Blind artist who was told “you don’t look blind” has a mission to educate: “All disabilities are a spectrum”

Paul Castle, a blind author and illustrator, has come face to face with a number of misconceptions about blindness.

“Blink. He can't be blind.”

“His eyes are not white.”

– You don't look blind.

Some appear as comments on the social media pages she started with her husband, Matthew. But in a recent interaction at a Seattle restaurant, Castle and his guide dog, Mr. Maple, they were denied entry because an employee did not believe Mr. Maple was a true service animal.

The man was suspicious of Castle because he appeared to be making eye contact with him, Castle said.

“He said, 'You don't look blind,' which is something I've heard a lot in my life, unfortunately,” Castle told CBS News. “It's like telling someone they don't fit my preconceived idea of ​​what your disability should be.”

Castle has retinitis pigmentosa, an incurable disease that causes vision loss over time. Castle has so far lost over 90% of his vision. He often describes his remaining vision as the equivalent of looking through a straw or a hole.

He points out that legal blindness often does not mean a total loss of vision.

“There's a very large spectrum, and this man clearly didn't know it,” Castle said.

“Blindness is a specter” has become a Castle motto. “I say this a lot because I really want people to understand, and I even expand on that: all disabilities are a spectrum.”

At the restaurant, Castle offered to get the paperwork from Mr. Maple, which is not required by law, but the employee told her he would call the police if she returned with the dog.

“In hindsight, I should have let him go because the law is that I'm allowed in this establishment and what he did and how he handled it was not legal at all,” Castle said.

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, service dogs are allowed in all areas where members of the public can go, such as restaurants, stores, hospitals, schools and hotels. A company or entity can only ask two questions: whether the dog is a service animal required due to a disability, and what job or task the dog has been trained to perform.

Being denied access with his guide dog is rare, Castle said, but the incident spoke to what he calls a lack of politeness.

“People really underestimate the blind community, our ability to use our other senses,” he said. “Just because the sight is gone, and in my case especially, it doesn't mean that I'm not alert and aware of my surroundings, and that I have the ability to do things very capably.”

Their social media accounts aim to show snippets of everyday life as a blind person and answer questions such as, how does a blind person cook? Or how a blind person has a career as a visual artist? (In Castle's case, he uses a tablet to illustrate.)

Castle later received an apology from the manager of the site where he was denied entry and was told they would provide better training.

Then, a few weeks later, a friend of Castle's who is a volunteer breeder of guide dog puppies for the blind in Seattle was also turned away from a public space because she was with the puppy her family is raising and socializing for become a service. animal

“Everything was very courteous, it was handled well, but it was surprising because it doesn't happen that often,” volunteer Barbara Sweeney told CBS News.

Sweeney's family has helped raise four guide dog puppies since 2020. Part of what she calls her journey of service is helping them feel comfortable in public spaces.

“Most people recognize that this is different than me trying to bring a pet,” he said.

According to Guide Dogs for the Blind guidelines, breeders should only bring guide dog puppies to spaces where they are willingly accepted, regardless of state laws.

“Public access for working guide teams and other service dog teams may be damaged by a volunteer requesting access to a place where a puppy is not welcome,” the organization says in its guide for volunteers.

This year, Washington state changed its laws to say that service animals in training are also allowed in public spaces. It defines a service dog trainee as one “who is in training to become a service animal.” The changes came into effect at the beginning of June and many people and businesses are still unaware, Sweeney said

Castle says he doesn't blame anyone for not knowing a service animal law or facts about blindness.

“There's a lot to know,” he says. “I just hope it's something that I can continue to shed more and more light on so that it becomes more common knowledge.”