How to guide the blind
Last week, I discussed some of the things I’ve been doing to get in better shape and my dislike for blind running. The AFB offers some good tips on how to guide a blind runner, and to follow up on the matter, I found the YouTube video above about Paralympics track and field.But guiding someone who is visually impaired extends way beyond the jogging trail. It’s part of the daily routines of my family, my friends, and mine. When my eyesight decreased to the level it’s at now, the boyfriend-turned-hubster had to learn how to guide me when walking around. He was never one to make me feel handicapped, so he was not super attentive when guiding me--"tough love," he calls it. My friends have also since learned how to guide me, and most of them are very good. Some are more attentive than others, often holding both of my hands and walking backwards through a crowd, while others are easygoing and merely mention a change in terrain when they deem it absolutely necessary. I myself prefer a middle ground.Here are some tips I find personally helpful when being guided as a visually impaired (VI) person:
- DON’T grab the VI person by the arm. DO let him/her take you by your arm or elbow. Think of it like you’re playing the role of a gentleman caller, and you’re escorting the VI person to the dance floor or down an aisle. You can even keep a relaxed arm if playing escort is too much work—just keep your arm down by your side and have the VI person take a hold of your straightened elbow. When I am grabbed by my arm or hand, it is bewildering, and I feel like I’m being herded like cattle. Allow the VI to take your arm and follow you. Remember the scene in Scent of a Woman when Al Pacino’s character gets pissed off at Chris O’Donnell’s character for grabbing his arm? Those are my sentiments exactly, though I’m less of a grouch.
- DON’T give too much nor too little verbal cue. DO communicate just enough information for the VI person to understand his/her environment well enough to adjust accordingly. I don’t need to know about every pebble underfoot, but I do need to know about upcoming curbs or stairs. If the terrain changes from smooth to very rough and cracked, it would be helpful to know so I can be more careful as I approach. It is also good etiquette to let a VI person know if you both are about to approach a curb, steps, or an escalator. It is also vital to know whether the direction will be up or down. For example, “curb up,” “steps down,” or “escalator up” are all curt but helpful phrases. Other things like “door opening inward to your left” or “revolving door” are also noteworthy. When taking the stairs, in addition to knowing which direction (up or down) the stairs go, sometimes it is nice to be guided to the handrail. But as I’m a germaphobe due to the low immune system I must maintain to keep my NMO symptoms at bay, I hate touching handrails, especially at places like the subway station. In these cases, it is useful when my guide cues to me when I have only one more step until I reach either the landing or the bottom/top. Also be sure to let the person you’re guiding if the car he/she is getting into is a sedan, coupe, SUV, van, or truck, so height expectation can be made. And it’s also nice to know if the car is facing to my left or right—there’s been plenty of times when I’ve tried to get into a car facing backwards.
- DON’T forget body language are also good indicators. DO use arm movements to guide the VI person. Whether a pub, music concert, or a mall on Black Friday, it is stressful to navigate a crowded place as a fully sighted person, let alone as a VI individual. And when it is loud (as it often is in crowds), verbal cues are difficult to communicate. This is when simple gestures take over. If you want the VI person to walk behind you, simply take the arm on which he/she is holding and move it behind you, bending the elbow at the middle of your back. The VI person will feel you moving your arm back and should take the lead to fall into line behind you. Once you’ve made it to a less crowded place, let your arm come back to your side, cueing the VI person to step out from behind you and back to your side. This is a helpful move to use when walking through a doorway: stating “door opening outwards to your right” and moving your arm behind you should immediately let the VI person know to follow you and catch the door coming out with his/her right hand.