[nabs-l] Interactions....

[Jorge Paez]

Good point Alex.
Its like that question that people keep asking me a lot, which is "would you want to be sighted?"
The thing many people don't get, is that since blindness for many of us has been since a very early age, and something around which we learn all our skills and techniques, sight for us would mean getting used to a whole new world--and its the same thing for blindness simulation extercies.
Sighted people don't know the skills to get around places, since all their skills rely on vision, and hence the bad impression.

I think Alex's points are very good, and you should also try to contrast the 2 types of simmulations, 1 with skills learned and 1 without, see if that changes that way people communicate with real-life situations that include blind people.

Jorge










On Aug 26, 2010, at 7:38 AM, Alexander Castillo wrote:

> Hi Arielle, distinguishing the obnoxious from the helpful is something
> I do on a daily basis, as I live in NYC and New Yorkers tend to be one
> or the other, and rarely in the middle.
> 
> A simple statement that might help is that the obnoxious person
> believes you need their help, and will directly or indirectly inform
> you of this belief; as where the helpful person will offer when
> appropriate.
> 
> Someone obnoxious will stand and expect me to sit when I enter a
> subway car. Someone helpful will ask me if I would like a seat.
> 
> You mentioned having participants undergo blindness simulations, and
> blindness simulations and then interaction with someone who is blind,
> and how those people involved in the simulation might react in the
> interaction. One of the reasons why blindness is viewed as so
> stigmatizing is that the average person has no skills with which to
> feel comfortable in a non-sighted oriented environment. In other
> words, it might be interesting not only to see how people react to
> someone who is blind after undergoing a blindness simulation, but it
> would also be interesting to know how those people interact with
> someone blind after undergoing a blindness simulation and possibly
> learning of a skill which would facilitate their comfort ability level
> while they participate in that simulation. I would think that
> acquiring this skill might lead participants to healthier beliefs
> concerning blind people, as now they are able to achieve something
> while blind, and not just see themselves as stumbling around.
> 
> Perhaps these attitudes can be measured by also having participants
> view vignettes of blind individuals performing an activity, and
> assessing on a scale, how competent they view the blind person as
> being while doing so. For example: A blind woman walking up to the
> curve who is clearly going to cross the street: a blind man who is
> about to fire up a BBQ grill…
> 
> Alex
> 
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