Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Questions from a sighted person (self.Blind)
submitted 8y ago by chaotic_david
I don't know any blind people or much about their lives, so sorry in advance if my language is ignorant. Please let me know what the right stuff to say is.
I have been thinking a lot about blindness and sight recently because I've been having trouble with my eyes. I tend to worry about small things, so maybe it's nothing serious, but the thought of losing my sight scares me.
If I went blind, I think the things I would miss the most would be video games, driving, and talking with my deaf friends. How to blind people play video games? How do blind people get around? How do blind people communicate with the deaf?
If a person starts to lose sight or loses sight very suddenly, what are some things they should do right away? What makes adjusting to life without sight easier?
I have never tried to learn to read or type braille. Are braille typewriters still a thing? How difficult and how long does it take for a newbie to learn braille? How useful is it to you? Can you use a "sighted" computer keyboard with ease?
How does walking with a cane or stick help and does it work for everyone? What kinds of things can guide dogs help with and are there cons or tradeoffs that sighted people might not know about? My roommates have dogs. Do guide dogs get along well with other dogs? Do they need to play with other dogs to be happy? Can they stay focused or be released to play on command?
I'm a university student studying computer science. How do blind people read and write code efficiently? How do blind students take tests? Are there any blind programmers or computer scientists here? What kind of work do you do and how is your work different from that of your sighted peers?
Thanks for your responses.
Edit: I have a million more questions. I know it's a lot. Just answer as little or as much as you care, I guess. I'm not the boss!
Do you shop with a friend to find clothes, food, etc.? Do stores usually have an employee help if you ask them? Does it bother you when stores change their layouts? How do you write a check and keep track of cash (ie the difference between a $1 note and a $20 note)? How do you enter a credit card number into paypal or amazon?
How do you take prescription medication? I take several different ones at different times of the day. I use a pill organizer that happens to have braille on it, but how would a blind person fill it? Especially if one doesn't read braille.
Can you recognize all your friends and family by their voices alone? Do you get confused by friends that sound similar or who you don't know well? Is it harder to tell who people are over the phone (if you don't know their number)?
Do restaurants have audio or braille menus? Sometimes I eat alone. Are servers known to have the patience to read a menu to a blind customer?
Do you feel safe drinking alcohol? With the way alcohol impairs the senses, I guess if I was blind, I would be hesitant to drink, already having one less than I'm used to. Is it true that use of hallucinogens can cause blind people to see things? Does it compare to normal sight, or is it more like non-sensical information?
What things are less important to blind people? I imagine blind people caring a little less about fashion, TV, and movies. I know there are audio guides that describe TV and movies, but how good are they and do you find them useful or adequate? Where is modern technology lacking in helping blind people?
How do you remember all the things sighted people are used to writing down? Grocery lists, homework due dates or work deadlines, reminders, addresses?
Thank you all so much.
I have been thinking a lot about blindness and sight recently because I've been having trouble with my eyes. I tend to worry about small things, so maybe it's nothing serious, but the thought of losing my sight scares me.
If I went blind, I think the things I would miss the most would be video games, driving, and talking with my deaf friends. How to blind people play video games? How do blind people get around? How do blind people communicate with the deaf?
If a person starts to lose sight or loses sight very suddenly, what are some things they should do right away? What makes adjusting to life without sight easier?
I have never tried to learn to read or type braille. Are braille typewriters still a thing? How difficult and how long does it take for a newbie to learn braille? How useful is it to you? Can you use a "sighted" computer keyboard with ease?
How does walking with a cane or stick help and does it work for everyone? What kinds of things can guide dogs help with and are there cons or tradeoffs that sighted people might not know about? My roommates have dogs. Do guide dogs get along well with other dogs? Do they need to play with other dogs to be happy? Can they stay focused or be released to play on command?
I'm a university student studying computer science. How do blind people read and write code efficiently? How do blind students take tests? Are there any blind programmers or computer scientists here? What kind of work do you do and how is your work different from that of your sighted peers?
Thanks for your responses.
Edit: I have a million more questions. I know it's a lot. Just answer as little or as much as you care, I guess. I'm not the boss!
Do you shop with a friend to find clothes, food, etc.? Do stores usually have an employee help if you ask them? Does it bother you when stores change their layouts? How do you write a check and keep track of cash (ie the difference between a $1 note and a $20 note)? How do you enter a credit card number into paypal or amazon?
How do you take prescription medication? I take several different ones at different times of the day. I use a pill organizer that happens to have braille on it, but how would a blind person fill it? Especially if one doesn't read braille.
