For Caregivers

A couple of weeks ago, we discussed how teachers should define expectations by working toward a big goal. To recap, in order to accomplish this goal, first have the student focus on learning the subskills necessary to achieve that goal and have a can-do attitude about the student's ability to attain the big goal. Remember, the student may never attain the big goal, which is okay, but if she is expected to attain it, she will come closer to reaching it, and thus, will be able to accomplish more.

Today, we shall briefly discuss the caregiver's role in setting expectations. Really, the idea is the same; people who are blind should be expected to do everything a person with vision can do. Keep in mind they will do it differently, and their way may not make sense to you. It may even seem dangerous to someone with vision. Also, as they are learning alternative techniques and building confidence, they may perform the skill slower than someone with normal vision. You may need to adjust your schedule so you can plan time for children with blindness and low vision to do things independently. You may focus on having them do certain things, and then add in a new task once they become competent and confident at the current one.

For example, if you want them to make dinner, don't have them do it on a night when soccer practice occurs. Pick a Saturday. Then, after several weekend cooking sessions, maybe they will be capable of making hotdogs and fries on soccer night. And for a cooking lesson, you might start with having them set the table. Then, they might learn how to make a microwave meal or even just a snack. Start in small steps and build on skills once former skills are mastered.  Plan a special night  in which the child makes a special treat for a friend or family member so they can practice their skills for a real-world purpose. This might be serving popcorn and m&m's   on a movie night, or baking a cake for Grandma's birthday.  Either way, it will be a big deal to the child.

When you go to the store, have them help  choose what they will need in order to accomplish the cooking session. Also, give them experiences feeling different fruits and vegetables as you name them. Remember that we blind people cannot see these kinds of things automatically as sighted people can, and so we need to be encouraged to touch them and be given opportunities to explore them.

Tell us what you see - what a license plate says, that the stoplight has three lights, each a different color, whether or not you think pink and white look good together, that a sighted person looks at someone they are talking to, etc. Have the child to behave as a sighted person would; no rocking or keeping the head down. Give the child replacement behaviors, such as tapping a foot. Show us models, such as a realistic toy elephant or a demonstration of you modeling a hand gesture. Teach children how to organize their money by consistently folding each denomination in a unique way and by using a talking money identifier (there is a money identifier app for the iPhone); note that the money identifier should be used at home and not in a store. The folding system will enable the individual who is blind to identify a bill in a store before she removes it from the wallet or purse, and thus, will mean someone will be less likely to steal it.

Now that we've discussed some ways to help someone to work with a child, let's  discuss some examples of how people who are blind do things differently from people with vision. For example, someone who is blind will use a cane to inform other's about her visual disability and also to verify the  area she is about to step her foot in is clear of obstacles and/or is not lower or higher than the current surface. The cane does not reach clear across the room, but  is within a couple feet of its user. This means someone who is blind will choose to travel quite close to an obstacle before veering away from it or will even move close enough for the cane to alert her of its presence, while still being safe. To someone with vision, this is scary since the blind person may appear to  be about to walk straight into a tree or fall down some steps. People with vision veer away from an object at a greater distance than people who are blind, and so when they observe someone getting closer than they define as "normal", they become afraid the person is about to become injured. A person who is blind may also seem to take a "wrong" route when they are maybe following a perimeter or traveling a given path that is different from one a person with vision might take. Learning blindness skills at a quality training center is essential because the person who has blindness or low vision will learn how to travel without reliance on a perimeter, but many blind people have not received such training, and so you will see them traveling around the long way.

Expanded core skills should also be planned into a student's IEP, and the parent or caregiver should make sure these skills are being taught, and this can be accomplished  through conversations with the child and communication with the child's school. As a blind person who has attended a school for the blind from kindergarten through 12th grade, I want to suggest that not all of these critical expanded core skills are taught to students, and when they are, they are not taught with the rigor they should be. Just because a teacher is certified as a Teacher of the Visually Impaired, or TVI, (a title that implies low expectations from the get-go), or happens to work at a school for the blind does not guarantee they know all of the blindness skills, embrace a positive blindness philosophy, or define  their expectations by focusing on teaching students the necessary subskills for reaching those big goals we talked about two weeks ago.

As an advocate, it is the job of the caregiver to make sure a student is provided with the knowledge and confidence she needs. Also, check out summer camps, such as the ones held at Blind Industries and Services of Maryland or the Louisiana Center for the Blind. Be aware that the child may need to go to a quality blindness training center as an adult, preferably before entering the workforce. Doing so could mean the difference between a productive, quality life and a limited existence.

More examples of how people with blindness and people with vision do things differently include:

Someone with vision will verify a dish is clean by looking at it (often a less effective method) whereas a person who is blind will use her sense of touch to verify a dish is clean (a more effective method.)

A person with vision will look to see if meat is brown; a person who is blind will use the smell of the meat, the quieter sound it makes after frying is complete, and its feel to determine it is done.

A sighted person will read the print label on her washer to know where start is; a blind person will touch a raised tactile symbol or braille label to locate this position.

A sighted person will glance at an envelope to see who it is from; a blind person will use a talking scanner to read it or a human reader to identify it.

A sighted person will visually identify a can of green beans; a blind person will organize her cabinet, and even if she doesn't, maybe use a talking barcode scanner to identify this product.

Most sighted people store stuff in their cars; blind people manage to carry all their stuff in backpacks and bags, and/or use a cart they can pull behind them.

Sighted people just hop in and drive to a destination, use public transportation, and/or  walk, whether they preplan the trip or do it on-the-fly; blind people schedule a friend or family member to drive them, use public transportation, and/or walk to a destination.

Sometimes, blind people use home delivery services, such as Schwan's or amazon.com or take in a deep breath and change their plan from going shopping at the mall to walking about town. And, the list goes on and on.

How a task is done is not as important as insuring it is done safely and efficiently.

And now, you are saying, "But, I don't have time. Or it is just easier for me to do it for my child or my blind family member."

That makes sense. But, remember, if you do things for a person who has blindness or low vision that she can do for herself, then you are limiting her and teaching her to rely on other people. And from the perspective of someone who is blind, I can assure you this is not fun in the long run. People don't want to hang around with someone they have to "babysit." I remember several years ago when I worked at BISM, a colleague kept saying "Anita, you should go get your own drink." I had the ability. I was just used to having it done for me. The day I finally got up at a restaurant and got my own drink was the first day I realized that too much assistance from my friends and family in all those years before that had robbed me of my freedom. And, by that point, I had been working in the blindness field for a few years and insisting my students do for themselves, not realizing I should do as I preached. Now, I don't have to wait for someone to get me another drink; I can get it when I want it.

It is okay to help other people. It is sometimes ok to do something for someone else, even if that person is capable of completing that task. The key is that doing so should not be a habit or should not be done because the person is too slow or because you are afraid of that person being harmed. If you don't know how to do a task safely without vision, ask someone who is blind. Call the National Federation of the Blind, NFB or the American Council of the Blind, ACB. Don't let a lack of knowledge mingled with fear limit a person who is blind. We deserve a high quality of life just like someone who is sighted does, and a quality of life is reached with blindness skills training, a positive view of the capabilities of the blind, family/friend support, and regular practice of doing skills to build confidence.

Thank you for being with us today. Be sure and come back next Thursday for another interview to empower.

Be blessed.