Blind and visually impaired individuals get asked questions all the time, some are good, some bad and some that leave you scratching your head wondering “where did they come up with that?”
Well, after my post about Is that guide dog in training one of my subscribers was reminded of a question his daughter asked him while they were on their vacation not long ago.
While they were on vacation they met a blind lady with a guide dog and it wasn’t until they were leaving did his daughter ask this question, “if the woman knew what color her dog was?” As well as, “If the woman was born unable to see, how would she know what gold *her dogs color* or white or red looked like?”
This subscriber is a good friend of mine had no idea how to answer this question. Good thing he has blind friends eh? *smiles* So that got me to thinking on making this post just for his daughter and others that may have questions just like it.
There are 2 answers to this question and maybe even more that I probably don’t even know, but have these 2 for now.
1. A person that has been blind from birth have no idea of colours except by what people tell them. For some, colours are just words. *note* I said for some. Each person is different, even those born blind.
2. A person that has had sight and then lost it has a memory of what things look like, that’s including colors. Again this all depends on the person and when they lost their sight. I lost my sight at the age of 12 so I remember almost all the colors..those *strange* colors however get me all the time. I can sit and talk sunsets with you or understand what you mean if you describe a baseball field to me since I remember those things.
There is nothing wrong with asking so don’t be afraid. Just keep in mind that how you ask the question will depend on the type of answer you get.