Catalan Association for the Blind
and Visually Impaired
(A C C D V)
News
The Social Studies Classroom (Aula d'Estudis Socials - AES) is a non-profit organization whose goal is the training of professionals, students, children and society in general, in all sorts of social problems, significantly emphasizing the field of people with disabilities.
Advice for family and friends of a visually impaired person
Bellow you will find some basic but very useful advice for people who are close to someone who has recently suffered a drastic visual loss:
1. Get information about your relative's visual diminution
It is fundamental to know the person's oftalmic and medical situation in general. You must know the pathology that affects them: name, syntomatology, its likely evolution, as well as the possible alternative treatments and their consequences and secondary effects.
2. Never think there is a cause and effect relationship with the diminution
People often look for a cause to explain the diminution, a reason to justify what happened. A diminution is not justifiable. It isn't fair for people to suffer them, but, once they have happened, they must be taken as a fact because none of the causes we may find will mitigate the feeling of injustice they suppose.
3. Stay very close to your relative and give them emotional support
The need to act we feel facing the impotence a diminution causes can and should be channeled showing the person affection in order to emotionally strengthten them and us, because this attitude will help us overcome the above mentioned feeling of impotence.
4. Never be overprotective
The devotion towards a relative often leads to overprotection, especially if the relative is our child - because all perents have a slight tendency to this. In the case of visually impaired people, we must avoid it because they need a great deal of additional stimuli, since their hands and ears are their eyes. Therefore, you must be willing to admit a greater level of risk as acceptable in order not to interrupt the person's normal development.
5. Learn the same techniques your relative does
In order to better understand our relative's needs and be able to support them in their learning, we must learn the same techniques they learn as handicapped. This is especially important when it comes to communication and moving around. In addition, we must learn other techniques as accompanists to facilitate their movements without overwhelming them.
1. Get information about your relative's visual diminution
It is fundamental to know the person's oftalmic and medical situation in general. You must know the pathology that affects them: name, syntomatology, its likely evolution, as well as the possible alternative treatments and their consequences and secondary effects.
2. Never think there is a cause and effect relationship with the diminution
People often look for a cause to explain the diminution, a reason to justify what happened. A diminution is not justifiable. It isn't fair for people to suffer them, but, once they have happened, they must be taken as a fact because none of the causes we may find will mitigate the feeling of injustice they suppose.
3. Stay very close to your relative and give them emotional support
The need to act we feel facing the impotence a diminution causes can and should be channeled showing the person affection in order to emotionally strengthten them and us, because this attitude will help us overcome the above mentioned feeling of impotence.
4. Never be overprotective
The devotion towards a relative often leads to overprotection, especially if the relative is our child - because all perents have a slight tendency to this. In the case of visually impaired people, we must avoid it because they need a great deal of additional stimuli, since their hands and ears are their eyes. Therefore, you must be willing to admit a greater level of risk as acceptable in order not to interrupt the person's normal development.
5. Learn the same techniques your relative does
In order to better understand our relative's needs and be able to support them in their learning, we must learn the same techniques they learn as handicapped. This is especially important when it comes to communication and moving around. In addition, we must learn other techniques as accompanists to facilitate their movements without overwhelming them.
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