The Musical Autist

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo

Creating Platforms for Autistic Culture and Advocacy through Community Music Therapy

  • About Us
    • What is a “musical autist”?
  • Elevating Autistic Musicians
  • Blog & Announcements
  • Sensory Friendly Concerts
  • Empowerment Jam Sessions
  • Troupes
Subscribe to our newsletter and blog posts

Sunny Writes: 5 Dos & Don’ts When Working With a Blind Person

August 8, 2018 by Sunny 4 Comments

 

Five Things You Should NOT Do:

One. It is important not to help a blind person unless they ask for it. For example, I don’t like when people pick up my cane every time I put it on the floor. That is holding a blind person back from being as independent as possible. If a blind person is struggling with the task, let them work through it. If assistance is needed, the blind person will ask for it. Blind people should work through everyday tasks and learn to adapt to their environment.

Two. Never send pictures or videos in the form of a text message on a blind person’s device. Usually their device cannot read them. Unfortunately, voiceover does not audibly describe picture messages or play videos.

Three. Never turn on the light for a blind person. A blind person does not need the light on. This is another example of how a sighted person unnecessarily provides assistance to a blind person.

Four. Never put objects in the walkway because the blind person can trip over them. Imagine putting on a blindfold and walking through your own house. Now, imagine putting on a blindfold and walking through a stranger’s house or unfamiliar place. It is important to keep the walkway clear so that the blind person has the most accessibility in a new environment.

Five. Do not touch a blind person’s belongings unless given permission. It is important to respect a blind person’s possessions as you would with any other person. If a blind person needs assistance with one of their belongings, they will ask.

Five Things You SHOULD Do:

One. Give detailed descriptions of visual concepts including pictures, videos, etc. It is important to provide these descriptions when there is no dialogue in the video. It helps the blind person understand the context of the plot.

Two. When you talk about a visual concept, it is good to compare it to a sound or auditory concept. This helps blind people understand because they experience things through sound. For example, if a blind person is doing something that may be visually distracting, a sighted person can explain their behavior to them by comparing it to something that is audibly distracting.

Three. Allow the blind person to hold onto your elbow when you are guiding them from place to place, such as crowded places and traffic light intersections. This is called sighted guide. Allowing the blind person to hold onto your elbow as opposed to pushing them from behind helps them be directly in step along side the sighted person at a normal pace.

Four. Encourage the blind person to use their cane more and hold onto your arm less when traveling anywhere there is a sidewalk. This encourages independence in traveling and sharpens their cane skills.

Five. Speak in a normal voice to a blind person. This type of voice includes a volume, speed, and pitch that you would use in a normal conversation with anyone else. If a blind person is in danger, speak to them calmly and make them aware of the situation.

It is important to me to empower blind people to overcome obstacles and not be held back. When blind people are included in society, it makes the world so much better. Everybody can enjoy the same things whether you are blind or sighted.

 

Share & Comment:

  • Tweet

Filed Under: Sunny's Writings

Comments

  1. Ann-Marie Koger says

    August 9, 2018 at 7:06 am

    Thanks, Sunny! I like to included detailed descriptions of visual images for the non-sighted people when communicating in group messages. That way they are included in the normal flow of communication and get the full meaning of what I’m trying to say. It’s a good reminder to also make sound experience associations! Sharing your perspective always helps broaden mine – thank you!

    Reply
    • Sunny Cefaratti says

      August 28, 2018 at 10:49 am

      You’re welcome. I’m glad that I can help and be a good source of education to others.

      Reply
  2. Carol Diachenko says

    August 16, 2018 at 6:40 am

    Excellent article, Sunny! Thank you for the insight to the world of the blind!

    Reply
    • Sunny Cefaratti says

      August 28, 2018 at 10:55 am

      You’re welcome, Carol. I’m glad I could help.

      Reply

Share Your Comments & Feedback: Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

elevatingautisticmusicians

11

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Mar 15

Open
Last Main Street Wauchula open mic of the season. Finished it out with a bang @mainstreetwauchula

Last Main Street Wauchula open mic of the season. Finished it out with a bang @mainstreetwauchula ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Mar 12

Open
Do you have stage fright? As an autistic musician I struggled with this a lot. Even neurotypical people suffer from stage fright. Learn how to change your mindset and overcome this in our newest blog article. As always...link in bio.

