• What causes vision loss and blindness?
• Why do some people use canes and others use guide dogs?
• How do blind people identify their clothes?
• How do blind people shop for groceries?
• How does a blind person identify money?
• How do blind people cook?
• How does a blind person tell the time?
• How does it feel to be blind?
• If I close my eyes or wear a blindfold will I learn more about blindness?
• Do blind people feel bad about being blind? Do they like to talk about it?
• Related Links

What causes vision loss and blindness?

There are many causes of vision loss and blindness. Some vision impairment and blindness is congenital (from birth, or onset during the pre-school years). However, most vision-impaired and blind people lose their sight in later years, some through accidents. The most common causes of vision loss and blindness are age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy.

Why do some people use canes and others use guide dogs?

For some, a long cane is an effective way to probe the physical environment and move around safely. Other people find that a guide dog better suits their day-to-day travel needs. The choice is a personal one which involves careful consideration of lifestyle and travel factors.

Using a long white cane allows someone who is blind to locate steps, curbs, streets, driveways, doorways, bicycles, elevators, escalators, people, chairs, tables, desks, or any other object or place. The cane is long enough to be about two steps ahead of the person's feet, and so the walker finds objects with the cane before hitting them. There are canes of all sizes, including very small ones for children and long ones for tall people.

Some blind people like to use a guide dog to get around. These dogs are especially trained to move around obstacles, go through doorways, and stop at curbs and stairs. When the blind person hears that it is safe to cross the street, he or she will tell the dog to go ahead. And when the blind person gets to the address of the restaurant or business, the dog will find the door. The blind person using the dog is always in charge and must tell the dog what to do.

How do blind people identify their clothes?

Most articles of clothing have at least one distinct way of identifying them by touch: different buttons or snaps, bows or ties, the feel of particular fabric or texture. Sometimes, however, there may be more than one shirt or blouse that feel the same; men's ties can feel alike also. For these times, some blind people like to mark their clothes in a special way in order to tell them apart. A braille label or safety pin does the trick. Some people sew a button to the tag of a blue suit and cut out a corner of the tag on a gray suit. Some people make a list of the suits, shirts, ties, and other clothes that feel alike and match them with each other using braille numbers and letters attached to each piece of clothing. Talking colour testers help some people know which garment is which.

How do blind people shop for groceries?

There are many grocery items that can be identified by touch, for example fruits or vegetables. But things like cereal boxes, canned vegetables, bottles of milk, and ice cream containers may be hard to identify. Many blind people like to shop with a friend who will help to find things and can read the different brands and types. Or a blind person might use a store employee who can help find the groceries. Some blind people (especially if they are buying a lot of things) will make a print list for someone else to read, and they will use a braille list for themselves. Internet shopping lets a blind person handle supermarket shopping independently.

How does a blind person identify money?

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand takes care to ensure that NZ's paper currency and coins are distinguishable. People learn to tell them apart by size and distinctive markings.

The most common way to tell paper money apart is to fold the bills in different ways. Each person will have his or her own way of folding them; there is no standard for everyone. Maybe a five dollar bill is folded in half the long way, and a ten dollar bill is folded in half the short way. Or perhaps the ten is folded twice. Everyone uses his or her own methods. When we get money back from someone else, we ask which bill is which and then fold it.

How do blind people cook?

Blind people can use the same gas or electric ovens, microwaves, grills, mixers, food processors, blenders, electric knives, skillets, fryers, crock pots, and other kitchen tools and appliances as sighted people use. Some blind people like to use Braille or a special marking glue to put dots on some of the stove or oven temperature dials. It is easier to use things like measuring cups and spoons that stack with different sizes rather than ones with lines drawn on them. People can tell by the smell, sound, temperature, time of cooking, texture, and consistency how their foods are cooking.

How does a blind person tell the time?

There are watches that open up so a blind person can feel where the hands are and can feel braille dots at the different hour points. There are also talking watches that speak the time and have an alarm built in. And there are many talking clocks that have many different types of alarms that people can use in their home, in their office, or when they travel. For people who can read some print, there are also clocks and watches with large print faces.

How does it feel to be blind?

A blind person comments: "In the beginning, it can feel frustrating or scary. This is because you have not learned how to do things for yourself as a blind person. But once you learn the skills that blind people use, you no longer feel that way. Blind people do the same things as sighted people. We do this naturally, without even thinking about being blind. The blindness becomes just another part of who we are and what we are like. We don't think about being blind every day, just like you don't think every day about whether or not you have red hair or brown hair."

If I close my eyes or wear a blindfold will I learn more about blindness?

No, it is not a good idea to try to pretend to be blind. Actually, you could get just the opposite impression about what it is like to be blind! You might have a hard time finding things, knock something over, or hurt yourself. You might feel frightened, frustrated or confused. You might then believe this is what it is like for blind people. Not so. Blind people (depending on how long they have been vision-impaired or blind) have training and experience that you do not have, and know how to do things (sometimes differently) that you do not. If you want to learn more about blindness, you might want to ask a blind person to talk with you.

Do blind people feel bad about being blind? Do they like to talk about it?

Blind and vision-impaired people live with their blindness or vision impairment every day and are often too busy to think about blindness very much. But being blind is nothing to be ashamed of. Blindness is a perfectly respectable characteristic of a person. Most blind people would be glad to answer any questions you have about blindness: just ask them.

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