The Issues Of The Blind Integration Into The Society

“I felt so abandoned. And after I got used to it, I was told it was time for me to leave. So I went to the American University of Beirut but there was nothing and no one to help me. I didn’t know how to get along with the sighted.” Amer Makem, now head of the Youth Association for the Blind, was one of the many visually impaired who had difficulties integrating into society. In our world, the blind grow up segregated away from the rest of the society, they do not get to experience what their sighted counterparts experience. Not only that, they are also denied many opportunities just because of the social stigma attached to blindness. Hence, there is a need to help the blind integrate into the society through various measures, mainly, ensuring that they are able to perform everyday tasks, have improved access to education and to reduce the workplace discrimination against them.

Many blind people have difficulties performing everyday tasks. 25 million people with visual impairments account that they have difficulties in performing everyday tasks due to their limited vision. These daily tasks, which are often taken for granted by the fully sighted, such as shaving, cooking, or even selecting outfits, can be overwhelming and burdensome to them. This can be exemplified from observing the technological challenges that they face. The rate of technological advancement is increasing with time and society is constantly looking to create and develop ways to live easier. However, the blind are not as included in this as the sighted are. In fact, sometimes, the easier it is for the sighted, the harder it will be for the blind. Being blind poses many difficulties for people to use the internet. For example, someone who is blind will not be able to read the information on a web page directly. Instead, it is necessary for the visually impaired to rely on screen reading software to have their information read aloud. This can make surfing the web a cumbersome and even inconvenient process. Hence, it shows that the ergonomics of essentials can be better customized to increase the independence of the blind so as to allow for their better integration into society. The first school that focused on the proper education of the visually impaired is the Yorkshire School for the Blind that was only, finally established in 1835, it taught reading, writing and arithmetic. This seemingly irrelevant information actually emphasizes the lack of development of education for the blind and illustrates how lacking the education system for the blind is. Conventionally, visually impaired students have three pathways to choose from: traditional K-12 schools, residential schools for the blind, or home schooling. Only 10 to 20 percent of all school-age visually impaired pupils are educated in residential settings even though this option is highly beneficial to their growth.

Instead, there are many people losing this hugely advantageous educational option because of the lack of local resources, etc. Furthermore, the cost of educating students in a residential setting is 5 to 7 times higher than the cost of attending a neighborhood public or charter school, this is extremely costly and may not be affordable to all. At this age, 80 to 90 percent of all school-age visually impaired students attend public schools. However, some of these public schools do not provide instructional assistants or personal aides for students with very low or no vision even though these personal aides are very vital to the students’ education.

Furthermore, the tools used to aid the blind’s education are also very costly. Adebayo Gbadamosi, the chairman of the Kwara State branch of the National Association of Blind People in Nigeria, has expressed that the education of the blind in the country has been affected by the high cost of Braille machines. (TEO, 2017) Many parents of blind children are not able to afford the product that was being sold for N150,000 a set. By comparing the price of the Braille machine to a family’s monthly rent for an apartment, the severity of this issue can be comprehended easier. The monthly rent of a 1 bedroom apartment in the City Centre and outside the center is N259,666 and N161,923 respectively. This means that a family would have to forsake the shelter over their heads for a month just for a learning tool. Hence, it is clear that the education for the blind should be improved in order for them to integrate well into society. Many believe that blind are not capable of functioning as well in society as sighted people, regardless of whether or not, we provide aid to them. To them, the blind are inherently less able than the sighted. This is logical flaw that has been ingrained over the generations According to the National Federation of the Blind, the visually impaired face a form of prejudice that can hold them back greatly. It is only through tremendous and continuous efforts to educate the public, that there is a chance for this stigma to be eliminated. It is understandable as to why they think that way, because there is a lack of education of what the blind can do. However, with the proper equipment and the adequate training, anybody can be successful, not even only the blind. There are many individuals with visual impairments that can successfully perform a wide variety of job functions and be productive employees, overcoming the challenges and barriers. For example, Richard Bernstein, a judge of the Michigan Supreme Court who has been blind since birth, can easily annihilate this illogical thinking. So can Russell Shaffer, the Senior Manager of Corporate Affairs for Walmart, who is blind too.

A March 2008 article in Forbes Magazine quoted discrimination as one of the biggest obstacles to employment for the blind. There are major loopholes in legislations promoting inclusivity, such as the Americans With Disabilities Act, it formally forbids discrimination against applying employees on the basis of disability. However, companies are still entitled to decline a blind person on the rationalization that the applicant is unable to carry out the duties of the job. A survey carried out by the Danish Blind Society, shows that prejudice is an extremely crucial reason as to why so many blind people in Denmark are unemployed. According to the survey, more than two-third of the Danes are doubtful and uncertain about having a colleague with visual impairments. In general, there is a lot of uncertainty as to the blinds’ abilities and a lot of people do not know what it means to be blind. It is really difficult to find a job because people do not understand the blinds’ capabilities and in which jobs can they bring good results. In America, while the unemployment rate of the blind is often quoted as 70 to 75 percent, this statistic does not necessarily reflect the percentage of blind people who want to work but are unable to find jobs. However, this in no ways trivializes the discrimination that the blind do face in the workplace. There were 11,482 discrimination charges from individuals with visual impairments from July 26, 1992 to December 31, 2011.

In conclusion, we all play different roles but eventually, we are one. Being disabled just means that they have different abilities. Furthermore, the visually impaired are already disadvantaged in their lack of sight thus we have the responsibility to aid them in integrating into society by ensuring that they can perform everyday tasks, access education, not get discriminated in workplace. So why are they not given the chance to integrate into our society?