Real Talk: Laura Bain

Honest

talk

. New perspectives from the disability community... Hi guys, I'm AMI contributor Laura Bain in Halifax. So, I want to

talk

about how to get comfortable being slow and taking up space. So while I'm very comfortable with people knowing that I'm visually impaired, for much of my life I've felt anxious about inadvertently stopping people or getting in their way, because I'm being slow about anything. what am I doing. So an example of this would be, if I'm in the supermarket looking for something, sometimes I just grab something that's close enough, because I start to get anxious that maybe there's someone behind me and I'm blocking them and not

real

izing it.

And this hasn't been helped by the many strangers over the years who have become frustrated with me, either calling me names or telling me to hurry up. Although my white cane is almost always visible. I feel like what has helped me with this has been spending time with a friend who is quadriplegic and sometimes needs to make people wait a little, um... ...when they go out. So, for example, if they are using the bus and they need to go down the ramp. And it never seems to bother them, um, and I mean, what's the alternative,

real

ly?

Not using the bus? Or not go out in public? I really feel like I shouldn't have to apologize or feel anxious, just because I'm slower at things than a sighted person would be. I'm certainly not trying to upset anyone. And I feel like if I am, people can always use their words and say, “Excuse me?” Or better yet, they could ask me for help finding what I'm looking for. So, I want to encourage you to be polite and thoughtful, but also to not be afraid to take up the time and space you need. For more AMI content, visit AMI.ca or download the AMI-tv app.