Christina: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Taking the Lead podcast where we empower people to be unstoppable. I'm Christina Hepner with my cohost, Leslie Hoskins in Timothy Cuneio. Hey guys, how is it going today?
Leslie: Good, good. No call in the south Timothy. Come on
Timothy: is [00:00:20] 41.
Christina: Oh, I wish it was in that. So I have to tell you guys, I was at Costco on a busy Saturday morning, this weekend, and I saw one of our puppy raisers with a future leader dog.
And it was so cool to see it. Yeah, it was such a crazy busy [00:00:40] Saturday morning. I mean, if you can imagine how crazy Costco is on a Saturday, why I chose to go? I don't know, but it made me smile because the dog was doing so well
Christina: and I did not want to interrupt they're training. So I didn't say anything, but it was cool to actually see that happening.
Um, especially in the [00:01:00] busy Costco, that's down the street from my house
Leslie: that is really fun to always be out in the world. Yes, I, uh, this weekend recently went and spent some time with some family that we haven't seen in forever. Um, we were kind of celebrating cause we didn't get together last year. So it was really nice to see some extended family and my [00:01:20] kids who are younger, got to see their cousins.
So they were running around like crazy and just, it was so loud and it was, it was super fun to kind of get that family feeling back together. That was so exciting. I was really nice, but I was giving, um, my husband's uncle, I was giving him a hard time. He actually tore [00:01:40] his retina. And then waited about 10 dates.
Yes. Listen to it that he waited 10 days or 12. I can't even remember it long enough to seek medical attention. And I was furious with him. He's very lucky they were able to fix it and he can still see. But goodness, I mean, so many of our clients that happens too, and it happens so quickly and you have to seek medical [00:02:00] attention.
So uncle Bob, if, and when you listen to this, this is to you. The next time he goes, seek medical attention. Yeah. And anybody
Christina: else that's listening if this happens to, oh my goodness.
Leslie: What about you, Timothy? What's new with you? Well, this
Timothy: weekend we went, I, uh, I went saw my father, [00:02:20] but we left glacier at home for about five or six hours, which was a big deal for me, but I haven't seen him in quite a while.
So I just said I need to do it. So we went down and saw him. I got to see my grandkids. Uh, my newborn baby grandkids, it was a good sense that it was a good Sunday [00:02:40] and we had meals and all that good stuff. Uh, we had a good time and. That was my weekend.
Leslie: That sounds like an amazing,
Christina: it
Timothy: was great. I get to see my new born baby.
She's probably about three, four months old. Now.[00:03:00]
It was, it was great. It's nice to hold a newborn. So I'm a little too old to do that myself, but it was, you know, you can live through that to your
Leslie: kids. That's wonderful. How many grand babies do you have? Yeah.
Timothy: I've got, let me count. I count my toes. 1, 2, 3. I got four. Now [00:03:20]
Leslie: that's
Timothy: one range from 10 to three
months
Christina: old.
That's so exciting. All
Leslie: fun ages. That's busy, busy, busy. That's exciting as well. Look at that. You're going to have to have all the experience holding the baby.
[00:03:40] That's part of it. It's a, it's a package deal. I can pick
Timothy: up dog food. I can change diapers.
Leslie: Yeah. Well, that's awesome. I'm so glad you had a good weekend. I got to see some family and catch up. It's been really nice this, this year to right. To kind of get together a little bit and gather in small groups and [00:04:00] see all the people that you haven't seen in so long. So I'm so glad that happened.
Enjoyable weekend. Good. Good. Okay. Everyone, we're going to dive right into this and get going. We are so excited to be here today and to be talking about the myths and misconceptions associated with blindness, we know there are so many different things out there that people [00:04:20] think they know about being blind or blindness and low vision field in general.
And here we are going to be. Cracking some of those myths. Is that what they say? What's the terminology busting those myths busted. Okay. Well, we're doing all of it today. We're going to get down to the facts and talk about blindness in general and the blindness and low vision field and people's [00:04:40] experiences.
I also want to touch a little bit on what can you do to be an ally? If you run into somebody who's blind or visually impaired or see somebody, how can you offer assistance and, and be kind of an ally to this, this world. So we're excited to get started. We're going to go ahead and we're gonna dive
Christina: right in.
