He would not stop yelling! He was an elderly neighbor of mine, who wanted to teach me how to swing a golf club. However, every time he gave me a lesson, he would not use a natural voice. He assumed that because I could not see, he needed to speak extremely loud. His golf lessons never took, and I never figured out a gentle way to ask him to talk to me normally.
I was reminded of this story the other day when I came across an article titled “How to Blast Five more Myths about Being Blind.” Visually impaired individuals encounter people on a daily basis who have false assumptions about the needs and abilities of someone who cannot see. This article exposes 5 of these.
•You can’t use visual language to a blind person.
•Blind people can’t give sighted people directions.
•Being blind limits a person’s ability to hear.
•Blind people can’t live independently.
•What works best for one blind person works best for all.
Read the complete article here, and be prepared the next time you meet someone who cannot see.