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My View on “See”

Veroniiiica Lewis2 Comments


One time, I managed to lose my bottle of shampoo in the bathroom I shared with my suitemate. I called out to them, asking if they had seen my bottle of shampoo recently. Their response to my question came as a bit of a surprise:

“Don’t use the word see, that’s offensive to the blind and visually impaired!”

I was very surprised they had said that. I’d never heard of the term being offensive before, and I would never be offended if someone used the term towards me. Naturally, I decided to educate them:

“I speak for the blind and visually impaired, we don’t view that word as offensive. Can you help me look for the bottle?”

To which the person then replied:

“Hey, the words view and look are offensive too!”

I just decided to put up this poster in the bathroom and resume my search later.

Lost: Have you seen me? Name- Garnier 2 in 1. Last seen- in the shower. Color- green. If found, just put that thing back where it came from or so help me

A common misconception from sighted people is that using a term like see, watch, view, or look is offensive to someone with blindness or low vision. The truth is, we use those terms ourselves, very often. My friend with low vision will ask if I “saw” the new assignments for class, a totally blind person will say they “watched” a video, I “view” materials online, and those of us with low vision or blindness frequently need help “looking” for things. These words are not exclusive to the sighted community, and frequently do not refer to the literal appearance of something, or the act of seeing them.

The terms blindness, blind, and low vision are also not offensive- these are actually diagnostic terms used by doctors. The term visually impaired is not offensive either. Some people use low vision and blindness interchangeably, as many “blind” people still have at least some degree of sight. Typically, I use low vision to describe my own eyesight, and identify myself as visually impaired or as having low vision. While some disability communities insist on using person first language instead of identity first language (i.e the student with a vision impairment as opposed to the visually impaired student), people in the low vision community use both.

Of course, these words can be used in a negative context, such as when people get annoyed when you can’t see something. There are also plenty of mean names that people with blindness or low vision get called. However, a lot of the words by themselves are not offensive. There are some people that don’t mind these mean names though- my blog title comes from a slang term in America for people who wear glasses. They are referred to as having “four eyes”, and I stylized my name as Veroniiiica since I am Veronica with four eyes/Is.

Everyone has unique responses to certain words, so if you are ever doubtful, ask the person you are talking to if they find the term offensive. But don’t refrain from using see, watch, view, or look, just because the person you are talking to doesn’t have good eyesight. For more information on etiquette for talking to someone with low vision or blindness, read my post here.

How Do People With Low Vision…Deal With Injuries?

Veroniiiica Lewis1 Comment


It all happened in the blink of an eye.  I was getting off the bus for a band performance, and didn’t notice there was a pothole right in front of the bus door.  The chaperone told me that I shouldn’t need help getting off the bus, even though I always receive assistance from a friend.  I walked down the first step, and then the second step.  Then, I missed the last step, tripped, and fell into a gravel pothole.  I heard a weird crunch sound, but figured it wouldn’t be anything.  I turned to one of my close friends after they got off the bus, and said “my foot just made a crunch sound, isn’t that weird?”  This friend had watched me fall, and then said “yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re hurt, I’m going to go get someone.”  I was confused, because I didn’t feel any more pain than usual, but when another close friend (with EMT training) inspected my foot, they noticed how swollen it was.  X-rays and MRIs later confirmed that I had broken my left ankle in four different places, and strained it in two.  Go big or go home.

Dealing with low vision and chronic illness is challenging on its own, and adding another injury into the mix was extremely frustrating.  Here are my tips for dealing with short-term injuries while also balancing other conditions.  Please note that Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome has been ruled out as a cause for my chronic illness and injury.

Document what happened to cause the injury

Right after it happened, one of my friends took a picture of the pothole I fell in, and explained that I had tripped over a stair as well, essentially falling off of a school bus.  Other friends immediately alerted the band director and other staff members as to what had happened.  This is especially helpful if paperwork needs to be filled out documenting what happened.

Tell the doctor you have low vision

When I fell off the bus, my parents had to come get me and then take me to the local urgent care.  We made sure to remind each doctor, nurse, and technician that I have low vision, which helped them with trying to figure out how I had injured my ankle in such a weird way.  We also mentioned I had suspected Chiari Malformation (this diagnosis was confirmed almost exactly a year after I initially broke my ankle) and that I had balance issues as a result.

Knee scooters are better than crutches

Crutches can be a bad match for someone with existing balance issues and low vision, as it can be difficult to see paths ahead.  My parents rented a knee scooter for about two weeks from a pharmacy so that I wouldn’t break my other ankle trying to use crutches.  I had another close friend who would walk slightly ahead of the scooter and help guide me, as well as open doors for me.  This friend would also try and make sure I didn’t crash into a wall.

