciate and interact with them like sighted people.

Don’t be offended if a blind or visually impaired person doesn’t accept your help

Just like sighted people, blind and visually impaired people don’t always need help. We want to do things independently and are more than capable of doing so. Granted, there are times when we may need some help, but this isn’t all the time.

It’s common for people to shout at a blind or visually impaired person whenever we decline their offer of help, would you shout at a sighted person in that situation? I doubt it…

It can be frustrating for us as well, as we often want to get something done or get somewhere without being interrupted. If we decline your offer of help, then there is no reason to be offended. Remember that we don’t always need help and can do things on our own.

There you go, just a few ways you can help a blind or visually impaired person.

As I’ve grown up with a visual impairment, I’ve come across my fair share of people who don’t know how to help a blind or visually impaired person, people who are too helpful and others who aren’t helpful enough. People have often asked me how they can best help me and how to approach me in certain situations so I thought I would write a post on ways that you can help a person with a visual impairment.

I’ve previously discussed some of the things not to say to a blind or visually impaired person, so I thought this post would expand on that from a different perspective but still sharing some helpful tips.

Before we get into the post, I would like to point out that it’s important to remember that every blind or visually impaired person is different, what works for one person may not work for another. It’s also important to remember that every blind or visually impaired person has different levels of vision, there is a spectrum of sight.

With that in mind, here are 10 ways you can help a person with a visual impairment.

Ask if a person needs help

This is the first step to helping a blind or visually impaired person. Not everyone wants or needs help, and this is completely fine. If we turn down your offer of help, then don’t get offended by this, we want to do things on our own like everyone else.

Sometimes, people have a tendency of just grabbing and taking us where they think we should be going, this is not helpful at all and can be rather frightening. Similarly, people sometimes take over the task that we are doing, preventing us from doing it ourselves, this really isn’t helpful.

Introduce yourself

When you start a conversation with a blind or visually impaired person, introduce yourself so they know who you are. Remember that everyone has varying levels of vision, some visually impaired people are able to see you and recognise you, whereas others like myself are not.

If we know you well then you don’t have to introduce yourself because we will know who you are, however if we have met you for the first time or only met you a couple of times then it’s a good idea to introduce yourself. Many blind and visually impaired people like myself can recognise people’s voices so this usually isn’t an issue for people that we know and have spoken to before.

Don’t assume

Assumptions can often come naturally because of misconceptions and stigmas that many non-disabled people have, but they can be very frustrating for us blind and visually impaired people. Not making assumptions makes the situation so much easier for everyone.

If you’re unsure of something, then ask. Most blind and visually impaired people are happy to answer any questions that you might have, within reason of course. You don’t learn if you don’t ask right?

There is a lot of curiosity surrounding visual impairment and disability so it’s only natural that people have questions. Think about the question that you’re asking, is it invasive? Is it too personal? If it is then don’t ask, these sort of questions can often seem rude and put us in an uncomfortable position.

Treat a blind or visually impaired person like you would anyone else

Why is it when a non-disabled person meets a person with a disability, they think it’s acceptable to treat us like a child or shout at us? Let’s get things straight, it isn’t acceptable to do this, and it most definitely isn’t helpful. Would you treat a sighted person like that? Of course you wouldn’t.

One thing that annoys me is when people speak to the person I’m with, rather than speaking to me. I may not be able to see you, but this doesn’t mean that I can’t have a conversation with you.

Speaking to us like you would do anyone else and treating us like an average human is not giving us special treatment, it’s simply being polite.

Don’t change your vocabulary when talking to a person with a visual impairment

I’ve never heard a blind or visually impaired person say that they are offended by someone saying words such as ‘look’ or ‘see’, we all use those words, they’re part of our vocabulary so there’s no need to change the things you say to us.

Many non-disabled people think that we find these words offensive but let me reassure you, we really don’t.

You don’t need to change the language you use when talking to a blind or visually impaired person, or any disabled person for that matter.

Just ask, don’t grab!

This is a hot topic on social media, some non-disabled people think it’s ok to grab a blind or visually impaired person and take them the way they think they should be going or drag them, this can be very concerning for a blind or visually impaired person, it can leave them feeling disorientated or completely off track. It does more harm than good.

If you are in a situation where you need to guide a blind or visually impaired person then make sure you guide them correctly. If you are asked to guide a blind or visually impaired person, let them take your arm, or ask them how they would prefer to be guided. Don’t grab their cane or other mobility aid or drag them.

Give detailed descriptions

It’s rather annoying when someone tells you that something is ‘over there’, but where is over there? Is it to the left, to the right, straight in front of me…where is it? Describe things in detail such as ‘it’s to your left’ or ‘in front of you’.

If you’re guiding a blind or visually impaired person then make sure you tell them important aspects such as when you’re approaching steps and whether they go up or down.

Add image descriptions on social media

This is a bit of a random one but hear me out…

Many social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram have options to add descriptions to images you upload, making them accessible to everyone, including people with a visual impairment. Despite the feature being available, many people don’t do this. It’s probably a case of them not knowing that the feature is available, but it would be great if more people started using this feature..

If you’re a Twitter user, you can enable the option to add image descriptions in your settings – accessibility – then click the box next to ‘compose image descriptions’ – an option will then appear whenever you add a photo to a tweet which will prompt you to add a description to it.

If you’re an Instagram user, you can also add descriptions to images you upload. When uploading an image to the platform, press the advanced’ button and it will then come up with a box where you can add alt text, this will then be read out by screen-readers.

For many people, visual content is as important as written content. For blind and visually impaired people like myself, many of us can’t see images so descriptions are vital.

If you’re a blogger, you can add photo descriptions to your pictures by writing them in the ‘Alt text’ box when you’re editing your image (people normally use this for SEO purposes without knowing that it can benefit blind and visually impaired people). Once you’ve added the description, it will be read to a visually impaired reader via the screen reader they use on their phone or computer.

Adding descriptions allows visually impaired people like myself to gain an idea of what photos people are posting so that we can appreciate and interact with them like sighted people.

Don’t be offended if a blind or visually impaired person doesn’t accept your help

Just like sighted people, blind and visually impaired people don’t always need help. We want to do things independently and are more than capable of doing so. Granted, there are times when we may need some help, but this isn’t all the time.

It’s common for people to shout at a blind or visually impaired person whenever we decline their offer of help, would you shout at a sighted person in that situation? I doubt it…

It can be frustrating for us as well, as we often want to get something done or get somewhere without being interrupted. If we decline your offer of help, then there is no reason to be offended. Remember that we don’t always need help and can do things on our own.

There you go, just a few ways you can help a blind or visually impaired person.