Social Etiquette for Interacting with Persons who are Blind

Teaching Students with Visual Impairments

SOCIAL ETIQUETTE

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
Updated July 21, 2018

People who are sighted can often feel apprehensive when encountering, conversing with or teaching a student who is blind or visually impaired. They question what to say or what not to say. As part of an In-Service meeting, help educators and team members understand how to interact with the student who is blind visually impaired.

How does a person respectfully treat people who are blind? The following guidelines will assist you in remembering to emphasize "people" first, before the disability, to avoid negative connotations or patronizing language and tips on interacting with people who are blind.

Use: People with disabilities, instead of: The disabled or handicapped
Use: People who are blind, instead of: Blind people
Use: Has (specify the disability), instead of: "Afflicted with"
Use: Born with (specify the disability), instead of: Has a birth defect
Use: Uses a wheelchair, instead of: confined to a wheelchair
Use: People who are deaf, instead of: Deaf and dumb, deaf-mute, or
        hearing impaired people
Use: Products created by people who are blind, instead of: Blind-made
        products.

Interacting with Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired

It is helpful to provide a description when you introduce the student to other people. You might tell the student something about what the person’s job is or a friend they have in common.

Always introduce yourself by stating your name when you meet and/or greet the student and encourage other students and staff to do the same. (ex. “Hi, Karen, this is Mrs. Willings. How are you today?) Avoid asking the student “Who am I?” or “Who is this?” as this guessing game puts the student on the spot and can be embarrassing.
Calling the student’s name is like making eye contact with a sighted person. Touch his/her arm or shoulder lightly as you do so, to be sure the student knows you are addressing him/her.
When the student is with you, and you greet someone in passing, be sure to greet anyone you meet by name so the student knows who it is. Encourage the student to follow your lead and say hello even before the person greets her.
Speak naturally and don’t feel you need to change your vocabulary when you talk. Don’t be afraid to use words that refer to seeing. Phrases like, “Do you see?” and “Look at that!” are common expressions that everyone uses. Remember that you are trying to help the student who is visually impaired live in a sighted world.
The words “here” and “there” are too general for descriptive use. Be specific and label objects that give direction and location.
It is an important skill to teach the student to allow others to take their turn. A student with visual impairments often needs a direct reminder to wait their turn and listen to the other person during a conversation.
Encourage the student to stay on a topic long enough to let their partner reply. When the student listens, they get feedback on ideas they have expressed and may get additional information. Help a student stay on the topic by adding a little information or by asking a question.
Model how to change subjects by using phrases such as “that reminds me of…” or “I just noticed that…”
Try not to disappear during your interactions. Tell the student when you are leaving and encourage the sighted students to do the same.

Jewish Guild for the Blind Guidelines

The following suggestions were developed and published by the Jewish Guild for the Blind for the purpose of helping sighted people know how to interact with people who are blind.

Introduce yourself. Not everyone recognizes voices or remembers them.
Don't shout. Visually impaired or blind does not mean hearing impaired.
Don't leave a person who is blind talking to themselves. Let them know when you are leaving.
Don't use hand signals. People with severe visual impairments can't see waving or pointing hands.
Don't omit words like, "See" or "Look". People with visual impairments are not offended by these words and understand that these words are part of normal conversations.
Do feel free to photograph someone who is blind or visually impaired. Everyone likes to capture special moments to save and show to others.
Do speak directly to a person who is blind. Don't speak to a family member or friend and ignore the person who is blind. Remember they can speak for themselves.
Don't push, pull or grab a person who is blind. This can cause accidents and is often embarrassing.
Do offer your arm for assistance. A person who is blind would rather take your arm than have you take their arm.

For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions, even on important subjects, which I once thought right but found to be otherwise." -Benjamin Franklin

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TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired
The TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC is a digital pdf available for download. It is designed specifically for fellow itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI’s), and consists of over 400 activities and topic areas of discussion for instructing students in the Expanded Core Curriculum. The activities are age-neutral and multi-sensory and therefore can meet the needs of the broad range of students served on an itinerant caseload serving. The activities can be individualized to the students various learning modalities and scaffold in order to challenge students but ensure success. Select those activities that align with the student’s learning objects based on the student’s unique visual needs and academic and developmental level. In addition to the core activity areas, each of the 32 Thematic Units incorporates additional unique ECC concepts and skills providing you with a years’ worth of activities. These units are cyclical and can be used repeatedly to help students build on prior knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of concepts. Each unit includes suggestions for activity adaptation associated with the unit. These include lists of objects, possible community-based experiences, environmental print, poems, children & young reader books, children's songs, pop culture songs, movies, and websites.

In addition to the book, the following two supplements are included:
·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Concept Checklist
·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Activities Checklist

For complete product details and additional images, visit the TVI's Guide product page.

TVI's Guide to the ECC Product details
·      Digital pdf download: 346 pages (11 pt font)
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English

Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets: TVI's Guide to the ECC Grab and Go Supplements
The Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets is a Grab and Go supplement to the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC. This workbook is a pdf download that can be printed on demand for use with students. It contains five different types of worksheets for developing visual motor skills and near magnifier fluency skills particularly with the use of a video magnifier. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to each of the 32 ECC Thematic units. The worksheets, along with a list of environmental print for each thematic unit, are designed to help students refine their visual motor skills while reinforcing ECC concepts presented in the thematic units.

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Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheet Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 210 pages
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English

Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Worksheets: A TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC Grab & go Supplement
The Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Grab and Go ECC worksheet packet is a print on demand workbook that contains worksheets in print and simulated braille to use for data collection. Present the student with a hard braille copy and use the worksheets to document accuracy and fluency in reading braille. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide. These word lists and sentences will help the student refine their keyboarding or braille reading skills while bridging ECC concepts presented in the thematic units. Although the lists and passages can be produced using a manual braillewriter, you may also copy and paste the passages into any braille translation software for quick production on an embosser. They may also be entered into a typing program such as APH’s Talking Typer to build keyboarding fluency.

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Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency Worksheet Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 338-page print and simulated braille worksheets
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English

Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists: Grab & Go ECC Supplement
The Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Grab and Go ECC supplement is a 446 page pdf downloadable print on demand workbook that includes 2940 vocabulary card on 3 1/2" x 2" templates divided by each of the 32 Thematic Units along with a checklist of each unit words in print and simulated braille. As a companion to the TVI's Guide to the ECC, the vocabulary cards correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide.

Additional Use:
Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments can have a extremely varied caseloads. It is possible to go several years without having a student on your caseload who requires braille instruction. Like other skills, if you do not practice your braille regularly, it is easy to lose those skills. Use these checklists and cards to maintain your braille skills. Fold the checklist along the line dividing the print from the braille. Choose to either read the print and produce the word in braille using a braillewriter or read the simulated braille and decode it. Finally, these vocabulary cards and checklists may be used with family members or peers who are interested in learning and practicing the braille code.

For complete product details and additional images, visit the Thematic Vocabulary Cards & Checklists Product Page

Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 446-page print on demand resource
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English

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Lotto Cards
The LOTTO Cards Grab and Go Supplement includes 37 theme related unit cards along with activity suggestions that support activities within the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC.

On My Way File Folder Cards
Print and use these cards to represent locations the student may visit that are related to the current thematic unit. Use these with the On My Way File Folder Game outlined in the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC p. 27.

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