Yes. So I'm going to start, Leslie, I'm going to start with [00:05:00] something I thought before I came to leader dog, and I always thought when you see someone with a white cane or guide dog, who's blind, that they can't see anything at all. And I think a lot of people think that as well. And Timothy, that is not the case for you.
Oh
Timothy: no, it's not. Uh, [00:05:20] everybody's visions different. And uh, for me, uh, I started off slowly declining, but I got like 3% of my vision in my right eye. And, uh, so yes, I can still see. Uh, I just can't see. Good. If I'm not looking straight at it, I can't see it. So I can't see anything on my feet to my right or to the [00:05:40] left or anything.
It's like looking down a, a, a straw for those people who can see. And so, so that central part, you can see what somewhat it's fuzzy, but not everybody's totally blind. So that is. Because I have a lot of people say, well, you're staring right at me. And I saw you look over there and looked at something, well, I'm [00:06:00] sorry, I'm legally blind, but I'm not totally blind.
So there's different definitions of it. So not everybody is totally
blind.
Christina: Yeah. And that's so interesting to know. And especially for people who, you know, may see you at the store or whatnot, To not make that judgment [00:06:20] call of, oh, well he can see, or he may be faking it. And Leslie, I mean, can you touch a little bit on what is legal blindness for people
Leslie: who don't know what it is?
Yeah. You know, vision is so tricky and it's so different for each individual, but legal blindness in the us is based on the central vision [00:06:40] acuity. Um, so basically when you're looking straight ahead that, that visual field, that in the middle there. Uh, visual acuity of 20 over 200 or less. Um, and, and then also a field of vision.
So like Timothy was just talking about kind of tunnel vision, looking through the straw. So a visual field of 20 degrees or [00:07:00] less. So again, when we're talking about that visual acuity, it's the medical term for the sharpness of your eyes. So there's lots of things that go into that. And when we're saying somebody is a legally blind, um, what that means is that they have a 20 over 200 visual acuity.
Um, so just to [00:07:20] kind of give you an idea, that means that somebody who is legally blind with 20 over 200 vision. Objects about one 10th as sharp as somebody with 2020 vision. Um, so one thing to note about that too, is that a lot of times, you know, people are diagnosed with legal blindness, they have 20 or 200 or worse.
Uh, another thing to keep [00:07:40] in mind is that's with their best correction. So that means even with glasses, with contact lenses, they still can't see any better than 20 over 200. Um, and that can be confusing a lot of times.
Christina: Yes, and I, myself, I wear glasses and contacts, but you know, I can't see when they don't have them on and when I put them on, I can [00:08:00] see perfectly fine.
So it's important to note too, that sometimes you do see people wearing glasses as
Leslie: well. And that's a good point too. A lot of times, even if somebody can't see anything, they actually do have a total blindness. We still encourage wearing glasses or sunglasses because it's physically protecting their [00:08:20] eyes.
So when you think about traveling, a lot of times there's low hanging objects or tree branches, things like that, actually wearing glasses, whether or not they're being used to help your acuity. They're still being helpful to protect your eyes, because that is still a concern. But just to give you an idea here, about 80% of individuals who are blind, have some [00:08:40] sort of remaining vision, 80%.
So that's quite a big group of the blindness and low vision field that still has some remaining vision. And with that two people. Things differently. So two people may have the same diagnosis. They may have 20 over 200, but those two people may see completely different. Um, [00:09:00] vision is very tricky. There's so many things that go into it and factors lighting makes a big difference.
Um, if somebody is just having a good vision day or bad day, sometimes there's pockets of vision where people can see in different spaces. Um, so just know that. Blindness is very unique. It affects people very differently. Um, and [00:09:20] there's no one set answer, you know, what works for one person isn't necessarily gonna work for another.
Christina: That is so good to know for people who are out there. And you know what another thing people think too, is that if you're blind, you can't live alone because how could you not being able to see? So, I mean, Timothy, can we touch on that a little bit [00:09:40] on your perspective with.
Timothy: Yeah, I have bad days stressful to make my eyes worse.
And like sometimes when I go to my church on Sunday morning, uh, I'll be looking at the, my pastor and I have to put my glasses on because the glare of the lights and everything in the sanctuary is terrible. And some days I [00:10:00] can do that. And some days I don't, it just depends on how my day is going that day.
