So you have a new coworker who is blind or visually impaired…now what?  It’s not uncommon to have honest questions.  The information below is intended to give you some simple tips on how to talk to, assist, work with and generally better understand a colleague who is blind or visually impaired. 

    Disabilities in the Workplace

• Laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guarantee nondiscrimination and equal treatment in work-related situations—not “special treatment”.

• A blind person would not be in a certain job if he or she was not qualified.

• People who are blind or visually impaired may use a variety of assistive technology equipment on the job to access a computer, to read printed material, and to write and take notes.

• With the proper accommodations, a person who is blind or visually impaired can and should be held to the same standards as other employees.
  
  Quick Facts on Blindness and Visual Impairment

• There are over 10 million blind and visually impaired people living in the United States ; 1.3 million of them are considered “legally blind”.

• To be considered “legally blind”, a person must have a visual acuity below 20/200 or a visual field of less than 20 degrees.

• Legal blindness does not necessarily mean total blindness.  In fact, 80 percent of people who are legally blind have some remaining vision.

• Slightly over half of the people who are blind or visually impaired are over the age of 65.

• Approximately 10% of people who are blind read Braille; the rest either read enlarged print or rely on audio options to access printed material.

• Visual impairments may vary in type and severity; some examples of vision loss include:

• Some people may be able to read print but may be unable to see people coming toward them on the other side of a hallway because of “tunnel vision” or loss of visual field.

• Some might have “night-blindness” or difficulty seeing in certain lighting.

• Some visually impaired people may have lost their central vision and must view things using their peripheral or “eccentric” vision.

• Some people who are visually impaired only have “light perception,” which means that they are unable to see shapes, colors and details, but can detect changes in lighting.
  
  Quick Facts on Deaf-Blind

• It is estimated that there are as many as 40,000 deaf-blind individuals in the United States.

• Deaf-blind people have excelled at careers in a variety of fields, including customer service, accounting, food service, information technology, data entry and administration.

• Some people who are deaf-blind may have some hearing or vision; some may use sign language while others may have enough hearing to carry on conversations in quiet areas.

• A deaf-blind person might use a variety of communication methods, such as print-on-palm, fingerspelling, American Sign Language (ASL), Braille or writing with a bold, black pen.
  
  Quick Facts on Traveling

• About 35 percent of people who are blind or visually impaired use a white cane to get around and two percent use a guide dog.

• The majority of people who are visually impaired use no visible mobility aids like a cane or a dog.  Many have had orientation and mobility training that teaches them how to use their remaining vision and/or other senses to travel safely and independently.
  
  White Canes
  Using a long white cane when walking allows someone who is blind to locate objects in his or her environment, such as steps, curbs, doorways, people, chairs and tables. The cane is long enough to be about two steps ahead of the person’s feet when walking in order to find things with the cane before actually getting to them. There are canes of all sizes and some white canes fold up or collapse for convenience.
  
  Guide Dogs
  Some people who are blind travel with a guide dog that is specially trained to move around things, locate doorways, and stop at curbs and stairs. The blind person using the dog is always in charge and must tell the dog what to do.  Never pet or distract a guide dog when it’s working.  Guide dogs are not pets and must go through rigorous training so that they behave appropriately; this includes not barking or getting distracted by other dogs, food or environmental disruptions.
  
  Assistive Technology for Low Vision
  Examples of assistive technology that a person who is visually impaired might use in the workplace include screen magnification software, low vision aids such as magnifying glasses and telescopes, and video magnifiers.
  
  Assistive Technology for No Vision
  Individuals who have less sight might use screen reading software and refreshable Braille displays when using the computer, portable note-takers to take the place of a pen and paper, Braille typewriters, optical character recognition systems and scanners.