[nabs-l] curing blindness

Mon Oct 1 01:44:29 UTC 2012

Gerado,
Yes, that is Michael May. He had to relearn to see and did use alternative 
techniques while still learning to see again. What I mean is he had to learn 
to process the images and attach meaning to them which takes time.

-----Original Message----- 
From: Gerardo Corripio
Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2012 9:08 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] curing blindness

  Also have you guys heard the story of this blind guy who had surgery
and had to relearn everthing as a sighted person? Even as he learned, he
still used his guide dog. What is Michael something? he's the founder of
Sendero group I think.

El 30/09/2012 07:59 p.m., Laurel escribió:
> Ok. Y'all might kill me for saying this, but you wanted our thoughts
> on the matter, so here goes.
> I am blind from birth, have an artificial left eye and see only
> light/dark and colors and some shapes and movement in my right eye. I
> read braille and all. If I had the chance to use some form of medical
> technology that would improve my vision, even a little but, I'd take
> it. While I am extremely comfortable with my identity as a blind
> woman, and while I realize that I may never get 20/20 vision, I would
> be willing to do anything that would improve my vision slightly. I
> realize I may be in the minority in this group, and that most people
> might not agree with me, but those are my thoughts. I must also say
> that even if my vision improved a little bit, but not very much, I
> would not stop using a guide dog or some form of mobility aid like
> this gentlemen is doing. I would still utilize any mobility aids that
> I would need in order to be safe, and I would still utilize any
> blindness related technology, braille, jaws etc, that I might need.
> I'm not interested in passing off as a sighted person either and I
> realize that with improved vision goes many challenges. I'm not even
> trying to argue with that. I'm for being safe and all. All I am
> saying, is that if I had the chance to do something that would help
> improve my vision, even if it only improved like by 5 percent or so,
> I'd strongly consider doing it. Anything helps.
> Just my opinion, I totally understand those of you who would disagree
> with me. Each man to his own. /smile/
> Laurel
>
> On 9/30/12, Gerardo Corripio<gera1027 at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>    Sure! These foundations only care about money money money; not only
>> that: they use the psychological of pity to get people to donate.
>>
>> El 30/09/2012 07:23 p.m., Chris Nusbaum escribió:
>>> Hi Arielle,
>>>
>>> I agree with you completely, and couldn't have said it better! I also
>>> think
>>> it depends on how long you have been blind. I have been totally blind
>>> since
>>> birth, meaning that living without sight is the only life I have ever
>>> known.
>>> Therefore, if I were to suddenly regain my vision, it would be sensory
>>> overload for me. This is why when people tell me that they can't imagine
>>> being blind, I reply that I can't imagine being sighted.
>>>
>>> Because I have never had sight, I don't know what it is like to see. I
>>> can't
>>> imagine travelling without a cane. I don't know how I would do things
>>> around
>>> the house or at school visually. The first few times I would try to use 
>>> a
>>> computer or an iOS device visually, I would probably keep using the JAWS
>>> keystrokes and VoiceOver gestures, then get frustrated wondering why the
>>> heck these keystrokes and gestures I had been using for so long were not
>>> working anymore.<Smile>   I would need to learn how to read and write
>>> print,
>>> which would probably take me a very long time. This is the same 
>>> situation
>>> that some blind people face when they suddenly lose all or a large part
>>> of
>>> their usable vision and are forced to learn Braille. The only print I
>>> know
>>> right now is the letters of my name, but even that is cursive. On the
>>> other
>>> hand, I can read Braille at 170 words per minute and can easily keep up
>>> with
>>> my sighted classmates when reading material, provided that that material
>>> is
>>> in Braille or an electronic Braille format, such as a BRF book from
>>> Bookshare. If I suddenly regained my vision, I would have to go back to
>>> the
>>> preschool or kindergarten level and relearn how to read and write. How
>>> would
>>> this effect my academic success in high school? I would think it would
>>> adversely effect it. Even now, as I am trying to imagine the sense of
>>> sight,
>>> I can't wrap my head around it. If this makes sense, I don't know what
>>> seeing is. This is because I have never had sight and have gotten used 
>>> to
>>> blindness.
>>>
>>> I would be interested, though, to do a survey similar to the one you did
>>> for
>>> your thesis and compare the answers of blind people who have been blind
>>> since birth to those of people who went blind in early childhood to 
>>> those
>>> of
>>> people who went blind as adults. I would predict that those of us who
>>> were
>>> born blind would have answers similar to mine. Conversely, I would think
>>> that some of the people who lost their sight in early childhood as well
>>> as
>>> most of the people who went blind in adulthood would take the imagined
>>> "magic pill" or use the artificial vision. I think this is because they
>>> have
>>> experienced sight and know what it's like to see, and would probably 
>>> want
>>> their sight back if they could have it. However, as I said, those of us
>>> who
>>> are totally blind and especially those of us who have been blind since
>>> birth
>>> wouldn't know what to do with sight, and therefore wouldn't want it. For
>>> my
>>> part, I don't think I would take the pill for the reasons I have
>>> described.
>>> However, I do think blindness research is a good thing, and a cure for
>>> blindness certainly wouldn't be a bad thing, as long as the research is
>>> done
>>> with a positive attitude toward blindness. I think this is where groups
>>> such
>>> as the Foundation Fighting Blindness fall short. They keep using the
>>> image
>>> of the helpless blind person as a tool for fundraising and support. In
>>> other
>>> words, I sometimes think they are implying (even if they don't say it)
>>> this:
>>> "Wouldn't you be devastated if you lost your sight? It would be so
>>> horrible
>>> for you, and you would be left helpless. So, if you want to prevent 
>>> this,
>>> donate to our foundation so you can help us find a cure for the terrible
>>> thing that is blindness." They don't say that there are ways in which
>>> blind