Can you recognize all your friends and family by their voices alone? Do you get confused by friends that sound similar or who you don't know well? Is it harder to tell who people are over the phone (if you don't know their number)?
Do restaurants have audio or braille menus? Sometimes I eat alone. Are servers known to have the patience to read a menu to a blind customer?
Do you feel safe drinking alcohol? With the way alcohol impairs the senses, I guess if I was blind, I would be hesitant to drink, already having one less than I'm used to. Is it true that use of hallucinogens can cause blind people to see things? Does it compare to normal sight, or is it more like non-sensical information?
What things are less important to blind people? I imagine blind people caring a little less about fashion, TV, and movies. I know there are audio guides that describe TV and movies, but how good are they and do you find them useful or adequate? Where is modern technology lacking in helping blind people?
How do you remember all the things sighted people are used to writing down? Grocery lists, homework due dates or work deadlines, reminders, addresses?
Thank you all so much.
NationalBraillePress 3 points
Hopefully some of these answers can help you understand a bit more. Let me know if you have any more questions or would like some clarification.
>I have never tried to learn to read or type braille. Are braille typewriters still a thing? How difficult and how long does it take for a newbie to learn braille? How useful is it to you? Can you use a "sighted" computer keyboard with ease?
*Braille Typewriters are still available and very much in use
*The majority of my blind coworkers read braille (some of the sighted ones do as well) with different levels of skill. Some were born blind and others lost their sight later in life. As with any other skill it is easier to learn if you are younger but and adult can definitely learn braille. Speed wise it depends person to person.
*Braille is literacy and all of the braille readers that I know love it and use it every day. This is not to say that every braille reader feels this way.
*Blind users can use PCs
>How does walking with a cane or stick help and does it work for everyone? What kinds of things can guide dogs help with and are there cons or tradeoffs that sighted people might not know about? My roommates have dogs. Do guide dogs get along well with other dogs? Do they need to play with other dogs to be happy? Can they stay focused or be released to play on command?
*The guide dogs vs canes depends on the person. If you don't like dogs then it's probably not a good idea.
*We have several guide dogs in the office as well as pets. Some of them get along, some of them don't. Once thing to consider with guide dogs is that you have to train them. Guide dogs are trained to a point but you have to continue their training. When you get them they are not fully grown either so you will be dealing with a young dog so a lot of your energy is going to go into finishing the training that it was receiving.
>I'm a university student studying computer science. How do blind people read and write code efficiently?
*Yes. You can use a screen reader or a braille notetaker
>Do you shop with a friend to find clothes, food, etc.? Do stores usually have an employee help if you ask
*You can go with your friends to go shopping. There are also volunteers that can go with you.
>What things are less important to blind people? I imagine blind people caring a little less about fashion, TV, and movies. I know there are audio guides that describe TV and movies, but how good are they and do you find them useful or adequate? Where is modern technology lacking in helping blind people?
*I don't think there is a general consensus that blind people care less a bout a certain thing. Fashion is definitely important to some of my coworkers. Let me tell you they come in to work looking amazing. They go to the movies, watch TV, and go to the theater a lot more than I do.
*The technology point is a very important question. Unfortunately, braille technology has not made much progress in past years. If you look into notetakers they can be priced at $6,000 for technology that has been around for ages. Think about how much progress phones have made where you can buy an iPhone for a couple of hundred dollars. There are organizations working towards improving this technology but it's slow progress and a lot of the technology ends up around the same cost.
>Do you feel safe drinking alcohol? With the way alcohol impairs the senses, I guess if I was blind, I would be hesitant to drink, already having one less than I'm used to.
*When consuming alcohol you have to be smart no matter if your blind, VI, sighted, blind etc.
*Alcohol consumption is all about personal preference.
>Do restaurants have audio or braille menus? Sometimes I eat alone. Are servers known to have the patience to read a menu to a blind customer?
*There are restaurants that carry braille menus you just have to ask. There are also apps that can tell you what's on the page. You can take a picture of the menu and your phone will read the print or it will describe what you took a picture of. For example if you don't know if you have a five dollar bill or a one dollar bill and you don't have anyone around you you trust you can use that app. There is also a new app where you can video conference someone and they can explain what you are showing them.
>I have never tried to learn to read or type braille. Are braille typewriters still a thing? How difficult and how long does it take for a newbie to learn braille? How useful is it to you? Can you use a "sighted" computer keyboard with ease?
