Picture the scene: you see a visually impaired person clearly struggling to cross the road. You would like to help them but are unsure how to do this in a way that ensures their safety. How can you offer assistance without being awkward?

One Blackwood customer, Ronnie Wilkes, is helping to answer these questions. Hosted at Blackwood’s Head Office, Ronnie is taking the lead on a series of visual impairment training workshops. Visually impaired from birth, Ronnie had limited eyesight for a number of years. He attended a school for children who are visually impaired where he learned to read braille. His eyesight then deteriorated until he lost his sight altogether. He currently does training in blindness awareness for various organisations, and is an active campaigner for accessibility in Edinburgh.

His training methods focus on helping people better understand how blind and visually impaired people experience the world and the appropriate way to lend a hand. The training includes a demonstration of several tools available for assisting in everyday life, such as a light/colour sensor; a device which allows you to record and read labels; and bathroom and kitchen scales which read out the measurements. He also gives introductory lessons to braille and demonstrates his braille typewriter (while lamenting the decline in the skill).

The most striking part of the training involves two people teaming up and taking it in turns to guide a “visually impaired” person – wearing various pairs of glasses/goggles that simulate various different types of visual impairment – around the building, up and down a flight of stairs, and into a chair.

Whilst the staff participating on the training session enjoyed the novelty of the experience, this training is far more than just a fun activity. The training that Ronnie provides instils a vital knowledge and understanding to help bridge a gap and reduce the risk of isolation.

What common mistakes do you see people make when trying to help someone who’s visually impaired? Add yours in the comments section.