[nabs-l] Spacial Awareness as a Totally Blind Person

Franandah Damstra fantasyfanatic01 at gmail.com
Tue Oct 13 20:17:13 UTC 2009


As being almost totally blind myself, non verbal communication has
always been a struggle. I  too, have been told I  look a  way that I
don't feel or they ask me if something is wrong when I'm just
thinking. It's hard for a  Blind person to express themselves with
facial expressions, when we can't see them for ourselves. I, however,
also enjoy acting. Therefore, I had to learn facial expressions. I
can't say I'm an expert. I do make my fair share of mistakes, but I'm
getting the hang of it. Just this year I  learned hand gestures and I
can talk more expressively. The main thing to facial expressions is
your emotions. If your sad, your face will reflect it. If your happy,
your face will mimic your feelings. When I  really want to express
myself, I usually just let my feelings take over. In this way, I can
put on a genuine facial expression that mimics how I am feeling. When
I  act, I can't just act something. I have to really feel the emotions
myself so I can portray that emotion correctly.
~Franandah

On 10/13/09, alena roberts <alena.roberts2282 at gmail.com> wrote:
> As far as I know the best way for the blind to understand their
> surroundings is by using echos, i.e. if you learn what things sound
> like it is easier to tell what's in the room. A good example is
> walking in an open space and then as you're walking there is suddenly
> a wall next to you. If you're using a cane or talking, the sound will
> be different. As far as facial expressions go, this might be more
> challenging. My best suggestion would be to practice reacting to
> different feelings. Most facial expressions are based on how someone
> feels. I would also ask a sighted friend or family member to work with
> you on expressing yourself non-verbally. I think that people are
> always surprised that I am mostly blind because I use hand gestures
> and other non-verbal communication when I talk to them. I did have the
> benefit of seeing earlier in life, but I think these kind of things
> can be learned even if you can't see. I hope this helps somewhat.
>
> --
> Alena Roberts
> Blog: http://www.blindgal.com/
>
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