[nabs-l] Defining Excessively Helpful People and Interactions

[Cindy Bennett]

I think some good ways to quantify over helpfulness would be to count
how many times the blind person is physically touched. Also, the
number of times the sighted person offering help asks something along
the lines of, "are you sure?" or repeats their request to help after
the blind person has clearly said no.

Also, i think that Joe brought up a good point. Over helpfulness is a
product of the helper's offers and the feelings of the one being
helped, so maybe a discomfort scale, or something of the sort, could
be given to the blind person after the incident. Sorry, i'm not really
familiar with any specific ones, but i'm sure they're out there. I
think this would be good, because some blind people honestly aren't
bothered by many offers to help whereas some become frustrated. There
could be a problem if the same blind person is used in simulation,
because after a while, they may be not as frustrated, because it is
just a study, or more frustrated because they have been put through
the simulation multiple times.

Cindy

On 8/24/10, trising <trising at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>     I think overly helpful people grab you and pull you to wherever they
> think you want to go. It is hard to get them to stop and
> actually listen to your question about what restaurants or businesses are
> near so you can actually make your own choices. Others
> might shout at us or talk to us very slowly, as if the synapses in our
> brains must take a while to fire. Others ask our companions
> what we want for lunch or give them our change. When a person asks a friend
> or family member what I want as if I am not there, I
> answer as if I am not there either by saying something like, "She wants a
> large Coke without ice and some fish and chips." As soon
> as they talk to me, I stop talking as if I am not there because it sounds
> silly.
>     At another time my husband and I were casually walking down the street
> in the local town where we live. We became aware of a man
> who was positively shrieking, "You missed the bus stop," over and over. My
> husband and I are both totally blind from birth. We
> finally realized he must be talking to us because no one was reacting to
> him, and he was not letting up. I said, "We are not going
> to the bus stop," and the man immediately stopped yelling.
>     Many times we have had people yelling at us about an obstacle that is
> between several feet, to several store lengths away. We
> either say Thanks, or say, "I will find it with My cane," to get them to
> stop yelling. Then, I keep walking until I find the
> obstacle. I have found it makes people nervous when our canes contact an
> obstacle. However, it is a lot easier to get around an
> obstacle that my cane has already found than one I am trying to skirt
> without finding it.
> Terri Wilcox
>
>
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