[humanser] Blind Psychologist on Blind Simulations

[Ericka]

Thanks JD! Good work Arielle!!!!

Ericka Short
608-665-3170

 from my iPhone 6s

> On Oct 23, 2016, at 9:46 PM, JD Townsend via HumanSer <humanser at nfbnet.org> wrote:
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> Blindfolding Doesn't Help People Understand What It's Like to be Blind
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> list of 1 items
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> Over a year ago 
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> by 
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> NATALIE SHOEMAKER
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> Article Image 
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> “You never truly know someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes.” It's an old adage that speaks for humanity to experience or imagine another person's
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> situation in order to understand. Put on a blindfold, for instance, and you'll instantly know what it's like to be blind. Perhaps not, according to one
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> study.
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> Ben Richmond from Motherboard
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> writes on a 
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> recent study
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> that shows people who experience simulated blindness perceive blind people as less capable. The lead study's author Arielle Silverman, who is a PhD candidate
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> at CU-Boulder's Department of Psychology and Neuroscience (and blind), spoke to Richmond in an interview, saying:
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> “Disability activists have long argued that simulations give a falsely negative view of disability.”
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> This view may give some the impression that blind folks are less capable than those with sight. In order to prove this hypothesis, Silverman and her team
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> gathered 100 student participants. Some of the participants were blindfolded and asked to perform simple tasks from walking down a hallway to sorting coins.
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> At the study's conclusion, 53 percent of participants who were blindfolded came away with the impression that blind people are less capable. Where only
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> 34 percent of people who were not blindfolded thought the same. 
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> “Participants' attitudes were harmed because the blindfolded experience led them to believe that blind people cannot perform activities as well as people
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> with normal vision. While all participants tended to have this belief, it was more intense among the participants who had just simulated blindness.”
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> Of course, Silverman disagrees with this notion. Technology has come a long way, she says, allowing the disabled to perform some duties without the need
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> of an  assistant.
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> The issue that concerns her most is that blindness simulations are often used as educational tools for students and teachers--without first consulting
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> a blind person. If participants are coming away with the notion that the blind are less able than people with sight, then these “blind simulations” don't
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> adequately represent their true abilities. Her fear is that this perception could create a misunderstanding that could hinder someone from gaining access
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> to certain jobs where managers may think the applicant wouldn't be able to carry out their duties adequately. 
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> “In my view, any educational exercise about disability should be guided first and foremost by people with disabilities, and these individuals should be
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> front and center in delivering the exercise to students. If simulations are used at all, they should be crafted so as to present participants with a balanced
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> perspective on the positive, negative and neutral aspects of having a lifelong disability.”
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> block quote end
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> Read more at 
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> Motherboard
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> JD Townsend LCSW
> Helping the light dependent to see.
> Daytona Beach, Earth, Sol System
> <JDTownsend.vcf>
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