How I’m Dealing with a Pandemic as a Legally Blind Person
By Emily Davison. Aged 25, from London, England.
We are now living through a pandemic. A scenario that our generation has only ever encountered in the works of fiction…until now.
This is a new world we find ourselves in and we are all trying to adjust to it. But being disabled adds a whole new layer of difficulty to the situation.
This is what it’s like being legally blind and living through a pandemic.
Emily in a green floral dress, sits outdoors in a yard with a dog,
Working with a Guide Dog
I’m a guide dog user and one of the biggest issues I’ve faced in lockdown is the limitations on working my guide dog, Unity. I’m considered a more high-risk case due to my illness and as a result, I am unable to go out a lot. However, having a guide dog complicates things even further.
Guide dogs are used to having a daily workload, they are trained to navigate different social situations like indoor spaces and public transport. Now that I am severely limited on where I can go, it makes being able to give my guide dog that level of work impossible.
Another issue around working my guide dog is when it involves going to more densely populated areas. After all, guide dogs aren’t taught to social distance, and they have no concept of what a 2-metre distance looks like.
Luckily in the UK the charity Guide Dogs for the Blind Association has equipped the guide dog owner community with resources on ways we can safely entertain our dogs and keep them stimulated.
Social Distancing
Having a visual impairment one of my biggest fears is being able to social distance. Social distancing relies dominantly on being able to see, whether it’s markers left on the floors of public places or the people themselves.
Many of us also have to rely on sighted guidance from others when out and about in unfamiliar situations. However, now that we are living in a society where that level of social contact is no longer possible it makes going out even for a short walk or to shop exceedingly difficult.
Emily sits on her bed looking out the window. Her room is decorative with plants, and skin-care products.
This is also a huge concern I have when the lockdown is relaxed but social distancing rules remain in place. As the question many of us from the sight loss will be asking is “where will that leave us?”
Shopping for Groceries
Shopping for groceries for many of us here in the UK who are disabled has been a prominent issue. Over the last few weeks, we have seen thousands of volunteers spring to action to offer aid to the elderly, those with underlying health conditions and disabled people. This is a huge relief to people in my community because trying to shop for groceries is an arduous quest.
Some supermarkets in the UK are now offering priority delivery slots for people with illnesses and those who are elderly. However, being visually impaired does not immediately guarantee you a ticket for one of these slots. Alongside this, these slots are almost impossible to secure due to them being in such high demand.
Shopping in person isn’t any easier, there are many restrictions in supermarkets which render an easy shopping experience impossible. Only one person per trolley is permitted in a supermarket, making it impossible to bring a sighted guide. There are often trailing queues outside of supermarkets that are difficult to navigate with limited sight.
Strict social distancing rules are in place and there are coloured markers now on floors to indicate the distance between each person. But being visually impaired I can’t see them, neither can I see those around me. There have also been cases here in the UK of supermarkets turning away blind people for fears that they will not be able to adhere to social distancing rules.
The only way I can obtain groceries is to ask someone else to purchase them.
Highlighting Online Inaccessibility
Since lockdown first began, we have all been forced to find creative ways of being able to work and socialise online. In the wake of lockdown, there has been a surge in video conferencing apps and social apps like never before. But they too have their barriers. Some of these apps that I have attempted to use have been inaccessible, not being entirely compatible with VoiceOver.
Now more than ever, social media is vital for everyone in order to continue to function and stay mentally positive during these trying times. Yet I and others from the sight loss community are unable to stay connected due to inaccessibility which can be incredibly isolating.
A golden fur dog lays out in a yard in front of a pond, Emily sits and pets the dog.
We are all in uncharted waters and we are all simply trying to do the best we can. Many of these things I have discussed today are the unfortunate reality of living through a pandemic and through no fault of anyone.
Living with sight loss in a fully-sighted world is hard. However, in time you become accustomed to the difficulties and learn to live with them. But living through a pandemic only makes living with a disability that much harder.
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