Straight Talk

Simon answers questions that sighted people want to know about blindness. His video demonstrates how to use a Braille computer called a BrailleNote.

My name is Simon. I have been blind since birth from Retinopathy of Prematurity. This article aims to discuss the many misconceptions people have about blindness, which I have experienced and how to correct them. The basic thing to understand about anyone with a disability is that we are human and want to be valued, accepted, and contribute to society. The only difference is we have a disability. We adapt our techniques, tools, and processes to function as productive members of society successfully.

People need to understand that we didn't just wake up one day with cane skills, tech skills, etc. We had the training to adapt and learn how to do things differently. Many people look at me and have said if they went blind, they would not be able to do all the things I do in my life. Of course, you wouldn't do the exact same things I do, but the correct answer here is yes, you would be able to adapt your life to whatever you want to do.

I've talked a lot about people treating me differently because I am blind, but I haven't really talked about precisely what they do. Most people simply don't know anything about blindness because it is such a low incidence disability. Not only do they not know anything about blindness, but they also assume that I can't do anything on my own. The truth is, I can do a lot on my own. I use a lot of technology to complete many tasks. All my technology has something called a screen reader, which reads everything on my screen. A screen reader allows me to use devices such as iPhone, Android, Windows, and Mac. Most people know of Braille, but don't really know how it is used. I use a digital Braille computer called a Braille Note that allows me to type in Braille and use a Braille display to read back what I've written.

The other thing people really don't understand is how I travel. I have found many times when I am crossing a street, walking down a street, or anywhere else outside, people will feel the need to grab and drag me where they think I'm going. This is not only very disorienting but very unnecessary. Firstly, the person grabbing me does not know where I am trying to go. There may be times when I will need help, but it needs to be on my own terms.

Another thing that people don't seem to understand is how to interact with blind people in social settings. I have been in many social situations where sighted people feel awkward to approach me because they think they will say the wrong thing and I will be offended, so they don't say anything at all. This makes it very hard for me to converse in social settings where people don't approach me, because I don't always know they are there. Like I said at the beginning of this article, I am human, and I don't bite. I like the same things most people like and love to converse. Sometimes, people that do approach me in social settings, treat me as a delicate flower mainly because they think they shouldn't say things like “see”, “look”, “watch”, etc. This is simply not true.. I use these words every day as they are just a part of speech.

The last thing I will talk about is TV shows and movies. Lots of people think that I can't watch TV or any movies because I am blind. This is not true. I love watching TV and movies and do it quite a lot. I use something called audio description. This service describes all the actions that are not spoken dialogue in a show. Many shows have this feature, but many shows do not have it, and in that case I will either have someone describe the visual actions to me, or just watch the show and get what I can out of it. I hope this article was informational and entertaining. Just remember, although I am blind, I have a lot of vision!.

Simon, Pennsylvania

Freshman in college

Simon moderates some episodes on the podcast Blind Abilities, which can be found on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or by clicking this link.

One of the episodes that Simon moderated was called "Locked Down and Distance Learning" in which blind students described how they have transitioned to virtual learning.