And so, uh, there's a lot of misconceptions out there, uh, for one thing at, Hey, you can't be blind. You don't have sunglasses on all the time. I don't wear my sunglasses all the time. That's just, they miss, because we see stars like Stevie wonder [00:10:20] or Ray, Charles. They always had sunglasses on not everybody's like that.
So that's another misconception that. You know, uh, people have in their minds, you can't be biased. You don't have sunglasses off, or if they walk up to you and they start hollering at you or you're blind, and then they raise their voice. I'm not deaf either. I mean, that's [00:10:40] happened to me before. That's a difference of disability.
So I mean, there's a lot of people out there. They don't, they, they do mean well, but it's. Not not. What you see is the perception of what reality is. So they got to be a little educated, I guess.
Leslie: Absolutely. Um, [00:11:00] working in the field of blindness and low vision. I don't know how many times I've been asked if I had no sign links.
Uh, which I wish I did. Right. That'd be an incredible skill. I wish I knew sign language, but I do not because I work with people who cannot see so many times, uh, they can't see the sign language. However, with that being said, um, there are a lot of times people who use [00:11:20] tactile sign language, which I know is a whole another.
But just while we're talking about sign language, um, people who are blind or visually impaired can use tactile sign language, and that's basically, they kind of put their hands on top of the person who is signing I'm if you ever get an opportunity to observe any of that, it is crazy cool. How people can still communicate, [00:11:40] um, just with their hands.
It's. It's amazing. So, You're right. Lots of myths. Lots of misconceptions, sunglasses, right? I mean, of course a lot of people do. And again, because of that protection, it causes, or it gives that barrier between objects or obstacles and things in your eyes. Um, but also to, you know, different [00:12:00] tents of sunglasses.
So a lot of times with our clients, because they do most times have some remaining vision, we'll do a tint evaluation, you know, one pair of sunglasses. Isn't going to be great for everybody. There's different colors. You can use different darkness and filters and things like that. So lots of different tools that are available to collect.[00:12:20]
You
Timothy: did that for me, Leslie, when I was there, I got sunglasses one for yeah. One for sunny days and one for rainy days, I've got two different colored sunglasses and. Uh, at the may, it makes a difference. So it just helps me relax a little bit. That's part of the thing. When you CA when you struggle with what sites you got, and you're not relaxed, that makes it worse.[00:12:40]
So if you've got the proper sunglasses on it relaxes you a little bit, so you can focus a little bit. So that was a good thing that you did for me. And I, I got my two pair I still got. Oh,
Leslie: good. I'm glad. I'm glad.
Christina: Awesome. Yeah. And, um, you know, there are some people too who think, yes, you can't live independently, but they also think, oh, since you're [00:13:00] blind, you must be able to hear or feel things like 10 times more than other people's.
Leslie: Yes,
Timothy: my wife says I can't, my wife says I can't hear anything, but that's what you call selective
Leslie: hearing. And that's a different disorder. Timothy. That's different.[00:13:20]
Timothy: Oh, I will say I can hear a little bit better and some people can, because I'm tuned in and I can smell anything. But that might because I have a giant. No,
Leslie: I think you're right. You nailed it with the tuned in, right? Like when one sense is taken away, naturally, you're going to rely on those other senses of it more.
Timothy: You know [00:13:40] what it's amazing though, is when an all the, all the blind people and the legal blank Blanco can late when we're walking. We can hear sounds bouncing off. What, like when I'm walking my feet, I can tell I'm approaching something. Cause I can hear my sound bouncing back and coming at me, those senses are height and I could walk outside in the [00:14:00] dark and I can tell when I'm getting close to something because of the sound difference and the difference in the air and stuff.
It's amazing how the stuff that that does. And with people who are blind.
Christina: Yeah. So, I mean, cause you're probably paying a lot more attention to that stuff. Whereas me, you know, when I'm walking somewhere, [00:14:20] someone could say my name and look right by him because I'm not paying attention. So it's just being more, pay more attention to what you're hearing and your surroundings as well.
Yeah.
