Visual Impairment

I honestly had no idea that these tasks would be so difficult, but of course I was wrong! Wearing the masks and being blind was a lot harder then expected. I knew the one where you couldn't really see out of either eye was going to be hard, but I didn't know being blind in one eye would be such a challenge! When I was in class with the mask where you could see out of your left eye, I was trying to take notes off of a powerpoint and it was extremely difficult! It was really hard for me to focus on the projection and then looked down at my paper to take notes and then look back up. I felt a headache coming on because it was so hard for my one eye to keep refocusing. I know that y right eye is dominant, but I thought that I would do fine while only have vision in my left! Having both eyes being covered and having to look around big black circles was really hard. I took the elevator because I did not want to fell down the stairs, I could see very little on the power points in class, and I would constantly be asking my friend "what does that say?". Not having that center field of vision made it very difficult to do normal, everyday tasks. Oddly enough, the longer I kept the masks on, the better my eyes would focus, but it still by no means was crystal clear.

I know that I have been saying this in all of my simulation reflections but the respect I have gained for those who have visual impairments is huge. I do wear glasses, but I am nowhere close to being as blind as I was when wearing the masks. I know people who are blind in one eye, and I also know a girl who sees like a fist is right in the middle of here eyes so she has too look around it (like the mask where it blocks out your center field vision). I was nervous to do all these simulations at first, but I am so glad that I did and that it is a requirement for this class because it really puts you in someone else's shoes and lets you see a glimpse of how some people live. Even though it is only for four hours, it is still so beneficial to see how others see, and a huge amount of respect is gained for those who have these disabilities 24/7.