[Blind-rollers] tips to help blind wheelchair users

[Dani Sapiro]

>From Dani,
To Becky,

I realy enjoyed your artail.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Becky Frankeberger" <b.butterfly at comcast.net>
To: "'Blind wheelchair users list'" <blind-rollers at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2010 12:31 PM
Subject: [Blind-rollers] tips to help blind wheelchair users


> WHEELS AND WHITE CANES TIPS FOR HELPING
> BLIND WHEELCHAIR USERS
> by Maureen Pranghofer
>>From the Editor: Maureen Pranghofer writes and speaks on many subjects. 
>>She
> is a
> fairly recent graduate of BLIND, Inc., the adult rehabilitation center
> established
> and conducted by the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota. For
> several years
> now she has used a wheelchair, so when she began her travel training at
> BLIND, she
> and her instructor began by working out ways for her to move about safely.
> Increasing
> numbers of blind wheelchair users are learning that they too can be
> independent and
> confident travelers. This is what Maureen has to say on the subject:
> Whether I'm traveling through the busy Minneapolis skyway system or 
> crossing
> a downtown
> street, I get all kinds of reactions. These range from those people who
> simply ignore
> me as they would any other passing pedestrian to those who have public 
> panic
> attacks.
> Daily I encounter people who want to help but don't have the foggiest idea
> what they
> should do. So, for the most part, they simply get in the way. There are
> people who
> outright pity me, those who are terrified that I'm going to run them down,
> and those
> who are simply overwhelmed.
> The reason for this variety of reactions is that, for most people, a blind
> person
> using a motorized wheelchair is something new. And this newness is not 
> just
> prevalent
> in the general public. Blind wheelchair users are an enigma among many in
> the rehabilitation
> field, among other blind people, and among other wheelchair users. I was
> told, for
> example, at an AER (Association for Education and Rehabilitation) meeting
> the topic
> of which was "Blind Wheelchair Users" that "Totally blind wheelchair users
> can not
> travel independently." This, despite the fact that the presenters had seen
> me independently
> come into the room; park myself at a table; use the restroom; and go 
> through
> a buffet
> line, needing assistance with carrying my plate and cutting food (because 
> of
> my physical
> disability); but not needing assistance to travel.
> A blind woman whom I met recently told me that she was checking out 
> nursing
> homes
> because she would soon have to use a wheelchair and knew that "you can't 
> do
> it if
> you are totally blind." Then there are the disabled people who tell me 
> about
> disability-training
> simulations in which they have been blindfolded and "Just don't know how 
> you
> do it!"
> So here are some tips which I have found helpful in traveling and which 
> you
> may want
> to remember when you are with someone who is a blind wheelchair user.
> 1. Assume that travel is possible. One of the greatest things I have found
> in being
> an NFB member and going through my eleven-month adjustment-to-blindness
> training
> at BLIND, Inc., was that Russell Anderson, my travel instructor, and the
> other staff
> at BLIND, Inc., expected that "Of course you can travel." After becoming
> totally
> blind in an accident and finding that others had virtually no expectation
> that I
> could ever be independent, I had to learn to believe that I could do it.
> Have high
> expectations.
> 2. If you are guiding someone who is a blind wheelchair user, walk behind
> the chair
> and give oral directions. People tend to walk in front of me and have me
> follow.
> But in that position I can not always hear what is said; and if I have to
> stop abruptly,
> I could accidentally bump them. To avoid this, people tend to turn around 
> to
> face
> me and walk backward. Of course this makes no sense because the directions
> they give
> must then be reversed, which causes much confusion.
> 3. When opening doors, stay behind the door if possible. Standing in front
> of a door
> one is holding open narrows the pathway for the wheelchair user. No
> wheelchair user
> wants to run over anyone's toes.
> 4. Suggest that the person use a long carbon fiber cane. Finding a cane
> which worked
> for me was probably my biggest challenge initially because the other canes 
> I
> tried
> were too heavy for me to handle. I can easily maneuver this cane, and it
> works well.
> A cane slightly longer than one used by an ambulatory person of the same
> height is
> necessary because one needs distance in order to stop one's chair. My 
> cane,
> for example,
> is sixty-three inches long, even though if I were standing, I would be 
> only
> four
> feet six inches tall.
> 5. Remember that access for one person does not ensure access for all.
> Wheelchair
> users have a variety of disabilities which affect their travel. For 
> example,
> I can
> not use my cane independently for more than half a block or so on certain
> road surfaces
> because the resistance of the cane's movement on the pavement causes me 
> pain
> and
> fatigue, but this would not be an issue for others who do not have my
> disability.
> Some wheelchair users are able to open doors independently while others 
> are
> not.
> In my case opening doors is difficult, so I make use of electronic power
> doors, ask
> passing pedestrians for help, and often use my cellular phone to summon
> assistance
> for getting in and out of places in both indoor and outdoor settings.
> 6. Do not panic if you see the cane encounter an object. This seems 
> obvious.
> But
> I can't tell you how many times people seem to feel that, because I am in 
> a
> motorized
> chair, I won't stop when I encounter an object with my cane. People often
> seem to
> believe that I will either destroy what I am about to run into or get hurt
> myself.
> Bumping objects with a cane when one is using a wheelchair is no different
> from doing
> so when one is walking.
> 7. Encourage the seated user to hold the cane vertically when approaching
> curbs.
> During the time I was learning to travel at BLIND, Inc., we discovered 
> that
> locating
> curb cuts was easier when the cane was held in a more vertical position.
> This technique
> assists one to locate curb cuts and curb drop-offs quite accurately. This 
> is
> not
> the case for locating up curbs after crossing streets or for traveling
> parallel to
> curbs.
> 8. Keeping to the perimeter in indoor settings with large open areas or
> along the
> sides of buildings is helpful. While it is not necessary to plaster 
> oneself
> against
> a wall or building in order to travel, I have found that staying near 
> these
> landmarks
> is useful. It is sometimes difficult to know whether one is traveling in a
> straight
> line when one has no direct contact with the ground. For example, I have
> sometimes
> traveled diagonally, while thinking I was going straight, or have even
> turned without
> realizing it. Sound cues help, of course, and one needs to learn to use
> these just
> as any other blind traveler does, but checking for a wall or building
> occasionally
> helps me to stay on course. It also ensures that one will not 
> inadvertently
> get too
> close to the curb running parallel to the direction of travel.
> 9. Be aware of objects which the cane or chair may slide under. Like 
> anyone
> else
> traveling with a long white cane, wheelchair users occasionally contact
> objects that
> are not detectable by cane. This is one time when sighted assistance or an
> oral warning
> is helpful to a person in a wheelchair because what might bump a standing
> person
> at waist level will hit the wheelchair user in the face or head.
> 10. Disabilities are not static. If you are helping someone who uses a
> wheelchair,
> the individual's ability to travel distances or on certain surfaces may 
> vary
> depending
> on how he or she is feeling that day. Some days, for example, I have
> traveled as
> far as a mile and a half along a busy, pothole-ridden street in my
> neighborhood which
> has no sidewalk. On other days, going the block and a half to the corner 
> bus
> stop
> is barely possible.
> 11. Do not push a motorized wheelchair unless it is taken out of gear. In
> their efforts
> to help me, many people dash up to me and want to push my chair. Motorized
> chairs
> are not made to be pushed unless the gears are disengaged, and attempts to
> move them
> will only produce frustration. If a chair must be moved manually, ask its
> user how
> to disengage the gears.
> These tips will enable you to be genuinely helpful to any blind person you
> meet who
> happens to use a wheelchair as well. Good luck, and thanks for the
> constructive assistance.
>
>
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