What To Do If You Meet A Blind Person
A New Leaflet From The RNIB
by Wolf
We would suggest that this leaflet has value to all normal members of society as it will greatly enhance understanding of blind people and the difficulties and struggles which they face on a daily basis.
The street
This is a most difficult area and blind people are going to be extremely grateful for any help which you can give, for example you must stand directly in front of the person and tell them that it is safe for them to continue however, it is vital that you are aware that if the person has a dog then your behaviour must reflect this. If the person is a guide dog user you must tell them that it is safe to continue on their way while you are crouching down stroking/ feeding their lovely dog - all blind people will be happy for you to talk to their dog as the dog will translate what was said.
Restaurants
In this situation it is important that you remember to offer to read the menu to any blind customer, however, do remember to speak very slowly and concentrate on cheaper items as most blind people do not have much money. It is also a good idea to concentrate on items which are easy to eat, for example in a Indian restaurant perhaps advise the Chicken Tikka which is easy to eat is the meat is cubed and easy to pick up which is the preferred mode of eating for most blind people.
Pubs
If you serve a blind person in a pub/bar make sure that you leave plenty of space at the top of the glass as if you don't they will certainly spill it on themselves and become very embarrassed and will probably burst into tears. Furthermore as already mentioned they are not well off and may not have many clothes and or may not be able to afford to wash their clothes as often as you and I.
We do hope that you find this leaflet of assistance and that you will feel able to help all people who are less fortunate than ourselves by making a donation to RNIB. Simply ring our fundraising department (100 lines) and they will be able to do the necessary.
This leaflet is available in all formats should any person with a serious sight problem wish to read it.
NB: It is important to remember these people do have problems and thus we prefer to use "serious sight problems", you are of course free to use other phrases if you so wish such as "helpless but brave" or "poor dear"
You can email Wolf if you have anything to say about this article, or anything else!
Or click here to have your say on our message board.
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