Make sure the brace is on correctly

The first nurse we worked with after I broke my ankle put my brace on incorrectly, and I had trouble learning how to put on the brace as well.  Have someone confirm that the brace is a good fit, and then have them teach you, kinesthetically, how to put the brace on and take it off.  When I had issues with my wrist earlier this year, the nurse at Student Health had me demonstrate to them how to take the brace on and off so they could make sure I wouldn’t cause myself further injury.  I had another friend confirm that my brace was for the correct hand.

Be prepared for elevated pain

Even though I have a very high pain tolerance, I found that even minor things could cause unbearable pain for me while I was recovering.  My migraines seemed much more intense because I had the additional pain of my ankle.  I spent almost all of my free time on my Yogibo Max, elevating my ankle, and trying to manage the pain.

Find a physical therapist who works with your conditions

My physical therapist from when I broke my ankle was not very familiar with low vision, and even less familiar with Chiari Malformation, which is why some of the exercises were more difficult than they should have been and caused pain.  I switched to a different physical therapist later on who was very familiar with Chiari Malformation, and was able to work with my low vision as well.

Find supportive pillows

Elevating the injured body part is very important.  When I hurt my wrist, I had this miniature Pillow Pet that I was always resting my wrist on, even while I was sleeping.  For my ankle, I often rested my foot on top of my backpack at school, or on a set of pillows while I was at home.

Ice packs

I recommend having several different ice packs ready to go at any given time.  My favorite ones are the flexible gel bead ice packs, because they do not feel super hard and I can easily conform them to whatever is hurting.  Here’s the one I have that can wrap around anything.

Add this to your medical history

Make sure to add the injury to your medical history for when you travel to doctors.  Believe it or not, my broken ankle was a factor in my diagnosis for Chiari Malformation, because my balance and leg spasms at the time were consistent with the condition.

Laugh about it

Not long after my injury, I was laughing a lot about the circumstances that had happened, as I really thought it was funny that I had fallen off a school bus and potentially broke my ankle.  Same with when I badly bruised my wrist after falling down a flight of stairs on my way to band practice.  While they are very lame injury stories, this is another day for me with low vision, Chiari Malformation, and occasional bad luck.  It’s just another part of life!

Too High-Functioning

Veroniiiica Lewis1 Comment


The teacher is passing out the classwork for the day, and there is a noticeable lack of large print or colored paper at the bottom of the pile. As it comes time to give classwork to my section, the teacher looks at me and goes “Oh shoot, I forgot you needed large print. Figure something out.” My best friend next to marks another tally on a list we call “times Veronica didn’t get her work”- in one class, we have over two dozen tallies.  I often leave the classroom to go enlarge my assignment, since I know that if I don’t, the teacher will give me a zero and remind me of how they wished I wasn’t in their class. Even though I have an IEP, and have had one since kindergarden for my low vision, that doesn’t seem to stop teachers from continuing to discriminate against me. I report this to my case manager or other staff member in the special education department, and they pretty much say the same thing each time:

“You’re so high functioning, it’s easy to forget about you!”

My parents and I are in an IEP meeting because I currently have a C, or a D, or a F in one of my classes. The teacher has repeatedly forgotten or refused to enlarge my work, saying it is a waste of resources. I have As in almost all of my other classes, Bs in a few of them. My parents are trying to figure out how an A student is getting such low grades, and why nothing is being done about it. But, by technicality, Cs and Ds are passing, and the special education department says that everything is fine, after all:

“You’re so high functioning, we have other students to take care of!”

I need some additional resources in the classroom. I try to bring this up with special education staff both at my school and at the district level. Most of my requests are ignored, because I shouldn’t need the help. When people do appear from the district level, they are asking me questions about other students, or strictly talking about other students, saying that I am an easy case, they don’t have to worry about me, there are worse-off kids that deserve their time, and I am wasting their time. I realize that the only way I will succeed is if I figure it out myself, since they always tell me:

“You’re so high functioning, you don’t need our help!”

I’m a college student who is studying assistive technology and am waiting for a friend after a band performance. I’m holding my instrument, wearing sunglasses that block out the glare of the lights, and balancing my blindness cane in the other hand. While I’m waiting, a person I have never met walks up to me and starts asking a series of rude questions about my vision and how they had never met someone like me before. They do not stop talking to me, and get frustrated with me that I don’t respond. Later on, I am told to apologize and answer their questions, and their response is almost exactly what I expected:

“You’re so high functioning, that’s inspirational!”

My typical response to people calling me high functioning used to be saying “thank you, and so are you.” However, recently my attitude changed about this, and I realized that I could replace the negative phrase with a more positive one. Despite the best efforts of school personnel, I have been able to see past the negative circumstances given to me and still succeed in school. I have discovered my passion for assistive technology and helping others to succeed. My condition is a major factor in my life, yes, but it isn’t the only thing in my life. I am not just high functioning:

“I am high achieving.”