[BlindTlk] dealing with and helping blind/vissually impaired people

[madisonmartin463 at gmail.com]

Hi all,
I've been thinking, I know it can be awkward for sighted people when they meet a
blind or visually impaired person so I've been trying to find things that could
be given to a sighted person to help them feel more comfortable when meeting us,
so they have a better idea of how to assist us, dos and don'ts, how to treat us
and just general etiquette. I've found things, but all of them seem to talk
about people who are guide dog handlers, and since many of us aren't and may
never be I thought that there should be something about those of us who aren't
dog handlers. I don't plan on actually publishing such a thing, but I thought it
might be a good thing to do anyway. Now, I'm not going to go handing such a
thing out to randome strangers, but it's something that if I know I'm going to
be meeting a sighted person for whatever reason then I could send it to them
ahead of time to read so that they hopefully feel more comfortable, I don't like
feeling uncomfortable around new people and I don't want people feeling
uncomfortable around people like me. I know some people are comfortable around
everyone, but not everyone is that way. In my experience, some people just get
it right away, some get it once you explain something to them, and then there
are those who just will never get it no matter how many times you try and
explain it/show them. I'm not very good at speaking up for myself so if I can
give them something ahead of time then I think that would be better. Anyway, I
have ideas, but when it comes to this sort of stuff is there anything that any
of you think that a sighted person should know? Look forward to any thoughts any
of you might have!!!!! Thanks
Madison