Year 7 were lucky to have a visit from a group of blind veterans who shared some of their experiences and introduced us to braille and some of the gadgets used to help with daily life. Three students give their accounts of the morning.
Blindfold Guiding Activity
There were cones dotted around the room in two circles. We then got into partners and one person was blindfolded. The person who wasn’t blindfolded then led them through the forest of cones, using only use the words left, right, forwards and backwards making sure that they didn’t touch the cones. If a cone was touched, you were out. This activity made you realise how difficult it is to have no sight. We also had a go at using the white cane to find our way.
We learnt that being blind shouldn’t stop you living a normal and happy life.
Braille
One of the activities this morning was braille. The lady who took us for the class gave us a piece of paper with little 3 x 2 grids on. She then showed us the braille alphabet so we could write our names. Once we had finished planning our names she let us use the type writer. This was really inspiring because it made me realise how you had to adapt your life when you are blind and how hard that must be. I found reading braille really difficult and I have a lot of respect for people who have had to make this change.
Gadgets Galore
When we had a visit from the blind veterans they did a few activities with us and I think one of the most interesting was the gadgets talk. They showed us some of the gadgets that blind and partially sighted people use. One of my favourites was the colour detector, which could tell you what colour clothes you’re putting on. Another one was something that you can put on your teacup and it beeps when you’ve put enough water in and then makes another faster beep when you’ve put enough milk in. Overall this was really fun because we got to see how blind people get on with everyday things and tasks. We learnt to appreciate how difficult things that we find easy can become and not to take things for granted.
