When you assist someone who is visually impaired with mobility, this technique will be helpful. Following these steps will allow you to successfully guide someone with a visual impairment.
The Human Guide Technique is popularly accepted as the safest, most efficient way for a person with a visual impairment to walk with a sighted person.
The Human Guide Technique is appropriate for all situations – in stores, at busy street corners and in restaurants.
ESTABLISHING CONTACT
Let the visually impaired person know who you are, and ask if assistance is needed. Never grab the arm of a person who has a vision impairment. If you have a mobility impairment, for safety reasons, be sure to inform the person of your disability.
TO GUIDE, EXTEND YOUR ARMTO GUIDE, EXTEND YOUR ARM
While extending your arm to touch the visually impaired person’s hand, suggest that the individual take your arm. Guide with either your right or left arm, which can either hang straight at your side or bend at the elbow.
The person with a vision impairment will grip your arm just above the elbow with the thumb on one side and fingers on the other side pointing straight ahead.
If you use a crutch, support cane or quad cane, offer your arm on the side opposite your mobility aid. If you use a wheelchair, have the person hold onto your chair’s push handles.
BODY POSITION
As the guide, you should be about a half step ahead of the visually impaired person. If you use a wheelchair, the person with the vision impairment should walk centered directly behind the wheelchair. If your wheelchair is motorized, be sure to maneuver at the lowest speed.
By using these techniques, you will be able to maintain a conversation, and you will also be the first person to encounter any obstacles. The person who is blind or visually impaired will react to the movement of your arm or wheelchair and any verbal cues you give.
PACE
Walk at a rate comfortable for both of you and appropriate for the situation and place.
NARROW SPACES
When approaching a narrow space, alert the visually impaired person. Then swing your arm, which the visually impaired person is holding, to behind your back so the two of you are walking single file.
STAIRS
When coming to stairs, inform the person who is visually impaired, noting whether the stairs go up or down and if there is a railing. Have the visually impaired person switch to your side that is closest to the railing. Describe the stairs as steep, shallow, narrow, broad or curved. The guide makes the first step with the person being guided following behind by one step.
Tell the visually impaired person when you are at a landing and when you have reached the top or bottom of the flight of stairs.
DOORS
When approaching a door, let the visually impaired person know whether it swings away from you or toward you.
Indicate if the visually impaired person should catch the swinging door on the left or the right. As you approach the door, the side with the hinges is the side on which to catch it. So ask the visually impaired person to switch to your side that is closest to the hinge-side of the door.
This is a complicated skill and not everyone you guide will catch the door as you go through it.
SEATING
Bring the visually impaired person into contact with the chair/seat while you describe the part of the chair being touched (back, front, arm). Be specific. Describe it as a sofa, stool, swivel chair or rocker. Allow the visually impaired person to seat him or herself.
TURNING AROUND
To reverse your direction, simply turn around, maintaining the same grip and body position. The person you are guiding will follow the movement of your arm.
IMPORTANT COMMUNICATION
As a guide, always tell the person being guided if you are going to leave, even briefly. Avoid leaving a visually impaired person alone in space as this can be disorienting. Put the individual in touch with someone or something such as a piece of furniture or the wall.
If you run into any difficulty, do not be afraid to ask the person with the vision impairment how you should proceed. As always, communication is the key!
People with and without mobility impairments can be guides.
Because guides should never compromise their own safety, this role is not recommended for people with unstable balance or for people using walkers or bilateral crutches.
Consistent use of these techniques is one way to make living in the community easier and safer for individuals who are blind or visually impaired.
If questions come up regarding the Human Guide Technique, we would appreciate that you bring them to the attention of a Clovernook mobility instructor for clarification.
Clovernook Center for Blind and Visually Impaired's website has been designed to be as accessible as possible to all website visitors. As such this website has been created to be accessible to those with varying degrees of visual impairment and has been found to be compliant using the former Watchfire WebXact and Bobby systems. This site strives to be accessible to all, if you have found content that you are having difficulty accessing, please contact us at accessibility@clovernook.org and we will address the issue.
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