Over 23 years of living as a blind person in a society that knows very little about blindness or how blind people do things, I have noticed a consistent repetition of certain questions. Consider this post a list of frequently asked questions, if you will. A list of questions people tend to ask me mostly about blindness, and my answers to them.
Let’s skip over the "Who takes care of you?" and "Where’s your helper?" questions, shall we?
Life’s too short for y’all to endure one of my epic rants.
Of course, I would also like to reiterate that my answers may not always represent the views of every blind person. We tend to be as heterogeneous in our views and opinions as the sited.
Can blind people hear better than sighted people?
There is an often quoted view that a blind person's remaining four senses are heightened to compensate for their lack of vision. In popular culture, sightless superhero Daredevil makes use of his super senses to save the world, and in the film 'Scent of a Woman', Al Pacino's blind character could tell one perfume from another at the drop of a hat.
These are merely exaggerated representations of blindness.
Many blind people feel their hearing is no better than sighted people's just that they have to listen more intently to sounds around them. They gauge distance and direction of traffic by ear to avoid being hit by a car, and will tune into announcements at stations to find out which platform their train is on. Sighted people are more likely to focus on the display boards when travelling.
Many blind people use reflected sound waves to build a mental picture of their surroundings (similar to bats and dolphins) in a process known as echolocation. Most use it all the time without realising, to avoid walking into things.
Can blind people see in their dreams?
People who were born blind have no understanding of how to see in their waking lives, so they can't see in their dreams. But most blind people lose their sight later in life and can dream visually.
Danish research in 2014 found that as time passes, a blind person is less likely to dream in pictures. It’s simple: however I see in real life, I see in dreams. As in real life, my dreams also emphasize hearing, touch and smell.
How do blind people choose their clothes?
Over time, many blind people will get a feel for the shape and style of clothes that suit them and they will tend to shop with trusted people.
The fashion-conscious blind person puts considerable energy into ensuring that their outfits match, but technology is often needed for differentiating between colours. A colour detector is a talking gadget which, when pressed against a piece of clothing for a second or two, loudly announces 'light olive green' or 'dark blue' in a posh English accent. They aren't totally accurate and tend to be used occasionally when sorting laundry and checking items which feel similar.
There are several systems for coordinating wardrobes. These include wearing only neutral-coloured skirts or pants that will match any colour top, and having a friend help organise closets and drawers so that matching items are kept together. Another way is to sew braille tags into clothing. (Braille uses an alphabet of raised dots in patterns and is read by fingertip.). Some will sew different shaped buttons on to labels to denote colours. Others might cut the labels in various ways. Some favour the Pen Friend, a barcode reader with labels that can be loaded with information about the clothing, including colour and washing instructions. Others will just try and remember the information or buy clothes that all match.
How do blind people use computers and smartphones?
Blind and visually impaired people use computer technology in three ways. Some, who can see a bit, can get software that magnifies everything on the screen to a size they can easily read.
Totally blind people have two options. A Braille display can sit underneath a keyboard and provide a tactile version of words on the screen, one line at a time. But the display can cost a lot.
Recently, a few less expensive displays have entered the market.
A far more popular option is a screenreader - software which reads the screen in an intelligent way, using a synthetic voice. Voices are improving in quality all the time but many old-school blind computer users stick to the one that sounds like Stephen Hawking, because it can be understood at a fast speed and because they are used to its pronunciation. After a while, users stop noticing what their screenreader sounds like and crank it up to a speed that is unintelligible to the average person. Some use both Braille and speech together.
Do all blind people attend special schools?
No. Many people with vision impairments attend a regular school. Several modifications and accommodations are necessary so that the regular school environment, which is primarily visual in nature, can be made accessible to a non-visual learner.
How do visually impaired people distinguish between different denominations of money?
Distinguishing currency has become harder after demonetization. Since currency is now of more or less the same size, currency cannot be distinguished by their size. Moreover, the tactile raised lines at the edges of the notes all rub off with continuous use, making it harder to recognize them.
Some blind people, including me, use wallets with numerous compartments, and place each denomination of currency in a separate compartment to avoid confusion.
There are also several apps that identify currency, but these are not always accurate, and are harder to use quickly.
I do not mind when people ask me questions; in fact, I applaud them for it. Often, this is a nice first step toward blindness awareness. I don’t at all mean to discourage questions, or to make fun of anyone’s lack of understanding. However, it’s always appreciated if you get to know me as a person before requesting a crash course in Blindness 101. It does irritate me a little that people’s first few questions to me are very often not "watched any good movie recently?" or something
about that really cool Netflix show, but abrupt "I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how much can you see?" and "how do you use a computer?"
If you hang out with me, you’ll inevitably be able to answer a lot of your questions on your own. Moreover, there is Google, you know, the solution to any question. Use it occasionally. I’m sure you’ll find answers if you just Google “how does a blind person use computers?"