Challenges of Being Blind: What Blind People Go Through

Photo by Taras Chernus

The challenges of being blind are both different and the same as what we who have the ability to see face. At times, the daily struggles that people with vision impairments encounter are both specific to their condition and at times, the same as the general population. Is this as complicated as it appears?

Anthony R. Candela, author of Vision Dreams A Parable, is blind. He knows the struggles blind people experience every day. This is why he talks about inclusivity for people with disabilities, which is much-needed help. That said, let's go ahead and take a look at the challenges that they go through every day.

1. Blind People Struggles With the Availability of Information

Most people’s primary sense mode is vision. After a brief scan of the area a document or face, for example, we realize that almost all of the data in the world seems to be visual. We are surrounded by graphical information all the time. Examples of this are timetables posted at train stations, cautionary or directional signs, and billboards promoting recently launched goods.

Lack of alternatives to visual information can make blind and visually impaired people significantly less autonomous since obtaining information is a major component of independence. However, the majority of this information can be  made available to them. Friends, family, and even strangers who come to the aid of the visually impaired can provide needed information. However, there is a danger that they will become invasive if they overdo it. This is an occasional concern for blind people. When people help others, they believe that they are doing good. After all, who could fault helping somebody who is blind or has low vision?

Given the appropriate accommodations, people who are blind can do almost any task, even though sometimes it might take longer.

The most intrusive instance is helping someone who is visually impaired without asking them to or without their permission. This might make them feel more dependent than capable. Furthermore and in the extreme, if a blind person is never allowed to perform tasks on their own, they will never acquire the skills they need when no one is around to help them.

Photo by CDC

2. Discrimination Against Blindness and Disability in Modern Society

Anthony R. Candela, author of Vision Dreams A Parable, wants us to understand what it means to exist in a community that values the humanity of all of its members. One of the challenges of being blind is the risk of accidents in a world intended for the sighted. Occasionally, small accidents, such as knocking over a drink that was put too near the edge of the table, or bumping into a chair left out from under a desk, are common and embarrassing when they happen. While the challenges blind people face are greater than those of the sighted, when these events arise from environmental inaccessibility, sighted people sometimes blame the visually impaired when they should look to the “built environment” for the cause. They place a stigma on the visually impaired person for not being able to perform certain tasks.

 Whether a person is blind or has low vision has no bearing on their intelligence, but it might have impact on their happiness. It's difficult for those who can see to imagine a world lacking sight, yet being blind or visually impaired does not have to mean that a person is miserable. It all depends on the support of people around them, the user-friendliness of the environments they frequent, and, yes, the psychological work we all must do to maintain a positive outlook.

 3. Recreational Activities and Opportunities

People who are blind or have low vision often lack full access to fun-filled activities available to the general public. There's always time for games and enjoyment. One of the few easy, accessible, and inclusive activities available to the blind is visiting museums, easy and accessible if there are helpful people or recorded materials to guide the person around the museum and to describe the exhibits. There is also a plethora of easily accessible books. According to the World Blind Union, about 90% of the material published is inaccessible to blind or visually impaired individuals However, recorded books for the blind have been available for decades. Today, blind people can use scanning devices to spontaneously read printed material; people with low vision can use portable or wearable magnification devices. Although sometimes slow, it is far better than nothing.

We all use the Internet for leisure, research, and social interaction. However, numerous sites are not easily usable by people who are visually impaired. Sometimes content is created that is not “visible” by speech software installed in computers or so visually complicated or cluttered, it defeats even the best magnification systems. In the modern era, it is inexcusable for web designers to create such inaccessible or user-unfriendly content.

While the difficulties that visually impaired people confront when trying to unwind and enjoy themselves are too numerous to mention, we hope the concepts discussed in this article will be a guide to treating blind people with respect by making recreational opportunities more available to them.

Photo by Lyman Hansel Gerona

We Can Help Alleviate the Challenges of Being Blind

Everyone has challenges in their lives. People who are blind face additional ones. This does not, however, mean that you should pity them. Compassion for those who are blind can take the form of helping when needed, providing accommodations to make environments more accessible, and being thoughtful at all times. Doesn’t everyone need these things? Remember, even though this may not seem obvious to the sighted, blind people deal with life's challenges and lead normal lives, just like everyone else. Click here to get a copy of Vision Dreams: A Parable and Stand Up or Sit Out by Anthony R. Candela to enjoy wonderful books!