Wayfinding and Orientation by the Visually Impaired

Abstract

Getting lost can be very stressful. Not only does it entail "real world" consequences of being late for an appointment or missing an airplane flight, it may often cause feelings of panic and discomfort and create serious psychological stress (see Zimring [1] for a review), and in fact several studies suggest that spatial disorientation may be partly responsible for increased deaths by older people immediately after they have been relocated [2]. Whereas spatial disorientation is serious for able-bodied, sighted people, it is particuarly serious for the visually impaired. Sighted people rely on a host of visual landmarks and may often see their objective; visually impaired people are denied these cues and may wander into traffic or other dangers.

Walking and Walkability: Is Wayfinding a Missing Link? Implications for Public Health Practice

“…Orientation is supported by frames of reference, ranging in complexity from landmarks (distinctive man-made or natural features) to route sequences to mental images or cognitive maps. 25,26 Second, wayfinding requires decision making both in advance travel planning, however casual (ie, route choice), and in en route decision-making (ie, behavior at decision points). Field-based researchers using subject think-aloud protocols during wayfinding characterized decision making as situated in the environment; travelers have a general idea of where to go and then work out the details on the move, in response to cues in the environment.…”

“…25,62–68 Wayfinding can be further impeded by transient environmental conditions that compromise information gathering such as poor visibility, bad weather, construction, darkness, or sensory overload or even by stressful frames of mind. 26,69–72 In addition, several studies suggested spatial anxiety as a barrier to wayfinding that affects individual performance. 40,51,65,73 …”

“…They are helped in this task by the continuous stream of passing visual information, or “optic flow.” 80,82 However, pedestrians are also exposed to an abundance of other external sensory stimuli including auditory information (eg, sounds of passing traffic) or tactile information (eg, differing pavement qualities), especially important sources of information for those with visual impairment. 26,83,84 In the absence of visual information, as when visibility is limited, for example, by darkness or thick fog, pedestrians rely on path integration to monitor their progress, drawing on kinesthetic information generated by their own body movements. While pedestrians have some success at remembering routes through body turns, they have difficulty perceiving and tracking gradual curves.…”

“…69 People with visual impairment are clearly disadvantaged by lacking access to visual landmarks but make use of soundscapes and tactile information in similar fashion. 26,58,84 …”

Wayfinding e os Obstáculos da Deficiência Visual

“…Nesse caso, a desorientação pode ser muito mais séria e perigosa para esses indivíduos quando não conseguem basear suas estratégias de deslocamento em marcos referenciais ou visualizar obstáculos no caminho (ZIMRING;TEMPLER, 1983).…”