When you meet me,
don't be ill at ease.
It will help both of us if you remember these simple points of courtesy:
I'm an ordinary person. It just happens that I am blind.
You don't need to raise your voice or address me as if I were a child.
Don't ask my spouse if I want "cream in the coffee" — ask me!
I may use a long white cane or dog guide to walk independently, or
I may ask to take your arm.
Let me decide. And please don't grab my arm. Let me take yours.
I'll keep a half step behind to anticipate curbs and steps.
I want to know who's in the room with me. Speak to me when you enter.
And please introduce me to the others.
Include the children and tell me if there's a cat or dog.
A partially open door to a room, cabinet, or car can be a hazard to me.
Please be considerate.
I have no trouble with ordinary table skills and can manage with no help.
Don't avoid words like "see". I use them, too. I'm always glad to
see you.
Please don't talk about the "wonderfal compensations" of blindness.
My sense of smell, touch, and hearing didn't improve when I became blind.
I rely on them more and therefore may get more information through those
senses, but that's all.
If I'm your house guest, show me the bathroom, closet, dresser, window, and
the light switch.
I like to know whether the lights are on, so please tell me.
I'll discuss blindness with you and answer all your questions if you're curious
— but it's an old story to me. I have as many other interests as you
do.
Don't think of me as just "a blind person". I'm just a person who happens
to be blind.
In many places the law requires drivers to yield the right of way when they
see my white cane.
Only the blind may carry a white can.
You see more blind persons today walking alone, not because there are more
of us, but because more of us have learned to make our own way.
Ski For Light (Canada)
Inc.
A Sons of Norway Outreach Programme for the Visually Impaired
 |
