What is blindness?
When a person hears “blind,” the word often conjures up thoughts of total darkness. The reality is, according to the Iowa Department for the Blind, only 18 percent of people who are visually impaired are totally blind. A majority have some sort of visual acuity, from tunnel vision to differentiating between light and dark.
According to the Social Security Administration, the definition of “legally blind” is when a person’s corrected vision is less than 20/200 in the better eye or their field of vision is 20 percent or less. Therefore, the definition of blind is wide and varied. People who are visually impaired adapt to their usable vision and use it to function in their daily lives. People with vision loss learn new techniques and ways to do the same things as people with sight.
Can people who are blind function in today’s society effectively?
Lise Pace is the senior manager of marketing at Bosma Enterprises. She manages the day-to-day operations of the marketing department. Lise is legally blind. “I have strong central vision and no peripheral vision. I see as though I am looking through straws,” she said.
Lise has learned to adapt to her vision loss. She uses accessible technology found in devices like iPhones and iPads and software that enlarges the images on her computer screen. She has also learned to navigate unfamiliar places using a white cane. She uses these adaptations to succeed in her life and at work. She started as a volunteer and worked her way to senior manager. She also recently earned her MBA, opening doors to other opportunities she, at one time, never thought possible.
“When people hear Lise is a marketing manager who is blind, they can’t fathom how she does her job,” said Heather Quigley-Allen, vice president for marketing and resource development. “Through hard work, perseverance and ingenuity she has been able to find the best way to do her job and take our marketing program to new heights.”
“Given the opportunity, people who are blind can do anything,” Lise said. “With the skills I have learned at Bosma Enterprises, I could work anywhere. I am here because I believe in the mission and I want to effect change in my community.”
Bosma Enterprises is a thriving company that employs nearly 250 people, of which almost 60 percent are blind or visually impaired. People with vision loss are employed at all levels of the company, from the production lines to executive leadership. Bosma is proof that employing people who are blind works.
How do I interact with a person who is blind?
The short answer: The same way you would with anyone else.
“Don’t be afraid to offer assistance,” said Kurt Deichmann, Bosma’s rehabilitation center manager. “You are not going to offend me by offering to lend an arm or share some simple directions.”
Many people imagine some of the most difficult things to overcome for people who are blind are tied to everyday tasks like counting money. “What really is most challenging is to get others as comfortable with my disability as I am,” Kurt said. “It seems to be a lack of understanding or familiarity with the techniques taught to allow people with vision loss to function effectively in an environment built for people with vision.”
“Many people with sight believe that blindness is the end of a full and rich life. However, due in part to the life-changing programs at Bosma Enterprises, people with vision loss can live an independent life,” Lise said.
Bosma Enterprises works with the community to spread awareness about the abilities of people who are blind. Bosma’s vision is, one day, there is equality for people who are blind and there is no longer a need for the employment programs it provides.
This article originally appeared in the fall/winter issue of InSight Magazine, a publication of Bosma Enterprises.
Anthony Scott is the Communications Specialist for Bosma Enterprises, a company that provides employment training and placement and rehabilitation services for people who are blind or visually impaired.