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Giving Directions
- Don’t point to things or say over there
- Use precise locational language using hard directions or clock face
- Clock face position
- Try to use sounds and locations, the sound is very important to visually impaired people!
Social Interaction
- Talk to visually impaired and blind people directly if you need to address them instead of their group, they are there, they exist too!
- We are blind not deaf! You don’t need to yell at us. Just talk to us like regular people
- When meeting somebody for the first time, ask them in ways that are polite. How much vision do you have? Can you see colors? Can you read a certain font?
- When greeting a visually impaired or blind person for the first time in that instance make sure to say who you are by name
- We’d prefer you to ask people with canes or guide dogs what they’re level vision is or the general situation
- Specify if you’re done talking and when you’re leaving so they know.
- If you have to leave a blind person behind, don’t leave them without them set to something.
Guiding and Contact
- When guiding make no abrupt or harsh contact
- When guiding a blind person, ask them if they want to take their elbow, be suggestive
- Do not touch a visually impaired person if they don’t ask. Respect their personal space.
- Use audio cues when trying guide a visually impaired or blind person to a specific locations and areas to sit
- Do not abruptly stop in front of visually impaired or blind people, they may not be able to recognize that and bump into you.