[nfb-db] Communication Options and Technology

[Haben Girma]

Hey John, 

I get it. By using the SB in just a few situations, people will get the chance to see it and jfigur eout what it's about. 

Haben

-----Original Message-----
From: John Lee Clark <johnlee at clarktouch.com>
Sent: Sunday, May 17, 2009 4:13 PM
To: 'NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List' <nfb-db at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [nfb-db] Communication Options and Technology

Haben:

The guy came out of the café, and he'd seen me using the SBC to communicate
with the waiter.  My friends who already left were hearing blind signers and
deaf-blind and had already gotten on their paratransit rides.  

But the details of how others kinew in this or that situation are not the
point.  In all sorts of contexts, the SBC is going to be exposed at
different times for different reasons.  Once someone sees your SBC, that
person sees you differently.  Before, maybe that person saw you as someone
with whom he or she didn't know how to communicate with.  For as long as
anyone has this perception, the chances of him or her approaching you are
very low.  Once this perception changes when they see you have some kind of
device they can use, the chances of your being approached, for whatever
reasons, increases big time.

Whether or not the SBC is visible is hardly a big factor.  I mean, when it
is zipped up and on a table, for example, and someone sees this object for
the first time, that person has no idea what it is.  Even when you are
actually using it with someone, others in the room may miss this or not
understand fully what's going on.  So it'[s not like once you use it,
everyone in the room is going to know and flock to you and bug you.  No.
But if you frequent a place, and certain others frequent it, too, over time,
those certain others may understand what the device is for and then may
approach you.  

In some situations, such as with FAs, it is more expedient just not to use
it at all, because those FAs can bug you, ask you if you'd like this or
that, and inform you of this or that.  But most other types, it's fine and
they'll not abuse the SBC.

As for that café, I guess maybe the man frequents the café and had seen my
DB friends using theirs before at the same place.  I don't know.  I don't
care.  There are so many variables.  It may be that the man had seen this
before, or he may have been intelligent and figured out what it was
instantly, even at some distance.  

John

 

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