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HFS Volunteer Sighted-Guide Training
Welcome to the Hearts For Sight Eco-Therapeutic Program for the Blind and Visually Impaired. We appreciate your openness to learning more about our community and experiences, and for contributing support towards the health and wellbeing of visually impaired people (VIPs).
Description of Activity and Role of a Sighted-Guide
During our sighted-guide training, you will be working in collaboration with members of our blind and visually impaired community to create a safe, engaging and fun recreational experience. Your role as supporters and allies begins with an openness to understanding that there will be a spectrum of experiences and needs expressed by this community. This means that your role and responses will vary from participant to participant. Our aim during this training and practice session is to impart you with information that will facilitate appropriate and meaningful engagement while we navigate through disabling perceptions and environments together.
Some General Information About Our Blind and Visually Impaired Community
- Our community and experiences are complex and diverse.
- We encompass diverse levels of sight, ocular conditions, disabilities, and orientation and mobility experience.
- We encompass various ages, genders, ethnicities, sexual orientations and social classes.
Some Do’s and Don’ts
Below is a list of Do’s and Don’ts that will hopefully help to introduce some important needs and values of our blind and visually impaired community:
- DO understand that the blind and visually impaired community contains a wide spectrum of abilities and independence that are not directly related to quantity or quality of sight.
- DON’T assume that a person with a white cane needs a sighted-guide.
- DO respect the bodies, personal space and choices of people who are blind or have low vision.
- DO approach the person, introduce yourself, and ask if they need a sighted-guide.
- DON’T grab the person you are guiding by the hand, arm, shoulder, or cane and try to steer them.
- DO allow the person to manage their white cane or guide dog.
- DON’T grab the person’s cane or the handle of a guide dog’s harness.
- DO use directional and descriptive language such as straight ahead, behind you, on your left or right, in 5 feet, at 2 o’clock, or even cardinal directions for more advanced navigators.
- DON’T point, or use “sighted language” such as, over there or over here, right here or right there, that way or this way.
- DO provide a clear picture when describing things to an individual with vision loss. Include details such as color, texture, shape and landmarks.
- DO touch them on the arm or use their name when addressing them. This lets them know you are speaking to them, and not someone else.
- DON’T assume an individual with sight loss knows you are talking to them. Address them by their name when speaking to them.
- DO respect that guide dog users know how to manage and take care of their companions.
- DON’T pet, feed, or talk to guide dogs when they are in harness.