31 October 2023
· Although some babies are born blind, the majority of blind people become blind later in life.
· The three most common causes of blindness today are glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy.
· Macular degeneration is a common cause of vision loss in the elderly.
· Accidents cause some people to go blind.
Blindness is one of the most misunderstood disabilities. Without even speaking with a blind person, the general public has preconceived views about blind people that they firmly believe to be true. The majority of non-blind individuals assume that blind persons are incapable of working or living a regular life.
Blind folks have their own way of doing things and lead normal lives. They do, however, confront difficulties as a result of inaccessible infrastructure and social issues.
Obviously, blind persons can navigate their homes without assistance since they are familiar with their surroundings. Navigating around unfamiliar locations is the most difficult task for a blind person, especially one who has lost all eyesight. Individuals who live with or visit blind people should avoid moving things around without alerting or asking the blind person beforehand.
Tactile tiles can make commercial spaces more accessible to the blind. Unfortunately, this is not the case in most places. This poses a significant challenge for blind people who may like to visit the location.
Show me the bathroom, closet, dresser, and window, as well as the light switch, if I’m your houseguest. I’d like to know if the lights are turned on.
It is admirable to be helpful and friendly to others. Overly helpful people, on the other hand, frequently cause complications for the blind person. Many people are so eager to assist a disabled person that they neglect to ask the person if he/she requires assistance.
Although a blind person may appear to be moving at a glacial pace (from your perspective), you should not rush to complete the task without first consulting the individual. You can wind up causing the blind individual some problems.
If we’re walking together, don’t hold my arm; instead, let me grasp yours. To anticipate curbs and steps, I’ll maintain a half-step behind.
Gaining independence is the most important thing to a disabled person. With the help of specially created adaptable items, a blind person can live a self-sufficient existence. There are a lot of adaptive equipment that can help a blind person live independently, but it’s not easy to get at local shops or marketplaces.
A good example of such a device is the Refreshable Braille Display. A blind person has to hunt and exert considerable effort in order to obtain each piece of equipment that will help them move closer to independence.
I’m a normal person who just happens to be blind. You are not obligated to assist me on a regular basis.
Even while the majority of blind persons devise their own method for recognising and arranging at least their own garments, it is still a difficult task. Because most blind persons rely on the shape and texture of objects to identify them, putting the laundry away becomes a difficult process.
When it comes to pairing and arranging the socks, this becomes a daredevil operation. All of this is due to the fact that colour recognition is nearly hard for people who are completely blind.
I’m curious about my attire. Please let me know if it looks nice on me and whether it features any of my favourite patterns.
Good reading resources in accessible forms are hard to come by for blind individuals. Despite the fact that India has millions of blind individuals, we lack even basic braille textbooks, let alone novels and other leisure reading resources. The Internet, which contains a wealth of information and reading materials, is also mostly inaccessible to the blind.
Even though a blind person can utilise screen reading software, if websites are not designed appropriately, the Internet surfing experience will be difficult. For understanding what is communicated through photographs, a blind person relies on the image description. However, most websites lack a clear visual description.
The books which are not Braille and the websites which do not support screen reading software are a hazard to me.
Being blind in a world that caters to the sighted entails a plethora of common blunders. Small mishaps can happen, such as stumbling over an office chair that wasn’t neatly tucked beneath the desk or knocking a glass off the table because it was left right on the edge.
However, sighted people mistakenly believe that such errors are caused by the visually impaired’s incapacity to execute activities, when in truth, they are caused by our world’s inaccessibility. Blindness or low vision does not indicate a person’s intelligence or how unhappy their life is. The fact that the sighted cannot imagine their world without sight does not imply that the visually impaired live a sad or unpleasant existence as a result of their disability.
If I cause a mishap let me do it again, rather than thinking of me as weak.
If you’re blind, work is a very different storey. Given the dearth of accessible jobs and working environments, it’s easy to see why hiring a visually impaired person might be viewed as a liability for a business.
This has a significant influence on the visually impaired’s self-esteem and emotional well-being, as well as completely crippling their economic independence. Individuals who are blind or have impaired eyesight are unable to support themselves since they have few or no options.
Give me a job and look at my work before you judge, I will give my best at my work.
Source: Medium.com