We’re All Different

When meeting a new person, they sometimes will say something like, “Oh, my grandma was blind and she made the best homemade bread ever,” or something similar. I realize they are just making conversation.

Isn’t that what we do when meeting people? We find common ground in order to carry on a conversation.

Our human nature formulates similarities based upon our own experiences or what we’ve read. Guess that is why profiling came about. LOL. If you stop to think about any culture, race, or religion, we’ve assumed they’re all alike. The same holds true about a low vision person or a blind individual. However, this is a false belief.

The eye is such a complex organ with many diseases affecting various parts. It’s no wonder every person with a visual impairment is so different than others. Not only do different diseases affect the individuals differently, but also factors such as age of the person when diagnosed, their training, and their personality affect their abilities. So, we’re all different. It’s hard to make assumptions about the visually impaired or blind.

After my sophomore year in college, I attended the Kansas Rehabilitation Center for the Blind in a program for college students. I watched my roommate suffering from glaucoma search for the doorknob with her hand gliding back and forth under the knob then beside, before finally touching it. Seeing this, made me realize what I would look like in the near future. Another girl sat hunched over rocking as her fingers read the braille book. I was shocked when I learned she had more peripheral vision than I did since I got around better than her. I only had 15 degrees of peripheral vision, yet I constantly moved my eyes around fast enough to capture my environment, allowing me to walk freely. Here, she could see a doorway without moving her eyes at all, but wouldn’t walk through without being led.

I’ve learned many differences among the blind and visually impaired population. Many who were born blind were technologically advanced compared to me who didn’t even know such equipment existed. Some who lost vision later in life could outcook me any day. Others could tell where they were in a room by sounds, a gentle breeze, and the warmth of sunlight on their skin. Like me, some raised children and even homeschooled them. Giftings varied as much as the source of their loss of sight. Would you believe some travel by themselves, play video games or sports, are photographers, artists, and musicians?

Do you need to change your focus from false assumptions to open-mindedness?  After all, we’re people first, who happen to have vision loss.

Want to see through our eyes? Check out this wonderful simulation video at Vision Aware’s website.

(If video fails to load, click media player or quicktime links on page).

In the comments below, tell me something you’ve learned about a visually impaired person that surprised you.

© 2015, Jena Fellers. All rights reserved.