Using Sight

Hello, everyone. Today’s blog is going to be about using sight to do tasks. In my opinion, it is okay to use sight to accomplish goals. It was invented for that purpose after all, and so if one has residual vision and chooses to use it, that’s fine. If one uses sight from the vision of another, that is also fine. However, I want to point out that one needs to have the skills to perform tasks with absolutely no vision so that if an emergency or other situation arises in which it is necessary to do something totally without the assistance of another, one can safely and effectively perform the task. Therefore, I feel it is essential for one to first become confident and comfortable utilizing alternative techniques. I also want to point out that it is necessary for one to use these alternative techniques on a regular basis. If not, then the blind person will be less confident, and therefore, be unable to use the skill when needed or develop a belief that performing a task is not possible for the blind because he or she has relied on sighted people to do the job for so long. In my opinion, it is essential for one to receive any needed training in alternative techniques of blindness and to utilize eye shades when learning how to use these alternative techniques. The reason for this is because first, it ensures that one will not rely on any residual vision and second because only by doing something without vision will someone be able to realize it can be done without sight.
To expand on this, if one has no eyeshades on when learning alternative techniques, one will attempt to use vision, even if this is done unconsciously. The job of the eyes is to see, and the brain is automatically programmed to take in any sensory information provided by the eyes. The job of eyeshades is to train the brain to automatically use the sense of touch along with the other senses to do things using alternative techniques. Also, if one uses eyeshades for a period of time, one will be able to judge how much of the vision was actually useful and how much was unreliable, which is very important for safety reasons. If one starts relying on a cane to locate steps instead of using vision that doesn’t exist to locate the steps, then one will be less likely to fall and become injured, for example. In addition, one may realize that doing something by using an alternative technique is more effective and better physically for the person. For example, if someone is bent over in order to read a book in print, one may develop posture problems over time. Using Braille as an alternative will allow the person to sit using a normal posture.
Finally, it is important to realize that always relying on someone else to do something means that you could be inconvenicing the person. Also, it means you are not confident that a blind person can do the task and/or your confidence level is very low. By actually doing things for yourself on a regular basis, you will help to maintain your confidence in your abilities. In addition, you will discover that you can do more than you realized without the use of vision.
Now, I want to say that using sight is an acceptable thing to do. What I was saying above was to do things for yourself to build your confidence and to prove to yourself that a blind person can do that one thing you think they can’t. And, the way to maintain your confidence is to constantly use your skills. However, there are multiple ways to perform a task, and when you are figuring out which sense to use to accomplish the task, you should consider all factors for all five senses. You may have no vision, but you may be able to effectively use the vision of another. Or, you may prefer to use a dog instead of a cane, and this is using the dog’s sight to alert you to obstacles and such. I encourage you to carry a folded cane in your bag at all times if you are being guided by a dog or sighted human in case the dog or person becomes injured or unable to continue leading you. However, in my opinion, it is okay to be led by a dog or human. Some of you may disagree with this, and so let me switch away from blindness here so that we can have a more objective example for all of us. Back in the 1800’s, horses and other animals were used to head west to California. People didn’t walk clear to California; they rode in a wagon. Those animals walked though, and so you could say that it was silly to rely on these animals because it is possible to walk to California. After all, even an animal can walk there. Some stubborn person back then may have thought just that and headed out on foot across the wild west. Assuming they new how to deal with the Indians and how to hunt for food, they could have probably made it all the way. So then why did some people rely on animals to pull wagons. I bet it was because they didn’t want to carry their belongings on their back. Still, they could have had the animals carry the luggage and walked alongside the wagon on the way. The animals were walking. But no, they felt it perfectly acceptable to ride there, and they probably didn’t consider the factthat they weren’t even using an ability, the ability to walk. Today, people could simply ship their belongings across country, but how many people do you see walking out to California from one of the Eastern, or even a Western state such as Utah. Even though it is possible to walk to California today, it isn’t necessary because a more effective, efficient and safe route exists. Now, let’s turn back to vision.
Sighted people simply use vision as a given. They don’t stop to consider that another sense might be just as effective to accomplish the goal, which is okay since vision is effective for them. Blind people can also decide to rely on this vision, and just as it was okay for someone to drive to work today instead of walking the half mile or so to the job site, it is okay for a blind person to use sight. That doesn’t mean that a blind person could not do the task without vision. It means that it isn’t always necessary to do the job using alternative techniques if sight is more effective and efficient for that particular blind person in that particular situation. Using the sight of a dog may be preferable to some people, and just like sitting in the wagon was okay for the western explorer, using that sight is okay for the blind person. What is important is that the person could safely and effectively travel without the use of the sight, if necessary. Also, when it comes to choosing to use sight, it is necessary for the person to determine if sight is the best sense for the job. For example, straining one’s eyes and using poor posture due to the necessarity of bending down to see the page of the book to read a novel suggests to me that sight is not the best sense for the job. Therefore, anyone with vision problems should receive training in alternative techniques of blindness because one could then accurately judge the best sense to use and because one will realize that the other senses may prove as effective, if not more effective, than vision would be to perform a job. Even sighted people may improve their efficiency if they use a sense other than vision. That’s why a ringing sound is use to alert someone to a phone call, for instance. After one is able to use alternative techniques confidently and effectively, then one could receive training on how to best use any residual vision or the aid of sight by another human or a dog. In a training program, therefore, I feel that alternative techniques should be the main focus simply because people want to rely on vision and want to make use of visual aids, such as magnifying glasses and CCTv’s, rather than continuing to build confidence in themselves and in alternative techniques. Training in residual vision should only occur once mastery of alternative techniques has been accomplished.