Leslie: Yes. And that to makes me so happy Timothy, to hear that you're using all of those different sounds. I'm over here, giddy. I'm like smiling, [00:14:40] listening to you talk about it because those are incredible skills too. They're not, they don't come easy. And that comes with lots of years of practice and getting out there and traveling
Timothy: lots of years.
Christina: Yes. And you know, something. I mean, I've seen in some movies and that sort of stuff [00:15:00] that people might think this as well, that if you're blind, you have to touch everybody's face. And we see them until like, oh, I have to feel your features on your face. Is that something that
Leslie: happened? I will tell you Christina, that as somebody who's worked with many clients in the last, almost [00:15:20] decade that I've been doing this, I have never had somebody, uh, asked to touch my face or touch my face in any way, shape or form.
Uh, if people are interested, you know, If people are interested in knowing what you look like, they'll just ask, you know, a lot of times they're already gonna know your height based on, you know, standing next to them. Um, they're going to get to know your [00:15:40] personality. I might talk about something like, oh, I gotta put my hair up in a ponytail and that might give them an idea that I've got long hair that needs to be in a ponytail.
But I have had people ask like, oh, you know, what color is your hair? Or how tall are you or. You know, if somebody compliments me and is like, Hey, Leslie, I love your shirt today. They might say, what's your shirt look like. I want to know, you know, things like that. [00:16:00] But, um, no, I've never had anybody. So
Christina: nobody used to walking around and touching
Leslie: your face.
No, nor have I ever seen that? What about you, Timothy?
Timothy: Yeah. At first sight, he touches her face. And I think it's just another thing that somebody has created out there that may be, this is how they [00:16:20] do it. I think somebody just guessing and I'm, you people see that on TV and they think that's reality. And then no, it's not, it's not
Christina: reality with the, have you ever had someone like assume that you would touch their face or anything like that?
Leslie: Yeah,
Christina: that's good because [00:16:40] I feel like it could get a little awkward if someone was like, oh, do you want to touch my face? Yeah. But, um, something too, I think we talked about this in another episode is the technology with blindness. Some people. Timothy that maybe you can't use a phone because you're blind.
So how can [00:17:00] you use the technology? Um, can you talk a little bit about what technology does actually does for you? Well, I
Timothy: had my technology, my phone is my technology. I don't own a computer anymore, uh, because of other health issues. I used to try to read through my, my glasses that I wore at the time. And I did some damage to my neck.
So I got [00:17:20] rid of my computer. So my computer is my iPhone. I can do my billing on there. I pay my bills. I do everything on my iPhone and there's a lot of. Apps that you can download doc D my eyes or are seen AI on your phone, which is great. It'll read letters to you. It can tell you what color your [00:17:40] clothes are.
And if you need to like turn on a oven, you can call, be my eyes and they'll help you adjust your oven to what temperature you need. It. It's an amazing. So there's a lot of technology and just your iPhone. That is a great tool. And that's, I use it every day. I've got two of them because I'm wearing one of them out right now [00:18:00] because I always, I'm always constantly on my phone doing stuff with Facebook and podcast and listening to my podcast and all kinds of stuff.
Leslie: You're absolutely right. So helpful. And I phone whatever kind of smartphone people are using it's accessible and it helps people [00:18:20] stay connected to the world and get their questions answered. A lot of the apps Timothy just mentioned are amazing, and that kind of goes back to living independently. Right?
A lot of people who are blind or visually. Live completely independently, just like Timothy was talking about all those different resources, setting your oven. If you need to borrow somebody that's eyes, there's [00:18:40] apps for that, or there's different things to help people read their mail or prescription bottles or shampoo, you know, and there's different techniques.
So for example, knowing the difference between your shampoo and conditioner. Size shape bottle. You know, you can put a rubber band around your shampoo and you know, the difference or there's a labeling tactics for matching socks [00:19:00] and having outfits that go together where there, you know, there's a way to do everything.
It just might be slightly different than what the majority of us do. Um, but people who are blind or visually impaired, completely live independently, and he was a lot of different assistive technology.
Christina: Yeah. And you know, talking about the technology, some people think. If you're [00:19:20] buying, you have to know how to read braille.
Timothy. Do
Leslie: you read brown?
Timothy: No, I'm illiterate with the job I had. I really cut my fingers open too many times. Uh, cause I used to work for glasses. I've made work, literally glass. So my tips of my fingers are kind of numb. So I can't feel [00:19:40] I can feel the braille, but I can't get the details of it. So I will never be able to read that.