Do you have stage fright? As an autistic musician I struggled with this a lot. Even neurotypical people suffer from stage fright. Learn how to change your mindset and overcome this in our newest blog article. As always...link in bio. ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Mar 3

Open
How @jennifermsumba turned a quirky little song she wrote into an award winning film! Link in bio. @disabilityfilmchallenge @eastersealssocal @nicnovicki @elevatingautisticmusicians #autisticmusician #filmmaking #songwriting #originalmusic

How @jennifermsumba turned a quirky little song she wrote into an award winning film! Link in bio. @disabilityfilmchallenge @eastersealssocal @nicnovicki @elevatingautisticmusicians #autisticmusician #filmmaking #songwriting #originalmusic ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 23

Open
NEW blog post about co-songwriting and autism, link in bio. “I can hear it.” He said. And he started playing some chords on his guitar as I shyly sang the melody I had been thinking of. From there we took off! Verse and chorus ideas were flowing. I was contributing even more lines from my book and other new lines right on the spot! We were smiling and laughing and singing. When it came time to write the bridge, the melody and phrasing came up through me and we wrote the lines in minutes! What a beautiful moment in time. #songwriting #songwritingsession #autism #autisticmusician @rebrandingautism @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist

NEW blog post about co-songwriting and autism, link in bio. “I can hear it.” He said. And he started playing some chords on his guitar as I shyly sang the melody I had been thinking of. From there we took off! Verse and chorus ideas were flowing. I was contributing even more lines from my book and other new lines right on the spot! We were smiling and laughing and singing. When it came time to write the bridge, the melody and phrasing came up through me and we wrote the lines in minutes! What a beautiful moment in time. #songwriting #songwritingsession #autism #autisticmusician @rebrandingautism @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 18

Open
What is our new program Elevating Autistic Musicians all about?
#autism #music #autisticmusicians @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist

What is our new program Elevating Autistic Musicians all about?
#autism #music #autisticmusicians @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist
...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 17

Open
Get to know autistic musician Sunny Ceferatti and Learn more about Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch in our newest blog article! Link in bio. 
Photo description: Young Asian woman sitting on a couch chair in front of a fire place. Photo text says- Music has had a positive impact on me. I can’t really articulate the emotions that I feel about when I’m really into a song. My voice gets louder and I guess my emotions would be like passion. And like if the song has really powerful lyrics, yeah. I can connect with them. A quote by Sunny Ceferatti #autism #autisticmusicians #perfectpitch #relativepitch #music #musician @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist @sunnycefaratti @rebrandingautism

Get to know autistic musician Sunny Ceferatti and Learn more about Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch in our newest blog article! Link in bio.
Photo description: Young Asian woman sitting on a couch chair in front of a fire place. Photo text says- Music has had a positive impact on me. I can’t really articulate the emotions that I feel about when I’m really into a song. My voice gets louder and I guess my emotions would be like passion. And like if the song has really powerful lyrics, yeah. I can connect with them. A quote by Sunny Ceferatti #autism #autisticmusicians #perfectpitch #relativepitch #music #musician @elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist @sunnycefaratti @rebrandingautism
...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 8

Open
Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch- when I was 14 years old, I discovered my ability to play songs by ear. We were visiting my brother at his college, and when we entered one of the buildings and I heard the most beautiful piano music being played. I immediately recognized it as George Winston’s “Joy”. I had always wanted to be able to play his music, but at the time he did not print sheets. So I asked this young man, how did you learn that? And he shrugged his shoulders and said “I just listened to it”. The whole ride home I thought about what he said while listening to GW’s December album on my CD Walkman lol. I said to myself, “I can do that too”. Follow us here and on our website (link in bio) for my upcoming article with the rest of this story. I will also discuss Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch, which one I have, and the differences between them. You can also follow me at @rebrandingautism @georgewinstonpiano #autisticmusician #autismandmusic #perfectpitch

Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch- when I was 14 years old, I discovered my ability to play songs by ear. We were visiting my brother at his college, and when we entered one of the buildings and I heard the most beautiful piano music being played. I immediately recognized it as George Winston’s “Joy”. I had always wanted to be able to play his music, but at the time he did not print sheets. So I asked this young man, how did you learn that? And he shrugged his shoulders and said “I just listened to it”. The whole ride home I thought about what he said while listening to GW’s December album on my CD Walkman lol. I said to myself, “I can do that too”. Follow us here and on our website (link in bio) for my upcoming article with the rest of this story. I will also discuss Relative Pitch vs. Perfect Pitch, which one I have, and the differences between them. You can also follow me at @rebrandingautism @georgewinstonpiano #autisticmusician #autismandmusic #perfectpitch ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 6

Open
An autistic adults thoughts on Sia’s new film ‘music’ which casts a neurotypical actress as an autistic character. Follow our link in bio for the full article. Written by: @rebrandingautism  @siamusic #autism @communication_first #autisticmusician @disabilityfilmchallenge

