[nabs-l] curing blindness

Mon Oct 1 02:48:16 UTC 2012

That's what hit me as I read his book some years ago: how he used his alternative techniques to help along the way. If some day I were regain sight, I'd use these techniques. Good Mike wrote his story whose title cannot recall. I'd really recomend giving it a read; it's really interesting!

Enviado desde mi iPhone

El 30/09/2012, a las 20:44, "Ashley Bramlett" <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> escribió:

> 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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