Leslie: I would say the majority of clients I work with don't read braille. Um, and it really depends on when blindness happens. Right? So a lot of times, if you are born with blindness or it happens at a very early age, you are top rail, which is a really great resource. I would [00:20:00] always encourage people to learn braille, but it's not realistic for a lot of people.
Later on in life. Um, it's really hard to read those little dots with your fingertips, if you haven't been doing it. And it's definitely one of those skills that if you're not using it, you can lose it type thing. Um, it's helpful to kind of have a general idea of hot [00:20:20] braille Rooks, especially for restrooms or public buildings and things like that, to know your numbers and at least the difference between a w and an M, but not all people who are blind or visually impaired.
Use braille. And that doesn't mean that they don't read, um, a lot of times audio books and information via phones and the technology and things like that are [00:20:40] how our clients are reading. So people are also using large print, um, and magnifiers and different tools like that, but not everyone reads. Yeah.
And
Christina: that's such an interesting thing, because again, I'm going to go back to the movies. That's what you see in the movies. That's what you see in the TV shows. If someone's blind, they're reading. [00:21:00] And, you know, if you think about it, you go out into the world and there is not braille everywhere. So it would be hard if someone strictly relied on.
Leslie: And that's really Christina, where technology comes into. If you think about it, little tasks, like going to a restaurant, you and I walk in, it's very easy. Even like a coffee [00:21:20] shop we're planning to go to later. Um, they're probably going to have a big sign up with the menu and their options or a paper menu that they'll hand to us, and we can just read and find her options.
Somebody who is blind or visually impaired, even if they read braille, the chances of a restaurant, having a braille menu are very, very, very slim. Um, and that's where technology can really come in. You know, clients [00:21:40] can look up on their phone, the restaurant and look up their menu and use voiceover on their phone to kind of get all that information either prior to going to the restaurant or once they get there.
Um, a lot of restaurants now even have QR codes, which is really cool. And then, Hey, you know, have access on their phones. So. While braille is nice. You're right. It's not always [00:22:00] available as an option. So clients are still relying on that other resource or technology of some kind or somebody else for that matter.
Christina: Yeah. And I, I want to talk a little bit about guide dogs as well. Um, cause you know, Timothy, you have a glacier that when I came to leader dog and people ask me this now all the [00:22:20] time, and now that I know the truth, people think that these guide dogs, no. How to cross the street and read their Crosslight with.
Or the stop light or stop signs and signs people think, oh, the dog can read the sign. The dog knows when the light changes, but I don't think [00:22:40] that's true. You know,
Timothy: she goes by my command. I'm the one that's got to know when the cross. Like I said, that's something I learned when I went from my own Emmons training.
And, uh, it comes into working with the dog. You got to know where your blocker car is. You have to use your ears to know when to [00:23:00] go. Uh, if you're lucky enough to have a city that, uh, has the audible crosswalks, that's great. But I've got people's goes, how does he know where McDonald's is or anything? I go, no, I said it's like you getting in your car, your car.
Knows you you're guiding the car to go to McDonald's. [00:23:20] I do the same thing with my guide dog. I got to know where my surroundings are, where I am at, and I need to know where to get the point a, to go to B and a. So you are you're, you are in control of your guide dog, your guide dog doesn't know where you're going.
So that's another misconception. I mean, it's just the peoples and just education. These dogs are smart, but not that
Christina: smart. [00:23:40] And I love that you related it to drive in a car because you know, I get in my car. My car. I wish my car would just drive me where to go. They would be nicer, but you know, I have to put it in my GPS because most of the time, I don't know where I'm going and then I drive my car.
So it's just [00:24:00] kind of that same thing as well. I love that you said that because I think that's really relatable for people to Timothy. Have you ever had any, I guess funny experiences where someone has asked one of these questions that, you know, you almost had to laugh.
Timothy: Uh, I giggled it back two weeks ago.
We were like, that's where I brought the McDonald's up. I mean, we were at the [00:24:20] post office because I go, okay, glacier, let's go to McDonald's and it guys. Okay, cool. You just say where to go and go? No, just communicating with my dog. I know when I go at this door, I got to hang a left and crossed the street and they go left again.
