In this very sighted world that we live in, one may think that there are many professions that someone with limited or no vision can not do. Some examples might be a surgeon, a videographer, or even a police officer. And well I agree that I might not want my surgeon or video editor to be blind, I see no reason why the blind can't work in law enforcement, and apparently the Belgians agree.
Earlier this year, the Belgian Federal Police recruited 6 blind gentlemen to come and work for them. Their job is to analyze and transcribe wire tapped and real time phone conversations. Since they don't use their vision, their hearing has been enhanced. This enhancement allows them to hear things that people with sight might not. One of their star officers, Sasha Van Loo was trained in echo location and is a linguist. These specialized skills make him a great asset to the police department.
One of the things that the police department did right, is they trained there other officers on how to work with someone who is blind. Often when people learn how things are accomplished by those with disabilities, they no longer feel uncomfortable or concerned about their co-workers abilities.
So the next time you think that a blind person can't work in a particular field, open up your imagination and see what you can come up with. I think you might be surprised. .
To read the complete story about the Blind Belgian Police Force please click here.
What is your dream job, and if your blind or have other disabilities, what do you plan to do to achieve that dream?
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Very very nice , encouraging and so true. Differently abled not disabled. Just have to be innovative.
ReplyDeleteI've heard rumors of blind people working as colorists for video productions, because they can use numerical output values to determine how to make appropriate corrections, and they do it all by the numbers.
ReplyDeleteThat's really interesting. I wish there were other professions that would follow in their footsteps.
ReplyDeleteIt just takes a little imagination and almost anything is possible.
Last year I happened to meet the first blind acupuncturist in the U.S, Juliana Cumbo, who practices Toyohari, a Japanese style of acupuncture.
ReplyDeleteIn Japan, acupuncture is actually one of the few legitimate professions for blind people, in part because Japanese acupuncture is much gentler and sensitive than the stereotype most people think of as acupuncture. But because of this stereotype, it was quite a struggle for a blind acupuncturist to be granted licensure.