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Offer assistance well

Try saying: “Hi, I’m Alex. Would you like assistance?” If the answer is yes: “What would work best?”

• Speak directly to the person in your usual voice. Introduce yourself rather than expecting them to recognize you.
• Wait for the answer. Accept “no, thanks” without insisting, hovering, or following.
• Ask before touching the person or moving their belongings. Never grab a cane, a guide dog’s harness, or someone’s arm to steer them.
• Give useful information: “The checkout is to your left, about ten feet ahead,” rather than pointing and saying “over there.”
• Say when you are leaving. A person should not have to discover that a conversation has ended.

Everyday words such as “see” and “watch” are fine. A stranger’s medical history is not the price of receiving assistance. Keep working guide dogs free from petting, feeding, calling, and other distractions.

Make access routine: Teach staff how to offer assistance, identify themselves, and respect a person’s answer. Read the National Federation of the Blind’s courtesy guidance and Guide Dogs for the Blind’s etiquette guidance.

Moving together

Be a sighted guide

Try saying: “Would you like my arm, directions, or something else?”

1. Agree on the help. Ask how the person prefers to be guided and on which side. If they choose the usual arm technique, offer your arm so they can hold just above your elbow and walk slightly behind you. Do not take hold of them.
2. Walk at a comfortable pace. Describe upcoming steps, curbs, narrow spaces, and obstacles early enough to respond. Say whether a step goes up or down; pause before the change.
3. Ask about transitions. Before stairs, doors, or a narrow passage, explain what is ahead and follow the person’s preferred technique. Do not improvise pulling or pushing.
4. Finish with orientation. Describe where you have arrived. For a seat, offer to help locate the chair’s back or arm after asking. Check that the person has the information they want before leaving.

Someone who uses a wheelchair, walker, guide dog, or other support may use a different approach. Ask how guiding fits their mobility needs. A short article is a starting point; practice with instruction for unfamiliar or complex situations.

Learn the technique: RNIB’s guiding advice, videos, and transcripts and CNIB’s guiding manual and videos.

Teachers and school teams

Make the lesson accessible from the start

Ask: “What information does this activity expect students to get by looking—and how will this student get it?”

• Coordinate materials in advance with the student and the teacher of students with visual impairments (TVI). Provide the formats and tools identified for that student.
• Describe the meaningful content on the board, in images, and during demonstrations. “This one here” does not explain a diagram or an equation.
• Plan access to group work, labs, physical education, field trips, lunch, and extracurricular activities—not only deskwork.
• Keep the student connected to the teacher and classmates. An adult doing the activity for the student is not the same as participation.

Blindness-specific skills matter: Braille, assistive technology, orientation and mobility (O&M), and the wider Expanded Core Curriculum. Support their use throughout the day.

Next step: Use the BLV access guide for paraeducators, teachers, and related service providers. For teaching resources, start with Perkins’ classroom guidance.

Stores, checkout, and customer service

Help with the shopping the person wants to do

Try saying: “Would you like help finding an item, reading a label, or getting through checkout?”

• Ask whether the shopper wants directions, a guide, or help with selected tasks. Ask how they want to manage the cart or basket.
• When requested, read relevant product details: name, size, price, unit price, ingredients, and dates. Read the label accurately; let the shopper decide.
• Describe options rather than substituting your preference. Confirm which item to place in the cart and explain where it is.
• Explain checkout prompts and where the payment terminal is. Let the shopper operate it with their chosen access method; protect PINs and payment privacy.
• Ask about bagging and whether help to the exit or transportation is wanted. Do not assume who is driving or how someone will get home.

For store managers: Keep routes clear, train more than one employee, check payment access, and make assistance easy to request without requiring a companion.

Church, clubs, meetings, and neighborhoods

Welcome people into the whole experience

Try saying: “We’d like you involved. What would make the service, meeting, or activity accessible?”

• Offer an orientation to entrances, seating, restrooms, refreshments, and important changes in the space. Keep aisles and routes clear.
• Make bulletins, readings, lyrics, agendas, and registration information available in the person’s usable format. A photo of a page or a projection alone may exclude people.
• At the microphone, identify speakers and describe meaningful visual content. Explain a silent gesture or change in activity when it is needed to follow along.
• Invite participation in volunteering, leadership, discussion, worship, recreation, and decision-making. Ask about interests and roles.
• For communion or other rituals, explain the process and ask what support is wanted. Respect the person’s choices and privacy.

For organizers: Put access information and a way to request adjustments in invitations. Assign someone to resolve barriers, then check whether the change worked. Include blind and low-vision people in planning. Use the INOVA toolkit for accessible meetings and conferences.

Movies, theater, museums, and events

Make visual storytelling available through audio description

Audio description adds spoken information about important visual elements such as action, settings, and expressions. It often fits between dialogue. It is different from captions and from amplifying the soundtrack. The American Council of the Blind’s Audio Description Project explains how it works.

At a movie theater, ask: “Does this showing have audio description? I need the receiver set for the description track, not just amplified sound.”

• Check the specific film and showing. Availability can differ; an accessibility symbol alone does not confirm the equipment is working.
• Ask staff to confirm the auditorium, audio-description setting, charge, and headset connection. Check the track when the feature starts; trailers may not include it.
• If description is missing, ask staff to correct the setting or replace the device promptly. A companion narrating should not become the theater’s default solution.
• For live performances and museums, ask about described performances, audio guides, and accessible tours. On streaming services, check the title’s audio-language options for a description track.

For venues: Publish clear availability, train staff to distinguish description from amplification, test equipment, and provide a clear response when access fails. Read ACB’s audio-description access guide (PDF).

Turn a helpful moment into reliable access

Ask the person what worked. If a barrier keeps returning, change the setup, materials, equipment, or staff training that produced it. People should not have to negotiate the same access every time they arrive.

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