And then there's, McDonald's, I'm just stating where we're going. But, uh, no, [00:24:40] she does not know how to get to point a to point B. I have to guide her and know where I'm doing. That's why it's important. I have my, uh, vote, vote, uh, Victor reader Trek that I got from leader dogs. And it tells me every time when I'm approaching the intersection and that way I can prepare myself, uh, to cross the street and stuff.
And so [00:25:00] I know exactly where I'm at and how far I've got to go to get to McDonald's.
Leslie: Yeah. And for those of you listening, a Victor reader, Trek is a accessible GPS device made by human where's the company. And we do give those out to all of our guide dog clients. They're really, really nice. It's like having the GPS on your phone or a Tom Tom in your car.
I don't know if Tom Tom's are even still [00:25:20] happening in people's cars, but the idea is that it's a GPS device, but it doesn't have a screen. So it's not showing you the route, you know, and whatnot. It's giving verbal instructions and directions. So it's telling Timothy, you know, he's at a four way intersection.
It's not telling him if it's light controlled or a stop sign controlled. And it's not telling him when to cross the street, [00:25:40] but it's telling him that he's at an intersection and it's telling him whether he needs to turn or go straight and things like that. And then Timothy decides when to cross, um, using his skills and things like that.
So how ideal would it be of glacier knew how to do all those things. Um, but you're right. Completely still on the client.
Timothy: Well, I love much, a lot about a [00:26:00] bit Victor reader Trek is, uh, it gives me a, like a 15. Uh, alert before I get to the intersection. So, uh, I know what the cause I'm going to feel where the tactiles are so I can stop glacier or, you know, to give her the command, the fine curb, you know, it gives me the alert and that may I can prepare before I get there.
And that is what [00:26:20] is so great about that Victor reader Trek. It is an amazing piece
Leslie: of equipment. That's awesome.
Christina: Good for people to know too, is that you have to tell the dog when to stop or when to turn or any of that, because I think some people think, oh, the dog's going to. Stop you from crossing the street or stop you from, you know, taking the [00:26:40] wrong turn and going to the place you're not supposed to be going.
Um, so I think that's important for people to know too, because they'll see the dogs out there and they're like, oh, that's so cool. That dog, those dogs are so smart, but they think they're even smarter. They are
Leslie: so Timothy, if you're standing at a corner, somebody sees you, maybe they're walking up, they [00:27:00] have to cross the same street or they're going something in the same direction.
What can they do to help if they wanted to offer assistance? What's the best thing they could do. Just grab your arm and cross with you.
Timothy: We are trying not to cross the street until we're alerted to, or we feel safe enough. And sometimes the best thing to do is not to do anything. I [00:27:20] all the time when I cry go to a crosswalk with glacier, it might be, I might get there before the light, across the street turns is the stop, but it says walk, but I don't walk.
And other people are still walking. I will cause the, the. He tells me not to walk. So I don't walk. I stop until it tells me I can cross that street. Cause [00:27:40] it gives me the full time across that street. But for somebody who's going to help somebody, uh, ask and just put your elbow out. That's how we do, uh, I guess it's called the human.
Does that term was them just grabbed their out and let them grab your elbow and then help them across the [00:28:00] street. And. That's about the helpfulness thing you can do if they need the help. And now some of us do and some of us don't, but, uh, for those people who'd be need help be kind about it that somebody offered to help you.
Christina: Yes, that's really important to know too. And, you know, for someone like me who I'm alerting. [00:28:20] As I go day in and day out in this job, Leslie went to school for it, intimacy. You're living it day to day. So what can I do as someone who's learning and wanting to share more things, I guess, what can I do in my day to day life?
Is there anything that you would, you wish people would do, um, every day who didn't know [00:28:40] about the blindness community or who's learning or who wants to help be an ally and support?
Timothy: Well, In some cases, they want to help too much. I want my little independence, which is great for me and the be patient with us and do not be afraid of it.
We're there. [00:29:00] We're not something to be afraid of. Cause I, I I've had many people be just scared to approach me when I eat, when I'd be out and about. And. It's nothing to be afraid about. We're normal people. We just, we're just a little bit different than you are. We, we don't, we can't see that's the only difference.
