[nfb-db] Deafblind Group Communication

Mon Jun 15 01:16:34 UTC 2009

hi I think that it dos depend on the degree of deaf-blindness I am  
blind and consetered hardof hereing and deaf-blind by som I know that  
my here is bad eneff that I chuse to use a dog gide. for safe travle.  
enay thoughts?
On Jun 14, 2009, at 7:08 PM, John Lee Clark wrote:

> Mussie:
>
> The reason I referred to modes of communication and NOT degrees of
> deaf-blindness is that the seating arrangements actually depend on the
> communication mode.  Degree of DBness almost has nothing to do with  
> it.
> While many people with the same level of vision that I do don't  
> listen to
> ASL tactually but rather use their vision, there are others with  
> more vision
> than I do who listen to ASL tactually as I do.  Conversely, there  
> are some
> who are very, very blind but who insist on using their eyes,  
> refusing to use
> their hands.  I have known mildly hard of hearing blind people to  
> prefer
> signing and some who are almost totally deaf yet keep on trying to  
> hear
> speech.  So degree of deafness or blindness is no way to classify or
> categorize DB people for any practical purpose.
>
> This is precisely why I never ask anyone how much vision or hearing  
> they
> have.  I also don't like it when others ask me that, because this is a
> medical question and tends to come from a belief system I disagree
> with--that more vision is better than less or more hearing is better  
> than
> less.  What is really better is if the person is well-adapted.  For  
> example,
> a totally blind person who is fluent in Braille is much better off  
> than a
> person who has more vision but strains to read the CC-TV, takes a  
> minute to
> focus on the screen, sometimes misreads, and who will snap at you if  
> you
> interrupt her reading.  So asking that person how much vision she  
> has is a
> joke, and the person who asks it and learns that she "still has  
> useable
> vision" and is happy to learn this is reinforcing the mistaken  
> belief that
> she should use her vision, no matter what, until the very last drop  
> is gone.
>
>
> Upon meeting people for the first time, it is immediately clear  
> whether or
> not they're well-adapted, independent, use their tools comfortably  
> and with
> ease, etc.  There is no need for me to ask any questions related to  
> vision,
> hearing, or whatever.  Take my recent encounter with a DB woman from  
> Long
> Islan, NY.
>
> Me: Hello.  What's your name?
>
> Woman: who are you?  What is your name?
>
> Me: My name is John.  J O H N.  No, John.  Yes, that's right.  What  
> is your
> name?
>
> Woman: I am from Long Island.
>
> Me: Oh, that's nice.  But what's your name?
>
> Woman: I work at a department store.  My job is to fold clothes.
>
> Me: Do you like your job?
>
> Woman: My name is Allison.
>
> Mussie, what good is it to ask how much vision she has?  Whatever  
> vision she
> has, she's not well-adapted to reality.  I remember my mother  
> telling me
> about a DB woman she saw at AADB.  The woman was chatting with her old
> friend, also DB, and after that conversation, the woman turns to her  
> husband
> and remarks "Wow, her vision is worse than mine!  We used to be  
> about the
> same, but she has lost much of her vision!"  But the funny thing was  
> that it
> was obvious to my mother that the woman's vision was, in fact, far  
> worse
> than her old friend's vision.  But the woman was blind to that fact,  
> blind
> to the fact she needs a cane, needs Braille, etc.
>
> Ah well!
>
> John
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org]  
> On Behalf
> Of Mussie
> Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2009 7:32 PM
> To: NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfb-db] Deafblind Group Communication
>
> I agree with you, John, regarding the arrangement of chairs. Many  
> places
> have even tables and chairs attached to the floor, forcing the deaf- 
> blind to
>
> look for alternative seating.
> It is a common misconception that by simply stating you are deaf- 
> blind, most
>
> people will assume that you are totally incapable of hearing and  
> seeing. For
>
> that reason, I would simply tell Haben that the way communication
> accommodation is provided depends on degree of deaf-blindness,  
> leaving out
> the need to describe the various modes and instances of  
> communication. From
> my understanding, the majority of deaf-blind individuals actually use
> tactile American Sign Language (TASL), and so communication that  
> places so
> much emphasis on typing messages may not be an ideal solution. The  
> DeafBlind
>
> Communicator even greets the hearie-sightie with something like, "I  
> am blind
>
> and can't hear" (which is much more salient) than simply saying, "I am
> deaf-blind," (which is more confusing). That is apparently because  
> most
> hearing people have enver encountered a deaf-blind and all too often  
> assume
> that deaf-blindness connotes total loss of vision and hearing. That  
> has been
>
> the problem between me and hearing people.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Lee Clark" <johnlee at clarktouch.com>
> To: "'NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List'" <nfb-db at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, June 07, 2009 11:58 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-db] Deafblind Group Communication
>
>
>> Haben:
>>
>> No.  This chain relay interpreting is ideal for small groups.  Larger
>> groups
>> would result in "telephone line" lags and errors.  Most large  
>> groups, in
>> meetings or for presentations, would have many different things  
>> going on.
>> Some will watch the presenter directly, sitting up close.  Others  
>> may join
>> groups of four or five people who watch one relay interpreter.   
>> some would
>> have tactile interpreters.  Others listen to ALDS or read large  
>> print or
>> Braille feeds.  For this reason, the ideal venue is an open floor and
>> chairs
>> that you can arrange in any kind of way.  Places with chairs fixed  
>> to the
>> floor are bad.
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf
>> Of Haben Girma
>> Sent: Sunday, June 07, 2009 11:24 PM
>> To: NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-db] Deafblind Group Communication
>>
>>
>> So at the AADB meetings, is that how they communicate to the whole
>> group. So if one person is presenting, do the people next to her  
>> relay
>> the message around the circle?
>>
>> Haben
>>
>> Mussie wrote:
>>> Haben,
>>> I was once asked this question, although I generally only work on
>>> one-on-one training sessions. Sign language is not the only group- 
>>> wide
>>> communication. I am sure there will be much simplier way to
>>> communciate in groups in the future, like there will be cell phone
>>> based video conversation via ASL in situations where it may not be
>>> possible to see one's signing. But for the deaf-blind, there are  
>>> other
>>> options, including networked communication options (Face to Face and
>>> the DBC can permit this), though it may not be an they may not be an
>>> ideal solution in some situations. I also used to do group tactile
>>> signing in which what one is saying at the other end is relayed
>>> through the person or persons close to the receiver of the signing.
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Haben Girma" <habnkid at aol.com>
>>> To: "NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List" <nfb-db at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 2:03 AM
>>> Subject: [nfb-db] Deafblind Group Communication
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>> John, you mentioned somewhere that your wife is not your  
>>>> interpreter.
>>>> I imagine that you do find yourself occasionally in large social
>>>> groups. What do you do in these situations? Do you just sign to the
>>>> people next to you? Does your wife really not interpret at all what
>>>> the people across the table are signing? Of course if your wife  
>>>> were
>>>> your interpreter she would not get a chance to participate in the
>>>> conversation herself, but then how can you participate in the large
>>>> group conversation if someone does not interpret for you? I'm  
>>>> curious
>>>> specifically about informal groups of 4 to six friends.
>>>>
>>>> Haben
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>
>>>
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