For most people, traveling across the country on Greyhound busses is not all that difficult. However, for the visually impaired, situations that should be a breeze can sometimes become confusing and downright frightening. That said, I am visually impaired and I recently traveled by bus from Louisiana to New York and back,, so I thought it would be great to document my experiences, letting visually impaired people everywhere know what to expect, as well as offer helpful advice to consider when going Greyhound.

As you might expect, bus stations can cause more anxiety than any other portion of a bus trip. In my case, I was taken by surprise at how uneasy I felt arriving at some of the larger ones along the way. Upon entering them, sensing their size, I simply froze, unsure of how I would find the bathrooms or the ticket counters, not to mention cafeterias and those all important departing gate numbers.

On those few occasions when I couldn’t find an information booth or a passing Greyhound employee, I reluctantly ask passing strangers for needed information. Unfortunately, the information I received wasn’t always correct. That said, for safety sake it’s preferable to make inquiries to Greyhound personnel rather than strangers, but because some of the bus terminals are so large, and because you may be pressed for time, you might not always have a choice.

If you find yourself in this situation, my advice is to ask whom ever is standing near you to direct you to the nearest information booth or ticket counter where needed information will be most accurate.

It should be noted that to less confident visually impaired passengers, approaching strangers might be completely out of the question. People falling into this category could very well miss out on opportunities to utilize dining facilities, restrooms, or worse, they might miss their departing bus.

Another point worth mentioning is even though I was walking around with a short red and white cane, I wasn’t always recognized as being visually impaired. That said, on more than one occasion I had to ask food venders at bus station cafeterias for the price of one thing or another only for them to impatiently point at the large wall menu while growling, “Can’t you read?!” Each time I had to awkwardly explain my visual situation embarrassing the employee as well as myself.

Another issue I discovered is the restrooms are sometimes difficult to find. That said, once they are found, it’s not always easy for me to distinguish which bathroom is for men. Most of the time the bathrooms are side by side, and unless I see someone come out of one I have to choose one to walk toward till I get close enough to see the picture of the lady in the skirt or the dude standing there on the blue plaques which I cant make out till I am only about one foot away. It is my ultimate fear to accidentally walk into the wrong bathroom, it is also a fear of mine that I will unknowingly approach the female bathroom only to be accosted by someone thinking I intended to continue and go inside.

For the most part, riding the bus is uneventful since all busses have similar designs and there is no question where the lavatory is. I did experience a situation though that I think deserves some attention:

I could be wrong, but aren’t the front seats of each bus reserved for handicapped people who may need the assistance of the bus driver? That’s what I thought, but I left my things where I was sitting in the front seat at a terminal one afternoon only to return to the bus finding my things were gone!

At first, I was frightened because I thought I was robbed. Fortunately, after a few moments a few passengers, observing my reaction, helped me find my things which were placed 4 seats back. I soon learned what had occurred when another bus driver got on the bus and sat in the seat where my things were.

Sure I realize being a bus driver should have its perks, but displacing a handicapped person from his/her seat and handling the person’s belongings without their knowledge or permission seems to be disrespectful and unprofessional to me. To be fair though, I did observe a bus driver on another occasion respectfully sit in the back of the bus with the rest of the passengers when he had to ride.

My advice to the visually impaired here is to beware of this practice, and don’t count on this front seat privilege applying to you since you may be displaced by any Greyhound employee at their discretion.

I have a few suggestions that may help visually impaired passengers: First of all, if there are any visually impaired passengers on the bus, when arriving at each station, it would be helpful for the bus driver to quickly describe the lay out of the terminal. Since this is not a current practice of Greyhound, and if you are allowed to sit in one of the front rows, you could quickly ask the driver some simple questions about the next station. For instance, you could ask, “When I walk through the doors at the next station, which way to the information booth?”

Another suggestion is to place telephones beside terminal entrances where visually impaired people could access information related to the terminal and bus schedules. A simple repeated recorded message indicating the layout of the bus station could go a long way in making the visually impaired feel more confident and even more independent.

Additionally, when blind or visually impaired passengers pick up their tickets, Greyhound might consider offering identifying stamps or tags of some sort indicating the passenger’s visual impairment to all Greyhound terminal employees.

Fortunately, visually impaired passengers don’t have to wait for Greyhound to come up with a policy that identifies them to all their employees. That said, prior to making the trip, the visually impaired traveler could make a tag of his/her own. Simply laminate a piece of paper reading, “Visually Impaired” in large block print, then attach it to clothing by safety pin when traveling. Doing so could go a long way toward avoiding some of the difficulties I experienced.

All things considered, my trip was a huge success. I met all my connections, kept track of my luggage and found things to eat and drink along the way. To that end, if you’re visually impaired, I firmly believe that although your courage, patience and perseverance might be tested, you too can successfully travel Greyhound.