*Braille Typewriters are still available and very much in use
*The majority of my blind coworkers read braille (some of the sighted ones do as well) with different levels of skill. Some were born blind and others lost their sight later in life. As with any other skill it is easier to learn if you are younger but and adult can definitely learn braille. Speed wise it depends person to person.
*Braille is literacy and all of the braille readers that I know love it and use it every day. This is not to say that every braille reader feels this way.
*Blind users can use PCs
>How does walking with a cane or stick help and does it work for everyone? What kinds of things can guide dogs help with and are there cons or tradeoffs that sighted people might not know about? My roommates have dogs. Do guide dogs get along well with other dogs? Do they need to play with other dogs to be happy? Can they stay focused or be released to play on command?
*The guide dogs vs canes depends on the person. If you don't like dogs then it's probably not a good idea.
*We have several guide dogs in the office as well as pets. Some of them get along, some of them don't. Once thing to consider with guide dogs is that you have to train them. Guide dogs are trained to a point but you have to continue their training. When you get them they are not fully grown either so you will be dealing with a young dog so a lot of your energy is going to go into finishing the training that it was receiving.
>I'm a university student studying computer science. How do blind people read and write code efficiently?
*Yes. You can use a screen reader or a braille notetaker
>Do you shop with a friend to find clothes, food, etc.? Do stores usually have an employee help if you ask
*You can go with your friends to go shopping. There are also volunteers that can go with you.
>What things are less important to blind people? I imagine blind people caring a little less about fashion, TV, and movies. I know there are audio guides that describe TV and movies, but how good are they and do you find them useful or adequate? Where is modern technology lacking in helping blind people?
*I don't think there is a general consensus that blind people care less a bout a certain thing. Fashion is definitely important to some of my coworkers. Let me tell you they come in to work looking amazing. They go to the movies, watch TV, and go to the theater a lot more than I do.
*The technology point is a very important question. Unfortunately, braille technology has not made much progress in past years. If you look into notetakers they can be priced at $6,000 for technology that has been around for ages. Think about how much progress phones have made where you can buy an iPhone for a couple of hundred dollars. There are organizations working towards improving this technology but it's slow progress and a lot of the technology ends up around the same cost.
>Do you feel safe drinking alcohol? With the way alcohol impairs the senses, I guess if I was blind, I would be hesitant to drink, already having one less than I'm used to.
*When consuming alcohol you have to be smart no matter if your blind, VI, sighted, blind etc.
*Alcohol consumption is all about personal preference.
>Do restaurants have audio or braille menus? Sometimes I eat alone. Are servers known to have the patience to read a menu to a blind customer?
*There are restaurants that carry braille menus you just have to ask. There are also apps that can tell you what's on the page. You can take a picture of the menu and your phone will read the print or it will describe what you took a picture of. For example if you don't know if you have a five dollar bill or a one dollar bill and you don't have anyone around you you trust you can use that app. There is also a new app where you can video conference someone and they can explain what you are showing them.
chaotic_david [OP] 1 points
Thank you for all the helpful answers!
thatsnotgneiss 1 points
If you are going blind, start learning now. The biggest skill I have had to learn is how to ask for help. I hate it.
I take a lot of medicines. I sometimes can fill my own pill organizer and sometimes I have to ask for help.
I take a lot of medicines. I sometimes can fill my own pill organizer and sometimes I have to ask for help.
Unuhi 1 points
Sigh... I'll try to read this this later and answer more later.
I need more mobility & orientation.
I'm an adult; head injuries over the years from different sources and reasons etc, can read and write braille. Braille and math dyslexia so i can read a bit with eyes, a bit with fingers, a lot with ears (and fast).
My eyes hurt - optical nerve pressure no matter what knd of lenses, and i'm on some anti-seizure meds, and everything aches --- i wish i'd have the concentration to listen to the whole text and answer the points one by one - but slowly...
I need more mobility & orientation.
I'm an adult; head injuries over the years from different sources and reasons etc, can read and write braille. Braille and math dyslexia so i can read a bit with eyes, a bit with fingers, a lot with ears (and fast).
My eyes hurt - optical nerve pressure no matter what knd of lenses, and i'm on some anti-seizure meds, and everything aches --- i wish i'd have the concentration to listen to the whole text and answer the points one by one - but slowly...
rumster 1 points
I also will have a follow up answers on here too!
rumster 1 points
Go to www.facebook.com/industriesfortheblind and one of our staff members will answer you.
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