[Blindtlk] Blindness Misperceptions from kids

Wed Apr 27 04:57:38 UTC 2011

Hi,
This is definitely an interesting topic, and it doesn't have an easy
answer, but I'll try to formulate my opinion into something that makes
sense.
You hit the nail on the head when you said kids inherit negative
misconceptions from their parents. It is the same with racism, sexism
or a lack of knowledge about any taboo subject, such as mental illness
or other kinds of disabilities. The difference is, kids are much more
vocal with their questions because kids say anything that comes to
their minds. They haven't had the politically correct, sterilizing
conditioning yet that will tell them what's "right and wrong" to say
at any given time. They just say what they think. And the result can
be amusing, mean, or somewhere in between.
My personal opinion though is that this is the best time to educate
kids about blindness. When a kid is trying to figure things out for
themselves, trying to figure out which opinions and thoughts are
theirs and which have been messages buzzing around their heads from
the adults in their lives, this is the time when they're more open to
hearing an opposing point of view. It has to be done in the right way
though. It has to be stressed that blindness is not as crippling as
they think, and it has to be shown through actions rather than stuffy
speeches. Kids respond better to action because it makes sense to
them.
By the time someone grows up, if they haven't acquired this
information in a way that's moved them to feel differently, they're
never going to change, and the cycle just continues and continues into
each generation. Great strides have been made in this area, after all,
parents no longer kill babies born with disabilities or any such
barbarism. However, exclusion is very hurtful, and in a society hat is
becoming increasingly paranoid of getting sued at the drop of a hat,
they feel more and more wary of asking uestions they may have, so they
just hold onto their erronious ideas. Adults also don't usually
respond well to being told something about them isn't right, even if
it's not explained in a way that's personally attacking them, that's
how they take it. People tend to be set in their ways and want to
stick to what they know. I'm sure there are exceptions, but this has
been my experience.
Statistically speaking, blindness is the most feared disability, after
deaf-blindness of course. People are afraid of things they don't
understand, which is another reason they refuse to confront it.
That's all I can piece together for now, it's late and I'm tired, but
we'll see how the discussion plays out and I'll probably have more to
say later.

On 4/26/11, humberto <humbertoa5369 at netzero.net> wrote:
> Hi dear listers:
>
> Some time ago, somebody in here posted a really really
> interesting message with an interesting question that caused
> threads that hit the list with high fever and great discussions.
> Today I'm here to ask you another question and to share my
> opinions. My concerns deal with the statement written in the
> subject line, blindness misperceptions coming out of children.
> First of all, I have found an essay that was really interesting
> that someone posted on the National Students Division (Nabs)
> mailing list, that explains that adults have these outdated
> negative views about blindness, and kids have better views about
> it than adults, especially when they were raised or growing
> around blind people.
> This person explained that her nephews had a more positive
> attitude around her and that they thought she was cool and could
> do everything by herself. They even think that it's not such a
> big deal being blind.
> In my personal experience, this is not true. Often kids, when I'm
> walking by, think I am weird and ask me a whole bunch of
> questions that I don't know even how to respond to. Some kids
> think I can not walk, and some even say my disability (blindness)
> is an illness, which makes me upset and wanting to advocate them
> and their parents. One day when I was living in California, I
> went to a social gathering with my family and one of their
> friends had two kids. I was sitting down and I had my wonderful
> trusty white cane folded with me at the side, and one girl asked
> "Why is he carrying those four sticks, and why are there for?" Of
> course she asked her mom but we quickly told her what it was and
> what it was used for. At the time I didn't know anything about
> NFB philosophies and my blindness philosophy was not the one that
> it is now, so my Mom had to explain everything.
> But now, when I'm walking down the street or even doing something
> that other people would do regularly, kids still ask me "Why the
> heck you have a stick in your hand?" Some other kids will just
> stare at me like non-sense and run away. Some others will talk,
> but yes according to myself, they would talk to themselves
> because I don't know if they are talking to me until I tell them
> "Are you talking to me?" And yet, when I was little, one day one
> kid even tried to hit me with a small rock, because of no reason,
> or maybe just because of a sign of disrespect toward people with
> disabilities, and even more, blind people. (or that is what I
> think now.)
> The problem with kids, I suppose, from my personal experiences,
> is that their parents inherit those misperceptions of blindness
> into them and / or the kids get them from other people, or
> they've never been around blind people before or something. I can
> understand how they have never been around people who are blind
> before, but the parents issue is what gets me straight the most.
> Yet I don't even have the right time to advocate these kids in a
> diplomatic way patience being one of the factors. But the times I
> try to educate them about my blindness and being just a regular
> person, I don't know how to start engaging them, and they keep
> asking dumb questions.
> Any opinions on how to say to them about positive attitudes of
> blindness, or how to diplomatically explain them? Have you had
> any similar experiences? Any stories you want to share? Any more
> concerns or issues? Any help is appreciated please.
>
> Cheers, Humberto
>
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