I just commented on it and shared it to my Facebook. This is the first time I read that, but it's disturbing to say the least. Upon a first, even second read, it reads as a parent throwing a pity party for blind parents.

Looking at other posts and comments on the author's blog, she states:

> "I honestly don’t think I will ever fully accept becoming legally blind."

While there is obviously an adjustment process and training that you need when you suddenly lose your sight (and which may make family members do things for you that they didn't before for a short while) generalizing this to "the child who has a blind parent" is extremely wrong.

It is not normal or acceptable to expect your child to count steps, announce curbs, pick up broken glass for, or otherwise "protect" you as an able blind adult. If someone is doing this, they need to get themselves more blindness training ASAP and figure out how to repair an appropriate relationship with their child.

While I understand that the author's perspective comes through the lens of having lost her sight in the past few years (long enough, I think, that any of this behavior should be in the very distant past!) and not having fully adapted to it, it is potentially incredibly damaging to paint this as a normal experience for the children of blind parents.

I like the response. Very nice counter point to Maria's poem.

I think what is a bit disturbing about the original post by Maria, is how it is addressed in universal terms. It is addressed to all children of blind parents, as opposed to to her own children specifically. If it were worded differently it would not only be more personal and impactful, it would be less disturbing and offensive. She is taking her own experience and generalizing it. That is how stereotypes happen.

She is not doing it intentionally, but it is potentially very damaging if people take it at face value and make the assumption that her experience is true of all blind parents.

*Sigh

In fairness to Maria, going blind as an adult, and suddenly to boot, is hard. She isn't just adapting to how to relearn everything, she is also figuring out who she is. So much of our identities are based on our abilities, the things we are good at, the things we like doing. Transitioning from being a sighted person to being a blind person is daunting, sorta like transitioning between genders. You aren't just adapting to your new life, you are figuring out who you are within that new life.

K... good talk, friends :)

Claudette out!