On November 13, people all over the world remember about people with visual impairments and tell the rules of communication with them. There are different types of visual impairment: total blindness, low vision, low vision. There are about 10% of people who do not see light and shadow in general, the rest have residual vision. Some can distinguish between light and shadow, color and contours of objects. How to communicate with a person with visual impairment.
Do not hesitate to offer help to a blind person. Touch their hand and ask: “Can I help you?”. If your help is accepted, ask the person to take your hand and walk half a step ahead. You do not need to grab their hand and pull them along. Warn the person about obstacles: stairs, puddles or pits. Talk about what surrounds you and what is happening around. If help is not needed, do not be offended. Perhaps the person knows this part of the path well and does not need your help, it can only harm their orientation in space.
Always address the person directly, calling their name, even if they do not see you, and also name everyone in the room during the conversation. If you walk away during a conversation, let the person know.
It is quite normal to use the word “look”. For a blind person it means “to look with hands”, that is to feel.
Do not try to force a person to sit down, pushing him to a chair. Offer to sit down, describe where the chair is in the room, and then put his hand on the back of the chair.
At the table, you should offer a safe place so that the blind person does not knock over a kettle of boiling water, dishes or a vase of flowers. If you dine together, talk about what food is brought, where it is placed and what is on the plate. This will help the person to find the right dish. Also, do not put anything on someone else’s plate without warning about your intention.
If you work with a blind person and have to give them information, find out in what form the person wants to receive it: Braille, large print, audio. If you are not able to provide information in the required format, give it as it is, it is better than nothing. When a blind person has to sign a document, be sure to read it in full. Disability does not exempt a person from the responsibility stipulated by the document.
Make sure that doors, window frames, furniture doors are closed and do not harm the person while moving. Pay attention to the presence of breaking objects.
Do not take away without warning a white cane, which is used by people with visual impairments to navigate in space.
Communicate with a person with visual impairment the way you communicate with your friends. The basic principles of communication between people are respect and kindness. If you meet a visually impaired person on your way, remember that this is the same person as you, with the same feelings, thoughts, worries.
It is difficult for a visually impaired person to move independently in strong winds, rainy weather, on the territory covered with snow; in conditions of great noise (if the engines are running loudly at the enterprise or children are playing loudly on the playground nearby, etc.) Therefore, if you see a person moving in your direction under these conditions, offer him/her help.