Specialized or mainstream vacations for blind people

There are some vacation experiences which are designed specifically for blind people, keeping all requirements and accessibility needs in mind. This is where people don’t have to worry if their accessibility needs will be met for the entire duration of their stay. However, only a few of such experiences exist. Opportunities are practically endless when we consider mainstream vacation ideas, available for all, but these may not be fully accessible. There are advantages of both approaches. We will look at how each one works and what the advantages are.

Specialized vacations

There are a few camps and vacation spots which are specifically built for blind people, by minimizing obstacles and creating an environment with blind people in mind. For that matter, these establishments are created so that blind and visually impaired people are able to enjoy them together with sighted family members and friends. They are often advertised as such. Of course these places have to keep so to say reverse accessibility in mind, so they are fully functional for sighted people as well. For example games, playing cards, books have braille/tactile and print/visual equivalents. All activities have to be equally enjoyable for all people. This is of course in general much easier to make accessible, as most features don’t have to be adapted for sighted people.

However, the options are quite limited they may not be available in all areas, they may not be run throughout the entire year, and because of the smaller target audience the expense of running such establishments maybe higher. Many of these vacation places are run as non-profit organizations or use donations so that they can be available for most blind people regardless of income.

So what does such a vacation place look like? Most importantly, they are free of physical obstacles or all of them are predictable. Of course if a door is left half way open it can be a source of an accident, but when all the common sense rules are followed, there will be no obstacles on the floor or at head height. Each door has a clear indication of what it is, there will be more tactile marks on the floor or at hand height to help orientation. Activities are such that they can be enjoyed with or without vision either by default or with the necessary modifications. For example when a chess board is available in the living room, it will be a tactile braille chess. There will be a railing around the swimming pool so people don’t fall into the water accidentally. When taking a walk around the area there will be people who can walk with blind vacationers if they need a sighted guide. Sports activities will be limited to those which are enjoyable and are less likely to cause an accident, such as goalball or audible baseball. When taking bike rides, tandem bikes are available. And the list is long. When a vacation place is specialized it can still mean that there are many activities available.

When attending a blind friendly vacation, the idea is not necessarily to teach blind people how they can be most independent while being blind, though there are also such camps. Rather, the idea is to recharge and relax in a worry free environment. Often blind people spend their entire year negotiating obstacles which with some consideration could be made accessible, but in reality they aren’t.

I have attended a few of such vacations, I even worked at one as a counselor, at the Visions Vacation Camp for the Blind, and what was most fantastic was that working there was also accessible for blind people. I could help vacationers with things that I didn’t know I could do myself. It was a life changing experience, I will devote a separate post to it. It was probably the most accessible workplace I have ever worked for.

Mainstream vacations

There are countless opportunities to find a mainstream vacation. But it requires quite a bit of preparation. One cannot be sure that it will be even moderately accessible or enjoyable, even though in many countries it is a legal requirement. There is nothing worse than a family vacation where the entire family cannot enjoy things together. Either because a museum has nothing to touch and for a blind person it is a boring afternoon, or when the family decides to limit the activities so that they are enjoyable for all and the sighted kids are therefore not able to participate in many things they would like to. Of course there is a way to do a bit of both but it not only takes quite a bit of logistics, it is not entirely fair either. What worked for me was to do activities with the kids I wasn’t necessarily able to enjoy, because I wanted them to have the experience, so I either let the rest of the family do it and I stayed home, or sat through things and were reading books on my phone. But when it is a blind sibling who cannot participate, it becomes much more complex.

With some preparation, most vacations can be enjoyed by all. Often what it comes down to is the willingness of all participants. As an example, I went to a high school where I was the only blind kid. The teachers and my classmates planned a canoe camp so I could learn canoeing with them, and enjoy every moment with the trip with the class. My friends took me to a horseback riding camp with the same preparation. I was able to enjoy a flight lesson with my wife because the trainers adapted it for me. I tried so many things where most people told me that it was impossible for blind people, and I have friends who stretched it much further than I did. Often it was nothing more than the willingness to make it work.

The advantage of mainstream vacations is the number of experiences one can try is practically endless. While even such a vacation can be relaxing, it definitely takes some challenges and stepping out of one’s comfort zone.

Conclusion

It is without a doubt that there are many things blind people are not able to do as is, because it would be dangerous or impossible. Sometimes some adaptation or help is required. However, the reality is that the major problem most of the cases is that with a little consideration or minor modifications experiences could be enjoyable for all people, let them be blind, sighted or people with any other disabilities.

If you are in charge of providing services, I would challenge you to think about who can or cannot enjoy your services, and what can you do that you make it inclusive to all people as much as possible.