Volunteering my time at Melanie Massey Physical Therapy Inc. went a long way toward giving me a sense of fulfillment, so when they offered me a job, I couldn’t have been more excited. You see, due to my visual impairment, it had been more than two years since earning my last paycheck. Now, since my coworkers and I have adjusted well to my employment, I am using my experiences to increase understanding related to visual impairments at work.

The first thing that everyone at work should understand is that to the visually impaired, a job is much more than a means to a paycheck. In my case, I stopped being a bricklayer when I lost my vision, and since I no longer associated with bricklaying co-workers, I felt an emptiness that could only be filled with other adult relationships. These relationships are important because they helped give me a sense of connection with the world outside my home.

The next thing that should be mentioned here is new co-workers and employers alike will have questions. If you’re visually impaired, how can they know what to expect from you if they don’t ask you any questions? The answer is, they can’t. So expect and encourage questions.

That said, I found truthful answers go a long way toward building good working relationships, and I’ve answered questions regarding things like; how much I can see, why I became impaired, if I can do specific things, and if there are things that can be done for me that will make my life easier. The information gained by asking these types of questions is very important, so I encourage sighted co-workers and employers to ask away.

Unfortunately, for whatever reason, some co-workers and even supervisors may feel apprehensive about asking questions. If you are visually impaired, therefore, it’s imperative that you educate those around you about your condition by tactfully verbalizing problems you may encounter, and (as noted above) encourage questions.

I must mention here that my co-workers have been very helpful and sensitive to my plight by going out of their way to help me. For example, I have to clock in and out, and early in my employment I always had to get someone to do it for me. This went on for a couple of months until the secretary started marking my card in a way that allowed me to punch it myself.

Another small issue that my co-workers assist me with is related to inter office/clinic communications that are sometimes executed via posted memorandum. Instead of missing out on what is said, I simply inquire with a co-worker.

As noted, I am legally blind, so I have a talking watch that is both a blessing and a curse. As a blessing, it has entertained many children, and its voice has been used as a reward numerous times to coax additional exercises from them.

As a curse, I find myself loudly checking the time more and more frequently as either lunch or 5 pm approaches. This in its self isn’t a problem;. The problem arises when I find myself repeatedly checking the time while unknowingly standing near my boss.

As an employee, I’ve been surprised by how well clients have accepted me. For the most part, they aren’t concerned that I am legally blind, but the children are mildly interested in who I am always talking to when I address them. It’s unnerving for me to notice confused expressions on their faces when they look behind them to see who I am talking too and there is no one there. The reason for this is I see them best, using my peripheral vision, when looking over their left shoulder, and although I often forget I am doing this, the children I work with don’t let me forget for very long.

Another issue the impaired will deal with is correctly identifying surrounding people. One way I identify people around me is by using body shapes. Since I found this to be somewhat inaccurate, I also identify people by their voices. Let me tell you, if there is one voice a blind employee should recognize, it’s the bosses! One afternoon, I heard a voice calling me from across the room, so I asked, “Who is that?” She said slyly, “You better know who this is!” I immediately understood, and recognized.

As I hope you have noticed, I do not allow my visual condition to create tension at work. This tension is created when visually impaired people are overly sensitive about their condition and without thinking, get angry and snap at unsuspecting co-workers.

That said, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught co-workers saying something like, “Look at that ‘whatever’ in the parking lot.” Angry knee-jerk reactions to innocent comments like this will only serve to alienate the offended employee. So if you are visually impaired, keep the workplace from becoming tension filled by allowing such unintentional verbal blunders.

It should be noted that everything that can occur at home related to blindness can also occur in the work place. Problems like not being able to find things, losing things in plain sight, knocking over unseen objects, and tripping over movable obstacles should be expected and tolerated. Because accidents such as these can occur visually impaired people will need time and help becoming familiar with the workplace layout, but will require less and less assistance as time progresses.

Employers, co-workers, as well as the impaired employees, should expect issues such as those noted above to arise. When they do, it’s comforting to realize how trivial they are, so they can be resolved without incident.

Unfortunately, there are some issues that aren’t as easily overcome. In my case, for example, public transportation to and from work is not as dependable or as flexible as I’d like it to be. Therefore, my employer has made allowances in this area which has helped me feel more secure in my employment.

Finally, let me assure all of you at work, when it comes to the things that the visually impaired can do, nine times out of ten the saying, “Where there’s a will there is a way” applies. So don’t be alarmed if you find yourself at work, face to face with someone holding an orange and white cane, and try not to worry if this person is you, because I have discovered that the visually impaired can perform successfully as a creative, productive and valued member of a team.