blind roommates?

May 10, 2006 6:55 PM

How is it to have a blind roommate?

I'm interviewing potential roommates and the person I like best so far is a blind, Japanese man. He seems to get around well, and is confident of being able to adapt to my apartment without my making special accommodations for him.

I haven't lived with anyone visually impaired before. Are there specific questions I should ask him?

My qualms so far are a little vague, but one of them is that I communicate through email and notes and he doesn't. I think voicemail and a tape recorder would do instead.

I'm also worried about being his housekeeper. And do blind men sit down to pee or what?

I like him. Anything I should consider before letting him move in?

posted by small_ruminant to home & garden (12 comments total)

as long as your apartment doesn't have stucco walls; I think you will be fine. Stucco tends to drive the blind insane. They think the walls are talking to them and...

Seriously, after a while you'll never know that he's blind. As an adult he's already dealt with a number of the difficulties being sightless in a sighted world would throw at him. What you'll get from it is being able to see the world differently. I think it would be a great experience for you.
posted by DragonBoy at 7:09 PM on May 10, 2006

I've never lived with a blind person, but I did work for disabled student services in college, and I was a reader and tutor for a couple of blind people. All in all, my experience was pretty positive. However, one thing turned into a bit of a problem.

In two cases, the students I was working me started to ask me to do non study related errands for them... mainly driving them places. I didn't mind in the beginning , but it quickly escalated. One guy got really pushy, insisting that I take him to Walmart at 10pm on a Saturday night, and then pouting when I said no.

So I would just make sure that this guy has the resources he needs to get around, and do other tasks that might require a seeing person.
posted by kimdog at 7:19 PM on May 10, 2006

I lived with a blind guy very briefly, for a couple of weeks during summer school. The only question you have to ask yourself is how neat can you be. Blind people need order, at least with their things. I am messy, but a creature of habit, so we worked things out.

I wouldn't hesitate to ask about the housework thing, though.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 7:26 PM on May 10, 2006

I don't know about needing to be his housekeeper but it probably would be good to not to leave things laying randomly on the floor. Probably not a problem if you're neat, but if you're more of a slob like me--the floor could be a constantly changing obstacle course.
posted by divka at 7:26 PM on May 10, 2006

One of my college roommates was legally blind from birth, and what little eyesight she had was getting worse as she got older. Honestly, the majority of the time we lived together, I totally and completely forgot she could barely see; she was very independent. She asked for some help sorting clean laundry a couple of times, but that was really it.
posted by Asparagirl at 7:37 PM on May 10, 2006

That's a relief. kimdog, that is one of the things I worry about but I think if I'm upfront about not being the taxi service, etc, it could be okay.

Part of the reason I'm worried is that English is his second language, so there's a communication barrier already. His English is okay but he has a thick accent.
posted by small_ruminant at 8:03 PM on May 10, 2006

oh well, it looks like it won't work out. He's afraid to move here because it's too far from where he's used to. Also he's afraid the landlady will raise the rent, and he's on a fixed income, which is a reasonable fear. Too bad- he's really a nice guy and it would have been interesting.
posted by small_ruminant at 8:16 PM on May 10, 2006

For what it's worth (and, I guess it's no longer relevant to the original poster, but I'll answer for the sake of posterity), my wife's roommate her senior year of college was legally blind (but could see somewhat- her vision was corrected to 20/400 or something if I remember correctly, which I probably don't).

She ended up being a great friend and a great roommate. Sometimes, she'd leave a bit of a mess in the kitchen because she wouldn't see some things, but otherwise, things were wonderful.
posted by JMOZ at 8:35 PM on May 10, 2006

All good to know. There are a LOT of blind people around here so it's likely to come up again.
posted by small_ruminant at 8:50 PM on May 10, 2006

im legally blind and i cope fine in 99% of situations. i can also cook and clean up! i simply adapt a way to do everything with limited vision.

all my friends forget i am blind as i adapt to everything so well. Plus beating them still at sports always makes em forget :)
posted by moochoo at 1:53 AM on May 11, 2006

Honestly, it sounds like the language barrier is more of a problem here than the blindness - disabled people of all stripes who live independently already know how to successfully navigate in a sea of people who are unlike them. Someone who relies on a new roommate to do their chores or clean up after them would be a jackass regardless of their disabled status. That said, I think it's okay to ask all kinds of "would you need help with X?" or "what would make cooking/cleaning/whatever easier?" questions, so you can familiarize yourself with circumstances new to you. I realize the question is moot, but I thought this was worth saying anyway, you know?
posted by deliriouscool at 7:53 AM on May 11, 2006

Thanks very much for the comments- they're all useful. I only ask about the cleaning up because I had a blind friend whose dishes were always dirty- I assumed it was because she couldn't see them but maybe she was just a slob.

deliriouscool, yes, it became clear on the phone that the language barrier really would have been the biggest problem, in part because he didn't know how to use the computer and I'm used to emailing notes to my roommates, (especially ones whose first language isn't English). Not volumes or anything- just the usual "won't be back for 2 days- here's where I'll be if you need it" sorts of notes.
posted by small_ruminant at 8:24 AM on May 11, 2006