[nabs-l] Body language and facial expressions

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Arielle,

I agree that we are quick to assume we know why a person does what they
do; for anyone, there a lot of variables that can contribute to, or lead
to, certain behavior. In the instance of the case with the boy who
masterbated, I can only say what information I read about.

It was like four years ago that I wrote the paper, and I'm not sure if I
ended up using that particular source, but I still have the paper
somewhere and can check. I believe the boy lived in Florida.

Based on what I remember, the teacher working with this student, who was
also blind, explained that the boy wasn't aware of how sight worked-
this is completely a layman's definition based on my memory of the case.
Obviously, chronic, not to mention public, masturbation for anyone is
symptomatic of a sexual compulsion. Though you boys are so icky in this
regard, j/k, smile, chronic masturbation, blind, sighted, male, female,
is not appropriate behavior around others. With this case, I believe,
the reasoning he did it in public was, based on the foundings of his
teacher who was blind, because he wasn't aware that others could see
him.

It's unfortunate that many attribute every little thing we do to our
blindness. If my sighted friend trips, it's because they're not paying
attention, but if I trip, it's all credited to my blindness. We never
get to just be people. Having been sighted for 22 years and only blind
for eight, this has been the most difficult adjustment.

I agree we need to be careful about how and why we attribute behavior to
a person. When blind, for instance, we can't assume everything is just
due to blindness. I had a doctor go through my med list during a visit
years ago, and they asked what anti-depressant I was currently on. I
responded by saying none, to which they acted surprised by and wanted to
know if I wanted a prescription for one. When I asked why, they, a
doctor, were at a loss for words. This is a bit off the topic, but in
the same vein, but it was assumed that just because I was blind, I
required medication to deal with the horror of my life.

Nonetheless, there are blind people who aren't taught certain things,
and as they grow older, certain behaviors develop and persist. It
becomes difficult to reverse some behavior the older we get. I knew a
young woman who was blind, and she never smiled- literally, not even
when laughing. I came to find out that her parents told her that she had
a silly smile and to just not do it. I knew another blind person, a
young man, who never spoke until he was directly addressed. Apparently
his parents had told him that if he spoke before being addressed, he
risked looking stupid when it turned out no one was speaking to him, or
addressing another person. And I won't even go into blindisms as we risk
entering very heated territory here soon, smirky grin.

Anyway, what I remember from the study, the reason behind the public
display of sexual behavior, and not the behavior itself, was due to lack
of information because he was blind. If I find any information, I'll
post it.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 7
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:46:46 -0700
From: Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com>
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
	<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Body language and facial expressions
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<CALAYQJBWdF-OSZ+x1vTgORguGY7rSz+txKV2a1yqAWncWXB-cg at mail.gmail.com>
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Hi Bridgit,
Do you happen to remember who wrote the study about the blind student
masturbating during class? I'd be curious to know if it was actually
verified that the reason he did this is because no one had ever told him
that he shouldn't do it. It's definitely possible, but it's also
possible that he knew he shouldn't do it but still ended up doing it for
a different reason. Perhaps he had a sexual compulsion (unrelated to
blindness) that made it very hard for him to not masturbate no matter
how hard he tried. Or, it's possible that he knew he "shouldn't" do it
or that other kids didn't do it, but that he wasn't motivated to stop,
figuring "the teacher's blind, what's the difference?" My point is that
I think whenever a blind person displays any kind of non-normative
behavior, it's assumed they just "don't know any better" but that's just
one of several possible reasons. As I've stated before, in order for
anyone to modify their behavior they have to (a) know what the desired
behavior is, (b) actually be motivated to change to conform to the
norms, and (c) have the ability (self-awareness, self-control, etc.) to
do so. In the case of blindisms, I would submit that most cases of
blindisms do not result from mere lack of knowledge, but from either
lack of motivation, lack of ability, or both. I have talked to so many
blind teens and adults over the years who have complained that they
really want to stop rocking or eye-poking but just can't because they
aren't aware that it is happening. I have also talked to a few blind
people who know that sighted people don't do those things, but still
choose to do them (active nonconformity, like my adolescent approach to
fashion that I mentioned earlier). I think when people assume any
atypical behavior of the blind stems from merely not knowing what the
norms are, we neglect the more complex aspects of the issue. Best,
Arielle