Whether I'm traveling through the busy Minneapolis skyway system or crossing a downtown street, I get all kinds of reactions. These range from those people who simply ignore me as they would any other passing pedestrian to those who have public panic attacks. Daily I encounter people who want to help but don't have the foggiest idea what they should do. So, for the most part, they simply get in the way. There are people who outright pity me, those who are terrified that I'm going to run them down, and those who are simply overwhelmed.

The reason for this variety of reactions is that, for most people, a blind person using a motorized wheelchair is something new. And this newness is not just prevalent in the general public. Blind wheelchair users are an enigma among many in the rehabilitation field, among other blind people, and among other wheelchair users. I was told, for example, at an AER (Association for Education and Rehabilitation) meeting the topic of which was "Blind Wheelchair Users" that "Totally blind wheelchair users can not travel independently." This, despite the fact that the presenters had seen me independently come into the room; park myself at a table; use the restroom; and go through a buffet line, needing assistance with carrying my plate and cutting food (because of my physical disability); but not needing assistance to travel.

A blind woman whom I met recently told me that she was checking out nursing homes because she would soon have to use a wheelchair and knew that "you can't do it if you are totally blind." Then there are the disabled people who tell me about disability-training simulations in which they have been blindfolded and "Just don't know how you do it!" So here are some tips which I have found helpful in traveling and which you may want to remember when you are with someone who is a blind wheelchair user.

1. Assume that travel is possible. One of the greatest things I have found in being an NFB member and going through my eleven-month adjustment-to-blindness training at BLIND, Inc., was that Russell Anderson, my travel instructor, and the other staff at BLIND, Inc., expected that "Of course you can travel." After becoming totally blind in an accident and finding that others had virtually no expectation that I could ever be independent, I had to learn to believe that I could do it. Have high expectations.

2. If you are guiding someone who is a blind wheelchair user, walk behind the chair and give oral directions. People tend to walk in front of me and have me follow. But in that position I can not always hear what is said; and if I have to stop abruptly, I could accidentally bump them. To avoid this, people tend to turn around to face me and walk backward. Of course this makes no sense because the directions they give must then be reversed, which causes much confusion.

3. When opening doors, stay behind the door if possible. Standing in front of a door one is holding open narrows the pathway for the wheelchair user. No wheelchair user wants to run over anyone's toes.

4. Suggest that the person use a long carbon fiber cane. Finding a cane which worked for me was probably my biggest challenge initially because the other canes I tried were too heavy for me to handle. I can easily maneuver this cane, and it works well. A cane slightly longer than one used by an ambulatory person of the same height is necessary because one needs distance in order to stop one's chair. My cane, for example, is sixty-three inches long, even though if I were standing, I would be only four feet six inches tall.

5. Remember that access for one person does not ensure access for all. Wheelchair users have a variety of disabilities which affect their travel. For example, I can not use my cane independently for more than half a block or so on certain road surfaces because the resistance of the cane's movement on the pavement causes me pain and fatigue, but this would not be an issue for others who do not have my disability. Some wheelchair users are able to open doors independently while others are not. In my case opening doors is difficult, so I make use of electronic power doors, ask passing pedestrians for help, and often use my cellular phone to summon assistance for getting in and out of places in both indoor and outdoor settings.

6. Do not panic if you see the cane encounter an object. This seems obvious. But I can't tell you how many times people seem to feel that, because I am in a motorized chair, I won't stop when I encounter an object with my cane. People often seem to believe that I will either destroy what I am about to run into or get hurt myself. Bumping objects with a cane when one is using a wheelchair is no different from doing so when one is walking.

7. Encourage the seated user to hold the cane vertically when approaching curbs. During the time I was learning to travel at BLIND, Inc., we discovered that locating curb cuts was easier when the cane was held in a more vertical position. This technique assists one to locate curb cuts and curb drop-offs quite accurately. This is not the case for locating up curbs after crossing streets or for traveling parallel to curbs.

8. Keeping to the perimeter in indoor settings with large open areas or along the sides of buildings is helpful. While it is not necessary to plaster oneself against a wall or building in order to travel, I have found that staying near these landmarks is useful. It is sometimes difficult to know whether one is traveling in a straight line when one has no direct contact with the ground. For example, I have sometimes traveled diagonally, while thinking I was going straight, or have even turned without realizing it. Sound cues help, of course, and one needs to learn to use these just as any other blind traveler does, but checking for a wall or building occasionally helps me to stay on course. It also ensures that one will not inadvertently get too close to the curb running parallel to the direction of travel.

9. Be aware of objects which the cane or chair may slide under. Like anyone else traveling with a long white cane, wheelchair users occasionally contact objects that are not detectable by cane. This is one time when sighted assistance or an oral warning is helpful to a person in a wheelchair because what might bump a standing person at waist level will hit the wheelchair user in the face or head.

10. Disabilities are not static. If you are helping someone who uses a wheelchair, the individual's ability to travel distances or on certain surfaces may vary depending on how he or she is feeling that day. Some days, for example, I have traveled as far as a mile and a half along a busy, pothole-ridden street in my neighborhood which has no sidewalk. On other days, going the block and a half to the corner bus stop is barely possible.

11. Do not push a motorized wheelchair unless it is taken out of gear. In their efforts to help me, many people dash up to me and want to push my chair. Motorized chairs are not made to be pushed unless the gears are disengaged, and attempts to move them will only produce frustration. If a chair must be moved manually, ask its user how to disengage the gears.

These tips will enable you to be genuinely helpful to any blind person you meet who happens to use a wheelchair as well. Good luck, and thanks for the constructive assistance.