Questions Blind People are Frequently Asked
This is a section containing questions frequently asked by sighted people. There will be 5 to 10 questions, along with their answers per page.
Question:
If you had a choice, would you get your sight back?
Answer:
The answer to this question of course varies from individual to individual, but for a lot of blind people, the answer would be no. Many people were born blind, so are perfectly happy with not having sight. The same holds true for many others who have gone without sight for an extended period of time. This may seem strange, or difficult to believe, but it’s important to remember that a lack of vision for most people isn't a horrible thing, and most blind individuals lead perfectly happy and independent lives.
Question:
How do you perform X task?
Answer:
Among the most common questions blind people are asked are things like:
"How do you do laundry?"
"How do you cook?"
"How do you do this?"
"How do you do that?"
In other words, we are asked how we perform various tasks without sight. Well, put simply, there are ways to complete almost all of the same activities as our sighted counter parts. The trick is to learn different ways of doing the same things. Many people might think this would be difficult, but provided a blind person is determined, independent and creative finding other ways to accomplish every day tasks is easy.
Question:
How many fingers am I holding up?
Answer:
This is probably the most annoying thing a sighted person could ask someone who is blind. The reason this is annoying is most questions a blind might get asked are actually honest questions, and though they may seem silly to a visually impaired person, they are perfectly normal questions to someone who can see. Whereas, just holding fingers up, and asking a blind person to count them really serves no purpose except to test if a blind person can really see or not, which most of us find very annoying, or rude. This question will usually be greeted with the following responses.
1. The blind person will extend his or her middle finger, then ask, "I don't know, but how many am I holding up?"
2. "I don't know, but if you keep asking me that, you won't have any fingers left to hold up."
Question:
What is the proper terminology for blind?
or
What is the politically correct term for a blind person?
Answer:
Most blind people do not like terms such as visually impaired, sight deficient, or people with sight problems. Common slang words and terms for blind people used among the blind community are blinds, blindies, blindos, blinks, or partials for low vision people, and totals for totally blind people. On a side note, many blind people refer to sighted people as sighties.
Question:
Do you have a Seeing Eye Dog?
Answer:
The answer to this question depends, some blind people have Seeing Eye dogs, and some do not. It really depends on personal preference. Getting a guide dog takes a long application process, and then the applicant has to go through a rigorous training program that usually lasts a month. As well, some people would rather use a white cane instead of a dog to get around.
Question:
Can blind people get jobs, or work?
Answer:
Yes, blind and low vision people work a wide variety of jobs, just like sighted people. We may require some special equipment to do a particular job, but we can do them as well as our sighted counterparts. Blind people have been everything from psychologists, to medical specialists, to builders, to computer programmers, to homemakers, to scientists, to artists, to politicians. The list goes on, but as you can see blind people hold most of the same jobs as sighted people. Obviously, astronaut, or race car driver might be a bit of a stretch, but for the most part we do the same jobs.
Question:
Can blind people write their own names or sign documents?
Answer:
Of course. Many blind people use something called a signature guide, which is usually a small piece of metal, cardboard, or plastic, with a horizontal slot cut into it. A sighted person places the guide on the paper that a blind person needs to sign, and it helps keep the signature straight.
One may also ask, how would a blind person learn to write? You can either, hold a pen and have someone help you write it a couple of times until you learn how to shape each letter, or you can just look at a large, raised version of the letters in your name and figure it out from there. It's pretty simple. Try writing your name with your eyes shut a time or two and you should get a pretty good idea of how it's done.
Question:
Does someone need to look after you?
Answer:
No. Most blind people are fully capable of leading independent lives. Some may require sighted assistance with some things such as filling out forms or cheques, or having someone read the numbers off of a credit card, but really, sighted people need assistance with some small tasks as well.
Question:
How do you groom yourself, for example, comb your hair, shave etc.?
Answer:
We groom ourselves the same way everyone else does, with a comb, razor, etc, the only difference being we have to use the sense of touch instead of sight. For example, its quite easy to comb your hair, and feel how you have it combed with out messing it up.
Question:
How do blind people measure medication?
Answer:
The easiest way for a blind person to measure medications is to request everything in pill form. Pills are nice, easy, and one doesn't have to spend extra time trying to measure liquids into small containers. Now, the only problem with this is some meds do not come in pill form. One then, can hold a spoon over a sink and then pour the liquid into it, or just pour the medication into a larger plastic container, then dip a spoon in.
Question:
What is it like to be blind?
Answer:
This is a very tough question to answer. My usual response is, "I don't know, what's it like to have sight?" Being blind is no more difficult than having sight. We have a few frustrations such as having to get all our school and work materials in accessible formats such as Braille or tape, or having people ask weird questions or assume things about us.