An autistic adults thoughts on Sia’s new film ‘music’ which casts a neurotypical actress as an autistic character. Follow our link in bio for the full article. Written by: @rebrandingautism @siamusic #autism @communication_first #autisticmusician @disabilityfilmchallenge ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Feb 5

Open
🎹🎸🎤🎧A quote from today’s blog post by @rebrandingautism Click link in bio for the full story written by autistic musician, writer and filmmaker Jennifer Msumba. Follow us here for lots more content to come written by and for #autistic musicians! #autisticmusician #autism #autismacceptance #music

🎹🎸🎤🎧A quote from today’s blog post by @rebrandingautism Click link in bio for the full story written by autistic musician, writer and filmmaker Jennifer Msumba. Follow us here for lots more content to come written by and for #autistic musicians! #autisticmusician #autism #autismacceptance #music ...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Jan 26

Open
Everybody, meet Jade!

Jade Excell is a 12 year old autistic student musician from Maryland. She has been studying with Groove Studios - Ukulele , druming and singing in a disability inclusive music program and at the Academy of fine Arts in Gaithersburg, classical piano. She has been playing in talent shows in her school and community for the last 5 years and in 2020 was accepted to be part of the Maryland Fine Arts office yearly Celebration of artists. Jade was accepted into the Middle School Percussion Ensemble at Mason Community Arts Academy, George Mason University in 2019 to play percussion. Jade released 6 cover songs when she was only  8 on Spotify of her favourite songs. She has since learnt by ear her favourite songs from Nickjr, Disneyjr on ukulele and shared those on her instagram @Jadie_autistic_musician and facebook pages- Autismgirlsandmusic. She loves kid music, R& B music and classical music. Jade you rock!! 🎹🥁🎤 #autisticmusician #elevatingautisticmusicians #autism #musician

Everybody, meet Jade!

Jade Excell is a 12 year old autistic student musician from Maryland. She has been studying with Groove Studios - Ukulele , druming and singing in a disability inclusive music program and at the Academy of fine Arts in Gaithersburg, classical piano. She has been playing in talent shows in her school and community for the last 5 years and in 2020 was accepted to be part of the Maryland Fine Arts office yearly Celebration of artists. Jade was accepted into the Middle School Percussion Ensemble at Mason Community Arts Academy, George Mason University in 2019 to play percussion. Jade released 6 cover songs when she was only 8 on Spotify of her favourite songs. She has since learnt by ear her favourite songs from Nickjr, Disneyjr on ukulele and shared those on her instagram @Jadie_autistic_musician and facebook pages- Autismgirlsandmusic. She loves kid music, R& B music and classical music. Jade you rock!! 🎹🥁🎤 #autisticmusician #elevatingautisticmusicians #autism #musician
...

elevatingautisticmusicians

View

Jan 17

Open
Today we would like to feature Micah @rock_on_micah who is a 19 year old autistic musician. He has had a love for music for many years and he started an all  music YouTube channel in June 2020. Together with his dad they are a two man band called The Positive Autism. Micah is on vocals, keyboards and harmonica. His dad plays guitar and bass. They write and produce original songs, covers and even take requests! In November Micah released his first album of original songs called Autism Rocks! I Am Micah on iTunes, Amazon and all the digital platforms. Way to go Micah!! You can also find him on his YouTube channel Autism Rocks- Music by the Positive Autism. Micah thank you so much for sharing your talent and your story with us 😃 #autisticmusician #elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist

Today we would like to feature Micah @rock_on_micah who is a 19 year old autistic musician. He has had a love for music for many years and he started an all music YouTube channel in June 2020. Together with his dad they are a two man band called The Positive Autism. Micah is on vocals, keyboards and harmonica. His dad plays guitar and bass. They write and produce original songs, covers and even take requests! In November Micah released his first album of original songs called Autism Rocks! I Am Micah on iTunes, Amazon and all the digital platforms. Way to go Micah!! You can also find him on his YouTube channel Autism Rocks- Music by the Positive Autism. Micah thank you so much for sharing your talent and your story with us 😃 #autisticmusician #elevatingautisticmusicians @themusicalautist ...

Follow on Instagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins
Error: Access Token is not valid or has expired. Feed will not update.

 

Connect With Us

Want to keep up with everything that's going on at The Musical Autist? Follow us across our Social Networks.
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo

Recent Blog Posts

  • Troupe 2022 Cookout!
  • Support Neurodivergent Musicians!
  • Autism and the Artistic Eye
  • SWAP Autistic Acceptance Compilation Album Blog Post

Copyright ©  2020 The Musical Autist · All Rights Reserved · Log in