[nabs-l] Blindness versus other minority groups

[Patrick Molloy]

adrianne,
You make a great point about martial arts classes. Martial arts are
something where a blind person and a sighted person are on equal
footing. You don't have to see your partner to perform the moves. Not
only that, but taking a martial art will really make you aware of your
body and it would definitely make you less stiff. My friend got me
into Aikido a couple of weeks ago and at first I was a little unsure,
but it's actually worked out really well.

On 11/17/11, Andi <adrianne.dempsey at gmail.com> wrote:
> Actually you make a good point about acting and dance classes.  Both are
> good ways to improve nonverbal skills.  Dance classes will help loosen stiff
> postures and movements and acting classes will help with the facial
> expressions.  When I started dance classes I felt even more stiff at first
> because I was thinking to hard about the movements and that is true for
> sighted people as well.  However as the classes went on I found myself not
> only more fluid on stage and on the dance floor, but more natural looking in
> everyday movements.  Acting is usually exadurated expressions because of the
> distence between the stage and the audionce, but if a person has atrophy
> they will have to try exadurated expressions at first anyway because the
> face muscles will not move as easily.  The muscles will need more forse so
> what seems exadurated to an atrophyed face will not really be.  Eventually
> as people practis the expressions will be more natural and easier.  Not only
> facial expressions but hand placement body stance and a lot of other little
> details.  I hyly recommend both dance and acting classes for anyone who
> wishes to look more natural.  Most people but not all who are blind from
> birth have somewhat stiff and unnatural looking movements and do not realize
> it because it is what they have allways done and so it feels natural to
> them.  I use to be like this and no one ever said anything to me about it
> because it was not tarrible, but after I took dance I realized how much more
> natural I walk and move now compared to then.  My sister told me the same
> thing, but I could actually feel the difference.  I do not recommend ballet
> for this, don't get me wrong it is a beautiful art form and if you are in to
> that it is wonderful, but it is stiff on perpous and they train for years to
> make their bodies do all sorts of unnatural things.  It is not for someone
> who is just wanting to have more natural movements.  I recommend latten
> ballroom or hip hop or even modern, Especially lattin ballroom.  Acting
> classes I am not as experienced with but It would defanatly be  helpful.  If
> not a dance class a zoomba class would be good.  Yoga and any marcial art is
> also really helpful in this.  If you do not want to join a class contact a
> nonverbal comunication instructor and have that person give you facial
> exercizes, but they are not easy to find.  It is truly possible to override
> atraphy no matter how long a person has ben out of practis but it is not
> instant and it takes a lot of work on that persons part.  As for the smiling
> at private jokes, sighted people do it to but there is a eye movement
> asociated with it that tells others it is a private thought, and the smile
> is usually breef.  However as long as you are not loling your head it is
> probebly not that big of a deal.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Arielle Silverman
> Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2011 10:29 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Blindness versus other minority groups
>
> Hi Tara and all,
> You make a good point about nonverbal communication. I agree that it
> behooves us as blind people to actively use nonverbal communication to
> express ourselves. However, I wonder how skilled someone can become at
> this who has been totally blind since birth, even with practice. In
> particular, I am thinking about deliberately using nonverbal signals
> in emotional or stressful situations, like eye-rolling or looking
> annoyed when a stranger says or does something obnoxious. I imagine we
> can practice certain gestures or facial expressions, but would they
> ever become automatic enough to appear without much conscious effort,
> as they do for sighted people? Of course some things, like facing a
> conversation partner, are easy and don't require much thought, but
> other expressions are a lot more nuanced. I'm curious if any of you
> who have always been blind really feel like you have developed good
> control over your facial and body expressions, or if any of you have
> made attempts to get better. I really do think that focused lessons
> about body language should be taught to young blind children, but I
> think that realistically, the task of getting someone who has always
> been blind to adopt culturally shared facial expressions and gestures
> routinely is a lot harder than just a simple explanation. Then again,
> if this kind of education were treated like a dance or acting class,
> with as much discipline and structure, maybe it could work.
> Incidentally, I have noticed that if I find myself thinking about
> something funny, I will pop a big smile and people will ask me what's
> so funny. I'm curious if this happens to anyone else? I get the
> impression that this doesn't happen to sighted people and I assume
> that sighted people find themselves thinking about funny things too,
> but that they just hide it better. Often I am so distracted by the
> funny thought that I don't even realize I am grinning until my
> attention is called to it. This is often quite awkward and
> embarrassing, especially since most of the time, the funny thing I am
> thinking about is just a stupid joke or something from a TV show and I
> don't really feel like explaining it out loud. Can you think of a
> graceful way to handle this, or to prevent it?
> Best,
> Arielle
>
> On 11/15/11, Andi <adrianne.dempsey at gmail.com> wrote:
>>      I agree nonverbal comunication is so very important and I think it
>> should be included in the curriculum that VI's and training centers use,
>> not
>> only what we want to say but also avoiding the nonverbals that say what we
>> do not want to say.  I use to work at a summer camp and I notice a big
>> difference in the social lives of the blind kids and teens who had an
>> understanding of nonverbal comunication versis the blind kids and teens
>> who
>> were not taught nonverbal comunication.  Part of the reason sighted people
