08/01/2025
10 Helpful tips for people who are sighted when guiding someone who is blind or partially sighted.
1. Before jumping in to help, introduce yourself. Example: “Hi, I am Lisa.” Your voice
introduction allows us to make a connection that we are unable to do visually.
2. Always ask first if help is wanted. If someone says “no,” it’s not meant unkindly or to offend. “No” this time does not mean help won’t be appreciated another time. If the answer is “yes,” your next question is “How can I best assist you?” Follow the person you are guiding’s lead. We know best what help we may or may not need.
3. Position yourself on the side in which we have a free hand. Most of us will hold your arm just above the elbow. We do this for a couple reasons - it allows us to easily disengage if we don’t feel safe. it puts you one step ahead of us so we can feel your body movement. If you forget to mention there is a step going up or down, we can feel your body movement.
Some people prefer other methods which is why it is important to ask.
4. No one - especially when you cannot see well or at all - wants to be grabbed, pushed, or pulled by strangers. People with good intentions often do this. It is frightening! We do not know your intentions and we cannot visually identify you. Pushing or pulling us, takes away our ability to effectively and safely use our cane to detect uneven ground, curbs, and obstacles that may be in our path. Grabbing can also cause injury. If you suspect danger, you can loudly say: “Excuse me! Hey! Person using the white cane or with the guide dog, STOP! There is an electric car or bike approaching quickly!” Yelling “Look out!” or “Watch out!” is NOT helpful as we do not know what it is we should be looking out or watching out for.
5. When guiding us through a narrow space, moving your guide arm behind your back indicates single file to us. Because you are one step in front of us, it allows us to easily transition. Additionally, using your voice to let us know what is happening is helpful and appreciated.
6. When approaching steps, give us a bit of notice. Tell us if the steps are going up or down and which side the hand railing is on. Example: “There are some stairs going down in about 10 feet and there is only a hand railing on the left.” That gives us time to prepare and allows some of us to reposition our grip because we use different techniques when travelling on stairs. There are some of us that may be nervous on stairs, or our balance and orientation may be altered in unfamiliar areas. It’s important for our safety not to rush.
7. Allow us time to grip the handrail and find the edge of the stairs with our foot. Everyone’s abilities and comfort levels are different.
8. When helping someone cross the road, please tell us when you are going to step on or off the curb. Often, we can feel your movement, but telling us is usually helpful.
9. If there are low hanging branches or overhead obstacles, let us know so we can raise our arm to protect our head or duck - our canes only detect obstacles below the waist. If you are guiding us around the obstacle, explain to us why you are going off route.
10. Say goodbye when you leave and hello next time you see us. Voices alone can be difficult to identify, especially in busy, noisy places. When you say “Hello, this is Lisa” or if you know our name and use it, then we know for sure you are speaking to us. Often, we are not sure so please get our attention as it would be nice to say hello back.
Gina Martin
DiverseAbilities.ca
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Photo description
A man is guiding a lady along a sidewalk. She is gently holding his elbow while using a white cane in her other hand.
