How and When to Help Blind People

Not long ago I was walking across a busy train platform with fellow commuters. I was using my travel cane.  A person walking in the opposite direction stopped me and asked me if I needed help. While I appreciate his concern  and compassion in wanting to assist a blind person, I have to wonder what made him think I needed help. How did he think I got to that point on the train platform without his help. Did he assume due to my blindness  that I was also lost and that I didn’t have the skill to make it to my destination? As a blind person, I generally think sighted people should only help a blind person when they ask for it. It’s hard for sighted people to watch a blind person obviously go the wrong way but remember that most blind people have the skill to correct their path and figure out where to go. Remember that they do this every day of their lives. I have had strangers grab my arm and pull me in the direction they feel I need to go. This is demeaning to most blind people. It makes us feel like we are not capable or can’t be trusted to get to places. Think about how you would feel it you were led around like a child. My wife and my friends know that when we are walking I might grab their arm at the left elbow. To themn it means that I require assistance in walking at that moment. There are times when I might need to move quickly to get somewhere and it is easier and safer to walk using a sighted guide. It just makes sense. The way to do that is to have the blind person walk slightly behind you at your side and have them hold on to your elbow. That way it is easy for them to know when you are stepping up or down. They can feel it through your elbow and by walking slightly behind they have time to adjust their step.  In narrow places the guider puts their guide arm and places it behind their back. This lets the blind person know that it is narrow and walking in single file is required.

            I hope this information helps.

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