>> think so badly and incorrectly about the blind is because sometimes blind
>> people do not allways look compatent even though they are.  I am not
>> saying
>> that all blind people look this way, nor am I saying that blind people who
>> look compatent are never faulsly judged.  I know that the sighted are
>> largely ignorent to the truthe about blind people, but I think blind
>> people
>> also need to present themselves in a way that portrays them how they want
>> to
>> be seen.  I know that you shouldn't care to much what other people think
>> of
>> you, because you can not please everyone, and you should always be true to
>> yourself; however all people especially people who are already dealing
>> with
>> stigmas such as the blind should care to a sertain extent.
>>      Many blind people have atrophy in the muscles in their face.  This
>> means that many facial expressions are hard or in some cases impossible to
>> make.  When people have a blank look on their face it looks to the sighted
>> like there is nothing going on upstairs.  Even other sighted people get
>> this
>> blank look on their face sometimes but it is usually when they are dazing
>> off or falling asleep.  When a person has that look all the time it looks
>> to
>> sighted people that the blind can not have an intelligent conversation
>> because you can not talk to someone who is off in space.  Some Blind
>> people
>> go to physical tharipy to remedy this, but that is not necessary just some
>> exercises at home can fix it.  Also eye contact is a big part of nonverbal
>> comunication.  Many blind people keep their eyes closed, or look at the
>> floor, or look up in the sky.  That to a sighted person shows disinterest,
>> bordom, or again the off in space thing depending on the rest of your body
>> language accompanying the lack of eye contact.  Even though we can not see
>> the person we are talking to we should make eye contact.  Isms such as
>> rocking, poking, spinning, or flicking, are not exceptable ever as this
>> looks like a cognitive impairment.  At the camp their were blind kids with
>> no other disability, and blind kids who also had cognitive impairments.  I
>> had my sighted sister come to the camp and help teach a weekend dance camp
>> as she is a very skilld dancer.  One teenager who is very smart by the way
>> and has no other disabilities was rocking and poking while singing loudly
>> at
>> dinner.  My sister had not yet met him and asked me how old he was
>> mentally.
>> Once she met him and realized he was mentally a normal teen she felt bad
>> for
>> asking the question, but that is how the sighted world looks at isms. The
>> placement of your hands is a simple but often socially faital thing if
>> placed oddly.  Also the way a person stands or walks is importaint.  Many
>> blind people move stiffly, I am not talking a robot, but still stif
>> movements can tell a sighted person something you are not trying to say.
>> Depending on what you are doing with the stiff movement you can look
>> either
>> angry, nervous, or mocking.  This is just the tip of the nonverbal
>> icebirg,
>> and it can make a huge difference in the way we as blind people are
>> viewed.
>>      Also you are right about understanding the body language of others,
>> and
>> even though we can not see it there are ways of telling what is being said
>> silently.  Some actions make noise, while others have a different energy
>> feel.  I was told that only 7 percent of all comunication is what a person
>> says, 32 percent of all comunication is tone, and 61 percent of all
>> comunication is nonverbal.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Tara Annis
>> Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 10:20 AM
>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [nabs-l] Blindness versus other minority groups
>>
>> I think the first step in helping blind people to get their feelings
>> across
>> to the sighted is  to understand what is considered ignorance and what is
>> considered outright teasing and cruelty in public.  Many of the meanest
>> things are just said with one word    and a lot of body language.  Many
>> people who hate blind people speak in a nice manner, but  exhibit cruelty
>> in
>> their body language. I do think a lot of blind people, not all, but some,
>> do
>> lack discernment in this area, especially if they are blind from birth and
>>
>> a
>> sighted person  does not take the time to explain nonverbal communication.
>> I think the first step would be for an honest sighted person to follow a
>> blind person around and interpret the visual elements to the blind person,
>> so that the entire picture can be analyzed for both parties.  I think one
>> of
>> the best ways to respond to those who are ignorant, who are not attempting
>> to be mean, but make offensive remarks is through body language, like
>> rolling one's eyes.  Most sighted people use   nonverbal communication to
>> show  when they are irritated by another person.  If the person continues
>> to
>> be annoying, the person will then use verbal communication.  That is why
>> sighted people think blind are mean for actually verbally stating their
>> anger, instead of visually displaying it.  I would like to see a class
>> where
>> advanced nonverbal communication is explained, since    currently it seems
>> there are just the basics  taught, like  facing the person you are talking
>> to and shaking hands. There is not a class in how to display   the various
>> ways of shooing levels of discomfort, from   annoyed, slightly irritated,
>> somewhat irritated, to angry. Blind people need to know that sometimes it
>> is
>> necessary to actively create facial expressions and body movements, as
>> opposed to letting one's body language depict their true feelings.
>> Personally, I was surprised at the amount of communication that is
>> displayed
>> nonverbally, that sighted people watch me from across a large college
>> campus, or from way down the street, and are making judgments about me
>> from
>> my appearance. Once this was explained to me, I do feel that I am more
>> comfortable around sighted people, and am  in   control of  getting my
>> feelings across.  The great thing about learning all this stuff is that I
>> have seen the amount of ignorance I faced by sighted people diminish
>> significantly.  It is a 50/50 situation: blind people need to do their
>> half
>> of    helping get rid of ignorance  and sighted people need to be willing
>> to
>> do their half.
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>
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