>>> people can live normal, independent and active lives. Rather, they try 
>>> to
>>> get sighted people to pity us. I think this does more harm than good. 
>>> But
>>> that's another subject for another thread.
>>>
>>> These are just my thoughts, and I hope I am making sense. What do you 
>>> all
>>> think?
>>>
>>> Chris
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>> Behalf
>>> Of Arielle Silverman
>>> Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2012 6:01 PM
>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] curing blindness
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>> I have studied this topic a bit because it was the subject of my honors
>>> thesis when I was an undergraduate student. I did a survey about six
>>> years
>>> ago (a few of you may have participated) to assess how blind people felt
>>> about the prospect of having their sight restored.
>>> One of the most interesting findings was that when asked whether or not
>>> one
>>> would take a magic pill that would restore full vision immediately with
>>> no
>>> risks or side effects, only 72% of the sample said they would do it.
>>> While
>>> most of the participants said they would do it, a substantial minority
>>> (about 20%) said no. Some of the people who  said no cited concerns 
>>> about
>>> losing their identity as blind people, or having  to adjust to a new
>>> sense
>>> and that possibly taking away from their quality of life.
>>> Another finding from the survey was that most people said in order for 
>>> a
>>> sight-restoring technology to be worthwhile, it would have to give them
>>> most
>>> or all functional vision. I personally don't have any objection to the
>>> technology like the Argus II being developed. I do think it could be a
>>> problem, though, if technologies that only give very rudimentary vision
>>> become popularized. They could perhaps lead people like the man in the
>>> article to forego using a proven travel aid like a cane in favor of 
>>> using
>>> very rudimentary vision. As a result, people who have these procedures
>>> could
>>> actually end up struggling more than they were before. Based on the
>>> article,
>>> I am not convinced that Lloyd has actually gained any independence from
>>> the
>>> artificial vision, beyond what he would have gotten with a cane. 
>>> Instead,
>>> it
>>> makes him better at passing as a sighted guy, but possibly worse at
>>> navigating his environment because he is no longer using a cane. I think
>>> the
>>> challenges and self-esteem issues associated with "passing" without
>>> actually
>>> having good skills are evident to many of us.
>>> I don't think I would undergo a procedure to improve my vision, for
>>> several
>>> reasons. I wouldn't even consider it until the technology was 
>>> extensively
>>> tested and perfected, and then, only if it could actually give me full
>>> functionality (driving etc.) Even then, I'm not sure I would do it 
>>> because
>>> I
>>> am terrified of surgery and only want to go through that if it is
>>> absolutely
>>> medically necessary, and I do not want to put the rest of my life on 
>>> hold
>>> to
>>> learn how to see. I have more ambivalent feelings about how much I want
>>> to
>>> support research on curing blindness, and I'm curious to know others'
>>> thoughts about this.
>>> I have a genetic eye condition and have been told I should send my blood
>>> to
>>> a lab to have my gene identified because this will aid research on
>>> genetic
>>> treatments. I've debated whether or not to do it and at this point I am
>>> mostly indifferent. On one hand, I do think that treatments could
>>> legitimately help some people who don't have access to technology or who
>>> live in communities where blindness is viewed very poorly. On the other
>>> hand, I am bothered by the negative press about blindness that is often
>>> propagated by cure-oriented groups like Prevent Blindness America or
>>> Foundation Fighting Blindness, making me not want to support these
>>> causes.
>>> Furthermore, I believe that no matter how good treatments get, some
>>> people
>>> will continue to be blind. So I would rather direct my limited energy
>>> toward
>>> finding ways to make life better for those who are blind rather than
>>> wiping
>>> out blindness.  What do you think?
>>> Arielle
>>>
>>> On 9/30/12, Ashley Bramlett<bookwormahb at earthlink.net>   wrote:
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> I know NFB doesn't focus on treatment of blindness or low vision; they
>>>> focus on living with it and adapting to the world with training and
>>> equipment.
>>>> But many organizations do focus on this such as Foundation Fighting
>>>> Blindness and the organization mentioned in this article.
>>>> The link is below to the article.  I think this guy in the article was
>>>> sure taking a gamble with his life to walk to work without a cane and
>>>> only relying on unclear vision. At least the quote from him indicates
>>>> its hard to focus and learn to see with this artificial vision; not as
>>>> if he claims its perfect. Still he is happy with the artificial vision
>>>> he does have through the camera.
>>>>
>>>> I've had very limited vision all my life and I was fortunate to be
>>>> taught braille after they taught me large print, but realized its
>>>> shortcomings; so I learned braille and I had a cane in mid elementary
>>>> school. Training in O&M was a lot to be desired, but I did learn how
>>>> to use it as well as other alternative techniques from my teacher of 
>>>> the
>>> vision impaired.
>>>> Therefore, I'm adapting and still learning with what I have.
>>>> Techniques will also change with technology; for instance, when I was
>>>> young,  we had no digital recorders, digital NLS players, no book
>>>> share or any way to download books in braille, no bar code readers,
>>>> and scanners were around although not to the efficient degree we have
>>>> today. So, with all that said, I'm not sure I'd want more vision. But
>>>> this article paints a picture of getting some vision back as a good
>>>> thing. I certainly would not want to enter the sighted world as I would
>>> not know how to function.
>>>> If you read the article, what do you think? Would you take artificial
>>>> vision? This is becoming a reality and they are going to improve the
>>>> technology. The chip sends signals to the camera which sends signals
>>>> to the eyes so the person can see some images.
>>>>
>>>> Here it is.
>>>> http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57522740/new-technology-may-brin
>>>> g-sight-back-to-blind/ _______________________________________________
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