[Blindtlk] Can a person's movement be affected by blindness

[Steve P. Deeley]

Some good explanations.  Sighted individuals learn by watching others.  This 
includes how to throw a ball the correct way, dance moves, smiling, and 
using your hands as in gesturing during conversations..
Steve
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tara Annis" <TAnnis at afb.net>
To: <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2010 4:04 PM
Subject: [Blindtlk] Can a person's movement be affected by blindness


> Yes, a person's movement can, and about 99.9% of the time,  be affected by 
> blindness.  If he is blind from birth, never seeing gestures, than his 
> movements will be  different than that of the sighted population.
> People who become blind later in life, retain many of their facial 
> expressions and gestures, since they are engrained in their memory.
> People  born with partial vision, have varying  degrees of movements that 
> are different that of the sighted community.
>
>
> Not all blind people will have these movements, but following are a few 
> that are seen among blind people:
>
> He will have a stiff body, being rigid when  walking and standing still. 
> When he  tries to make a gesture, like waving to a friend, it comes out 
> looking rigid, and not the same as if a sighted person were waving.
>
> Many blind persons walk differently, by not bending their legs, rather, 
> walking with a straight leg swinging forward.  Some blind persons have 
> balance problems, and wobble around a lot when they are walking.
>
> Blind people will either look up too high at the ceiling, or too low at 
> the ground.  A lot of blind people are trying to make eye contact, by 
> using the "point your nose at  the person's eyes" technique used  by many. 
> Yet, the overcompensate, and look up too high, over the person's head at 
> the  ceiling, instead of into their eyes.
>
> Some blind people will point their ear, instead of their eyes, at a 
> person, using their ear to point at the other person's voice.
> You can tell when a blind person is eavesdropping, because his body will 
> become rigid, he will have an intense look of concentration on  his face, 
> and will point his ear in the direction of the people he is eavesdropping 
> at.  This is the same as when a sighted person is staring--when a blind 
> person points his ear at a sound to eavesdrop.
> Sighted people tell me this makes them nervous, because it feels as if the 
> blind person is focusing intently on  what sounds are coming from them. 
> It's  an invasion of privacy.
>
> Some blind people have blindisms, such as rocking from side to side or 
> back and forth, poking their eyes with their fingers, and twisting their 
> upper body  from side to side.
>
> I have noticed the smile problem mentioned  previously on this thread. A 
> blind person will have too big of a smile in a photograph--opening his 
> mouth kind of wide, like he would do while laughing.  In a photo, you 
> should just widen your lips, but keep your jaws together to ensure a 
> normal looking photo.
>
> Some blind persons do not understand masking, which means hiding your 
> emotions in order to fit with the mood of the social situation.  For 
> example, a blind person will be smiling during a  church sermon or at a 
> business meeting, whereas the sighted people will have  a serious 
> expression on their faces.  In large group settings, sighted people do not 
> show their emotions  as  openly, as that in an intimate setting.  For 
> example, sighted people have a  masked expression on the subway, but will 
> have an animated facial expression  when having dinner with a few of their 
> close friends.
>
> Some blind people do not mask their anger, and will have an angry 
> expression on their faces, even when dealing with   people they don't know 
> well.  Sighted persons will often mask their anger around people they 
> first meet, or at a social gathering of acquaintances.  For example, if 
> Bob offends Sam, not on purpose, just by accident,  Sam will mask his 
> anger, appearing neutral by Bob's remarks.  When Bob turns his back, 
> though, Sam may roll his eyes to the other person's in the group, showing 
> them he is angry.   While the group knows Sam is angry, Bob will never 
> know he has offended Sam.  I guess this  is done as a way not to show 
> weakness, by not admitting deep emotions  and hiding true feelings.
>
> I'll write more on this topic tomorrow.  Have to go for now.
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