by Peggy Shoel
(Reprinted with permission from the “WCB Newsline,” March 2004.)
Expectations!
Why hasn’t she learned braille? I did.
Why can’t she travel independently? I can.
Why can’t he manage more on his own? I do.
Why doesn’t he maintain a more positive attitude toward his vision loss as I do?
From time to time, I hear these kinds of comments and wonder if we sometimes lose sight of the fact that we each come to different degrees of vision loss at different times in our lives and from different causes. We each have our own life circumstances, including age, health, emotional and physical environment conditions as well as varying support systems. There should not be a one-size-fits-all expectation as far as accomplishments and use of blindness skills is concerned. Since there is no accurate ruler with which to measure, we can help by offering resource information, support and encouragement. Above all, we can offer respect.