Sighted and Blind – Comfortable Living
Many parents of blind children may think about the day their child will become an adult. No one lives forever, and independence from an early age is something that the sooner you can provide, the better. Today we’ll discuss how to create comfortable living conditions for sighted and blind people in an apartment. These tips will also be useful in situations where someone loses their vision later in life.
Close the doors, please!
Someone might say it sounds more like a cry from a stubbed little toe. But no, it’s more like a blind person’s cry after they’ve bumped their forehead into a half-open bathroom door.
A simple rule of keeping doors in the apartment closed can significantly increase safety for all inhabitants and greatly improve the life of blind people. After all, only visually can one easily determine the degree of a door’s openness, and if the budget and desire to refresh the interior allow, consider installing sliding doors, as they are much easier to control.
The golden rule of the cupboard
We recommend keeping all cupboards in the house closed and try to close the door immediately after use. This will help maintain order and avoid unnecessary problems.
“Evil things have hurt us!”
The advice in this section works both ways.
Try not to leave small items like chairs, boxes, backpacks, and the most dreaded – buckets of water in unexpected places, such as in the middle of a room, corridor, or kitchen.
Tall containers in unexpected places, a full mug or glass on the edge of a table – sound familiar? At some point, you might accidentally knock them over, and you’re lucky if nothing spills on your devices.
In a family with blind members, the likelihood of such incidents increases several times. We recommend that both blind and sighted people avoid creating conditions for such situations.
Daily Life
There’s no need to limit a blind person from domestic daily life and only invite them to the kitchen to eat. It’s important to remember that everything should have its place. Placed a coffee jar in the right cabinet? Don’t move it. Salt is on the lower shelf and sugar on the top? Let it always be so, and all family members should maintain this order. Long handles on pans, coffee pots, and ladles should be turned so that they do not extend beyond the working surface (table or stove), which will help minimize the risk of burns or accidentally dropping the cookware.
Blind people can also use household appliances comfortably. There are many smart appliances with voice assistant control, such as Yandex’s Alice, which can be controlled from a mobile device. Additionally, there is special household equipment for the blind with voice guidance or tactile images. Always consult with blind family members when choosing various common appliances. For example, touch control is less convenient for a blind user, but if the mechanical option is much worse and less productive or even non-existent in our high-tech age, then try to choose a touch screen that makes a sound upon response. Special tactile markers can be applied to such screens for orientation.
These are just some of the tips on making life with a blind person more convenient for everyone. Finally, a note to parents of blind children: remember that overprotection will not lead to good results. For people who have lost their sight in adulthood, it’s important to gradually accept oneself and adapt to everyday tasks. There are many opportunities ahead of you!