Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Questions about guiding [not a typical situation] (self.Blind)
submitted by letspaintthesky
Hi there,
I hope this is a good place to ask (and not imposing).
I'm studying my country's signed language. As one of our units is 'deafblindness' we need to demonstrate the ability to guide somebody as the sighted person in this scenario. There are problems with this:
1. I am a wheelchair user
2. I am also visually impaired-strabismus (turned eye), amblyopia (lazy eye, suppressed), stereo blindness (little to no depth perception), and intermittent diplopia (double vision). I can see enough to learn this language as my visual field is unaffected, and my acuity in one eye is correctable to 6/6 or 20/20.
I am curious about stories you may have of VI guides or a guide that's a wheelchair user (I'd say 'or both' but that's not likely) and would be grateful for any suggestions or comments, or even 'don't do that's you may have, especially as I will not be guiding a sighted classmate, but potentially an actually deafblind person.
Before you ask, my school say they are open to 'reasonable adjustments' but are yet to explain what those might be. I have no idea at this point, as I struggle with mobility even before guiding someone else.
Thank you for your time :) \[typed smiley face emoticon\]
I hope this is a good place to ask (and not imposing).
I'm studying my country's signed language. As one of our units is 'deafblindness' we need to demonstrate the ability to guide somebody as the sighted person in this scenario. There are problems with this:
1. I am a wheelchair user
2. I am also visually impaired-strabismus (turned eye), amblyopia (lazy eye, suppressed), stereo blindness (little to no depth perception), and intermittent diplopia (double vision). I can see enough to learn this language as my visual field is unaffected, and my acuity in one eye is correctable to 6/6 or 20/20.
I am curious about stories you may have of VI guides or a guide that's a wheelchair user (I'd say 'or both' but that's not likely) and would be grateful for any suggestions or comments, or even 'don't do that's you may have, especially as I will not be guiding a sighted classmate, but potentially an actually deafblind person.
Before you ask, my school say they are open to 'reasonable adjustments' but are yet to explain what those might be. I have no idea at this point, as I struggle with mobility even before guiding someone else.
Thank you for your time :) \[typed smiley face emoticon\]
quanin 10 points 4y ago
How I've done it is I'll just hold on to the handlebars at the back of your chair. Depending on the person, this has the added advantage of being there to help if you're entering a situation that makes actually pushing yourself difficult. And yes, this works just as well if the wheelchair user is also visually impaired. If you can see enough to get around even in a wheelchair, then you can see enough to guide me.
letspaintthesky [OP] 4 points 4y ago
That's quite good to hear. I appreciate you taking time to answer. Thanks :) [typed smiley face emoticon]
fastfinge 2 points 4y ago
I've done this quite often, as I had several close friends in wheelchairs during university. Just hanging onto the handle/bars at the back works fine. The one thing to keep in mind is that if you're in an electric wheelchair, the blind person behind you can't feel any of your body language. This means you really need to warn us if you're going to back up, or speed forward suddenly when we might not be expecting it! In the case of backing up, you risk driving over my foot if I didn't realize you're about to move, and in the case of speeding forward, you could lose me entirely if I wasn't expecting you to move. And even if you don't leave me behind, having to go from standing still to a fast jog without warning is unpleasant.
​
If you're in a manual wheelchair, none of these problems exist. I can generally feel your body movements/change in position through the chair when you're getting ready to move, and your stop and start movements aren't as sudden or fast.
​
If you're in a manual wheelchair, none of these problems exist. I can generally feel your body movements/change in position through the chair when you're getting ready to move, and your stop and start movements aren't as sudden or fast.
letspaintthesky [OP] 2 points 4y ago
Thank you for the advice, it is much appreciated :) \[typed smiley emoticon\]
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