Apologies for the double ask but this is legitimately a separate question from the first one hah.
My character who is visually impaired is also in a wheelchair. I'm guessing this would make a cane less accessible as a disability tool. Would it be in poor taste to give his wheelchair some sort of ability to avoid obstacles automatically? Or at least simply stop before hitting them kind of like cars can do now. He's a mage so I could see him being able to develop a spell that would enchant it to do that.
Thanks for all you do!
Hello, thank you for your ask!
Quick clarification that I'm not blind or a wheelchair user, although I did get feedback from another mod who is a visually impared wheelchair user. If any of our followers are blind chair users, please feel free to chime in!
There are many ways for blind and visually impaired people to use wheelchairs in the real world, what I see most often is someone using a motorized wheelchair / powerchair so that they can drive with one hand and use their white cane in the other.
There are also multiple types of one arm drive systems that you can look into if your character uses a manual wheelchair that would allow them to propel themselves with one hand and have a cane in the other. I would defiantly recommend researching them!
While blind spot sensors do exist as attachments for wheelchairs, they wouldn't be as helpful as a cane or guide. They help detect obstacles, but can't detect things such as potholes, changes in the terrain, curbs or other things your character would want to know about. They can also have trouble detecting thinner obstacles such as thin poles. Relying solely on a blind spot sensor would make it difficult to navigate, especially if they have limited or no remaining vision.
Some people also have enough residual vision that they feel comfortable not needing a cane (similar to how some low vision people prefer to have an ID/symbol cane to let others know they're low vision rather than using a guide cane to navigate). In this case they'd probably develop some habits to navigate better (such as turning their head more if they have better vision on one side), though how they navigate would depend what kind of residual vision the character has, if any. Mod Icarus also mentioned how most of his friends who are blind chair users prefer to have a guide that either pushes their chair for them or that walks along them to guide them. You'll want to think about what kind of aid(s) your character has access to, can reasonably use, how their physical disability would impact different options, and what their preferences would be.
While a magic solution wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, it's preferable to go with a more realistic approach unless you or someone you're working with have experience as a blind chair user. This way not only are you showing people a more realistic way blind chair users get around, but you also can worry less about falling into the magical cure trope.
I suggest looking into what I've mentioned, as well as listening to blind wheelchair users such as Unsightly Opinions on youtube! Another mod recommended this video series on navigating as a blind chair user, though it's from the perspective of a teacher/guide.
Have a lovely day!
Mod Rot
