WANT TO KNOW HOW IT FEELS? START WITH BLIND

Little Kenny Wonder

In late 2014 when I started my quest to understand my declining vision, I asked someone: Where should I start my training? 

Her response was:  

Start with blind and work backwards to your current low vision reality. If your vision continues to deteriorate you will be dealing with blindness sooner or later.

This was sobering advice, not something I wanted to hear, but I am glad I heard it. 

Around the same time, I started my training with a cane. I pretended I was blind.  I had a washcloth over my eyes. Then I ran into a wall!

Last Friday I had an Orientation and Mobility (“O & M”) training session with my coach John Higgins of Invision Services, Inc. I told John I want to blind for an hour to see how it feels. 

Being blind (in this case pretending to be blind) is terrifying. John told me that he offers blind training but few people ask for it. It is too scary. 

We started.  John gave me a blindfold (which I still have BTW).  I put it on blindfold and the world was totally dark. I walked a few minutes to get more comfortable with my cane. I was disoriented and unsure of myself. 

Then John taught. me the basics of coping:

First a safety measure: My arms and hands were extended to become bumpers on a car. 

Hopefully I could feel an object or barrier in front of me before I ran into it. That is what I am doing in the picture on the right.

Then John had me try a basic move: SQUARING OFF. I stood with my back against a known “landmark,” in this case a favorite chair. 

Next I imagine a landmark I want to go to. I want to walk in a straight line towards it. The destination is a desk on the other side of the room.  But when I got there I ran into it.

Lesson: Distances seem different when you are blind. Auditory cues and the sense of touch become dominant. I have lived in same place for over 18 years.  and thought I knew the layout like the back of my hand. 

But, I was wrong. Distances are different when you are blind.

I regained my composure and SQUARED OFF to begin walking to the kitchen.  I maneuvered through one familiar object after the other. I touched a sofa.  Then I touched a kitchen cabinet. I felt my way to stove.   

I SQUARED OFF at the stove and walked across the kitchen to my destination: The fridge.  Mission accomplished! Then I reversed the trip and got back to my chair. I did it on my own which is a great feeling.

The most important thing I learned from my being blind for an hour is concentration. At one point during the session my mind began to wander. 

BANG! I almost knocked over a lamp.It could have been worse.

I feel like a fish out of water.  This experience makes me thankful for the remaining vision I do have.