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Commonsense Approach to Working With People
Who Are Blind
The following points of etiquette are helpful to keep in mind when interacting with a person who is blind or visually impaired.
- Introduce yourself to persons who are blind or visually impaired using your name and/or position, especially if you are wearing a name badge containing this information.
- Speak directly to persons who are blind or visually impaired, not through a companion, guide, or other individual.
- Speak to persons who are blind or visually impaired using a natural conversational tone and speed. Do not speak loudly and slowly unless the person also has a hearing impairment.
- Address persons who are totally blind or severely visually impaired by name when possible. This is especially important in crowded areas.
- Immediately greet persons who are blind or visually impaired when they enter a room or a service area. This allows you to let them know you are present and ready to assist, and it eliminates uncomfortable silences.
- Indicate the end of a conversation with a person who is totally blind or severely visually impaired to avoid the embarrassment of leaving a person speaking when no one is actually there.
- Feel free to use words that refer to vision during the course of conversations with persons who are blind or visually impaired. Vision-oriented words such as "look," "see," and "watching TV" are a part of everyday verbal communication. The words "blind" and "visually impaired" are also acceptable in conversation.
- Be precise and thorough when you describe people, places, or things to persons who are totally blind. Don't leave things out, or change a description because you think it is unimportant or unpleasant.
- Feel free to use visually descriptive language. Making reference to
colors, patterns, designs, and shapes is perfectly acceptable.
- Speak about a person with a disability by first referring to the person and then to the disability. You should, therefore, refer to persons who are blind rather than to blind persons.
- Offer to guide persons who are blind or visually impaired by asking if they would like assistance. Offer them your arm. It is not always necessary to provide guided assistance; in some instances it can be disorienting and disruptive. Respect the desires of the person you are with.
- Guide persons who request assistance by allowing them to take your arm just above the elbow when your arm is bent. Walk ahead of the person you are guiding. Never grab a person who is blind or visually impaired by the arm and push him/her forward.
- Guide dogs are working mobility tools. Do not pet them, feed them, or distract them while they are working.
- Do not leave a person who is blind or visually impaired standing in
"free space" when you serve as a guide. Always be sure that the person you guide has a firm grasp on your arm, or is leaning against a chair or a wall if you have to be separated momentarily.
- Be calm and clear about what to do if you see a person who is blind or visually impaired about to encounter a dangerous situation. For example, if a person who is blind is about to bump into a stanchion in a hotel lobby, calmly and firmly call out, "Wait there for a moment, there is a pole in front of you."
Material provided by the American Foundation for the Blind.
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