A blind person's perspective

Whereas the sighted world mainly uses their sense of sight to help them perceive things, I and my fellow blind brethren use additional senses. We use the senses of smell, taste, touch, and sound to help us along. Here are some of my personal experiences.

Whenever I first walk into an unfamiliar area, I listen for sounds around the area to try and help me determine the size of the area. Next, I use my sense of smell, and if taste and touch could be applied, then I bring these into action as well. Of course, I could never use any of these senses to help me determine whether or not someone’s home is untidy or cluttered. So many times I have missed knowing whether or not someone’s place is in a tidy condition and I have to depend on my sighted buddies to tell me.

It is often said that one is judged by their immediate surroundings and I truly understand this but in some cases I can help my sighted buddies to make a judgment when I am able to point out things that they may have missed through my other senses.

Sometimes we get to exchange perspectives but on the whole I ca easily say that we come from different perspectives. The sighted person using their eyes to perceive and form judgments and I using my other senses to do the same. All in a day’s living.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and share my perspectives with others. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.