11/17/16

Kids Say the Darndest-Blindness Edition

Picture Caption: Talking to kids in the third grade at a local elementary school.

Over the years I've talked to lot of kids all over the country about blindness, braille and my life as a blind person. I love doing these in-school discussion with children most of all. I love there genuine interest, their sincere desire to understand, and their natural curiosity. Just when I think I've heard it all, I'm almost always surprised. GQ always asks me when I get home: "What was the best question this time?"

So I thought I'd share with you all some of my favorites over the years.

My favorite questions:
1. What do you think your face looks like?
2. What country is Utah in? (When I was talking to 3rd graders in Louisiana).
3. Did you have pets growing up? Followed by asking about specific pets: Dogs? Cats? Llamas? Emus? Fish?
4. How do you eat your food, cause I love food and I wouldn't want to be blind if I couldn't eat food?
5. This was followed by: "So you don't just shove your face into your plate?"
6. Was your mom sad when you were born? *Such a sweet question, and so sincere.
7. How do you read braille if you get your hands chopped off by a saw?
8. Why do some blind people use a cane, and some don't?
9. Did you know Helen Keller?
10. Do you wear underwear like me?
11. How do you go to the bathroom?
12. How do you drive a car? *I get this one nearly every time.
13. How do blind people know when it's time to cross the street?
14. Do you get to go to the front of line for free at Disneyland?
15. Do you know what your husband looks like or do you just pretend he's handsome? *True story.

I hope you smiled as much as I usually do.

Here is a link to some other great questions kids might ask, and some wonderful answers:
https://nfb.org/nopbc-questions-kids-ask

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