And, uh, it's just, [00:29:20] uh, there's nothing to be scared about us. And, um, that's about all I can tell.
Leslie: Yeah, I agree. Timothy. I think, uh, you know, I hear from a lot of clients and the biggest thing is just offer assistance. Ask if somebody needs your help, never assume that somebody who is blind or visually impaired needs your [00:29:40] assistance.
Um, they have lots of techniques and different ways of doing things, but if you happen to walk up to somebody that's, you know, getting ready to cross the street, you can just say, hi, you know, I'm here. Would you like some help or is there anything I can do to assist you? They may or may not accept that assistance.
Also. Don't be offended if somebody doesn't accept your help. [00:30:00] A lot of times too, clients are out there traveling independently and maintaining those skills. They want to do it themselves. Um, so just offer if they want help by all means, and then ask how they can, how you can best help them because people are gonna want assistance in different ways.
I had a
Timothy: friend one time who was crossing the street and the person grabbed their cane and [00:30:20] led them across the street with the cane. And that. The thinking of what you're doing to me, that's an insult. When you do something like that, if you're going to help somebody make it, make it kind, but don't make it an insult.
And that right there is a big no-no touching somebody cane.
Christina: I mean, that [00:30:40] could be like touching somebody's steering wheel. If we go back to the car thing, if someone's driving and you know, they're gonna run into something, I'm grabbing the scenery and wheel and. Turning them the other direction could actually cause more harm than good.
Absolutely. Which that is such a good thing to notice. And also to Timothy, you know, you touched on [00:31:00] your normal people, just like everybody else, you guys do daily tasks, just like everybody else. And I think sometimes, um, people, you know, if they see someone walking with a cane or a guide dog, they think they need to jump out of the way, get out of the way.
Avoid you, but that could be more isolating at least I think, [00:31:20] um, that if I were walking down the street and someone jumped out of the way, um, I guess, does that, has that ever happened to you, Timothy and you know, what should people do if you're walking down the street and if it's a small sidewalk, With
Timothy: glacier, uh, people will move out of the way and I'm thinking, why don't you just wait?
So she like, there'll be 10, [00:31:40] 15 feet away and let her work, let her finish her task. She will work her way around. He, she works off the left side. It's like, if we're walking down Walmart, she's working down the left side of that aisle. And she just, when we approach somebody, she just gets up. Two feet and it just works right around him.
They won't allow her to finish her [00:32:00] task. And a lot of people apologize. There's nothing to apologize. My dog is working normally it's just the way she was trained. And yes, people, you know, they jump out of the way and it makes me feel bad. Don't worry about, let us do what we need to do. You're not, we're not, we're not a terrible person.
We, [00:32:20] if we've got a cane or we got a guide that we are trained to be able to go out and society and travel independently, so we know what we're doing. And so just let us finish our tasks.
Leslie: And along with that, just another helpful tip. If you're in that situation or you see somebody who's blind or visually impaired traveling, one thing you can do is just say hi.[00:32:40]
That's super helpful because it lets the client know where you're at. Let them know that somebody is around. So if you're standing on the sidewalk or you're in that Walmart, I'll just say hi or good morning, something like that. The client most likely, or person will respond and then navigate around you say, oh, don't be quiet and kind of hold your [00:33:00] breath and stand off to the corner.
Just interact, say, hi, that's super helpful. And it's just kind a, so keep that in mind. Sometimes a
Timothy: kind word can help somebody.
Leslie: Yeah, exactly.
Christina: Always be kind. And I think this was just such an important conversation to have. I love hearing your experiences, Timothy, because I think it would just [00:33:20] great for anyone to know.
And for me to be reminded of these different things that happen and that I see happen at work
Leslie: every day. Absolutely. We're so excited that we got to an opportunity to chat about all these different things and, you know, bust or break or whatever we decided on some of these myths or misconceptions. So thank [00:33:40] you so much for listening to the, taking the lead podcast.
I'm your host, Leslie Hoskins with host Timothy Cuneo and Christina Hapner. We hope you enjoyed our deep dive into the myths and misconceptions about blindness, and we look forward to you joining us now. Yes. And if you
Christina: liked today's podcast, make sure to hit subscribe and check us out. [00:34:00] Wherever podcast stream .