Hey man, non-blind person here (just passing by the sub out of interest to learn how blind people manage to use reddit, quite impressive!) but from reading your story I wouldn't say that any of those things would come off as needy. If you're comfortable with it, be transparent and let the other person know that due to your difficulties you'll manage better if you can hold their arm to guide you and that picking you up is more convenient. If they've been understanding so far, I'm sure they'll understand that much as well. Good luck on your date!

If shes been understanding so far shes probably already prepared for this, dont sweat it. Additionally, sounds like a good way to get over the initial awkwardness of that first touch personal space boundary.

Night blind, so sometimes ill do that at the bars and its not an issue.

One thing you could do is look up the resturant menu ahead of time. I like to do this if I'm going out to dinner with new friends. That way I can have a few options in mind when I get there. It makes me feel a little more independent since I usually need to ask someone for help reading the menu.

As for as avoiding seeming incapable, sometimes good conversation can go a long way towards changing people's perceptions. Be yourself, talk about things your into and take interest in what she's into. Hope your date goes great!

Hi! One of our visually impaired volunteers wrote this eBook about dating with sight loss - hope you find it useful!!

https://www.henshaws.org.uk/dating-sight-loss-ebook/

As others have said, be yourself. I'd like to know what site you used? i'd love to find someone of my own.

I've written a fun little dating guide that I usually share with the people I go out with before meeting up:

$1

We all have our quirks when going out to eat, and the logistics of being on a date are pretty easy to navigate as you get used to them. Just have to be yourself, be confident, don't set the blindness up as a barrier to your personality. I make jokes about it to get it out of the way and put people at ease. I accidentally elbowed my primary partner in the boob as we got set to go out on our first date, and we are still together after 4 years, and I've been able to gain more blind dating experience since then since we are open. I met her a few months after losing all my vision and we just clicked really really well and it's been amazing.

Happy for you, OP.

Question for ya: I've read a lot of these posts with people who are nervous to reveal their blindness prior to date #1. Can you share how you went about revealing that to your date?