Suggestions for the Blind and their Friends

Abstract

The following suggestions have been offered by men and women from different parts of the United States who have worked with and for the blind for many years. Most of the suggestions have come from those who are themselves blind. Some may be of little value to you and with others you may not agree. One of those who offered some of the suggestions said, “It takes a wise head to know the when-ness and the where-ness of all these things.” Remember that there are two classes of blind adults; those to whom the loss of sight is the only handicap, and those in whom the cause which produced blindness has also produced other physical disabilities. Unfortunately there are many in the latter group, and this makes the problem of the newly-blinded adult very difficult. Blindness with a strong body and mind unimpaired is one thing; blindness plus shattered nerves, a weakened body and serious physical ailments is quite another matter. The first step should be to eliminate the handicaps other than blindness and help the man or woman to be as nearly normal as possible. Inspire in him courage and confidence in himself. He must have confidence in himself before the world will have confidence in him. Encourage him, so far as it is practical, to follow the same pursuits he followed with sight, for this work he knows how to do. Compel him, if necessary, to exercise and show him how failing in this he simply adds to his physical disabilities, but do not fail to provide some way by which he may exercise. Remove if possible the feeling of loneliness and aloneness which comes with blindness and show him that he has friends and give him something to do, even though it be of little value in itself. Inasmuch as a person's self-respect depends in considerable measure upon his ability for self-support, the blind should be helped to find or to prepare themselves for some remunerative employment. “In dealing with a patient,” writes an occulist of national reputation, “one should always tell the truth. It is neither necessary nor wise in every case to tell the whole truth to the sufferer. Pandora left her best gift in the box, when the others flew away;— but it is imperative that the relatives or near friends should know the exact facts. Lack of frankness causes loss of confidence, and in desperation the poor man who feels the night settling about him flies from one to another in the vain hope of finding a way of escape. If the reputable and dependable oculist fails to enlighten him as to his future he siezes upon the unwarrantable encouragement offered by the unscrupulous and ignorant quack, immensely increasing his disappointment and unhappiness when the inevitable blindness comes. He should have a reasonable time to prepare himself to meet the new conditions under which he must live, and then, more than ever in his life he needs the encouragement and support of those who can make him realize that all is not necessarily lost,—because he must use other means than those to which he has been accustomed to bring him in touch with the world. “Usually the man for whom blindness is imminent knows nothing of the blind, their possibilities, or their achievements. He very naturally thinks that when his eyes are shut all avenues are closed. Let those who know what can be done without sight, be his good angels during this period of discouragement and dismay. Let them bring to his knowledge the biographies of successful blind men and women, not alone those who were eminent and gifted like Milton or Fawcett, or Senator Gore, but those like himself if he is of ordinary ability and intelligence, who have fought their way cheerfully through life, in the dark, and have achieved contentment at least, if not happiness, which is the gift of the gods reserved for few. Let him be buoyed up over the danger period and he will have the courage to face life under the new conditions and not weakly to throw it away like a child terrified by present limitations, as Dick did in the ‘Light that Failed.”’