[nabs-l] Awkward Situations: What would you do?
Teal Bloodworth
tealbloodworth at gmail.com
Wed Sep 23 22:53:45 UTC 2009
This kid had no other disabilities. He attends kentucky christian college
and is a minestry major. Like i said he was blind from birth, phillipino
and adopted to a family in illinois. He had never really had many friends
and had a girlfriend but never affection between the two and she was
sighted. He was nice as can be but alittle awkward by his comments and
actions. Also he had a guide dog from Leader dog but always used a cane when
traveling with this dog that never listened to him. I am sure he has a story
and he was exceptionally nice just alittle weird.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark J. Cadigan" <kramc11 at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 8:35 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Awkward Situations: What would you do?
> What you are not taking into consideration is does this kid you are
> referring to have multiple disabilities? Does he have some sort of
> cognitive challenge on top of his blindness? You can't necessarily know if
> he does or not if he is high functioning.
>
> Another factor is what happened to this kid when he was little. What
> influenced his behavior?
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Teal Bloodworth" <tealbloodworth at gmail.com>
> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 7:56 PM
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Awkward Situations: What would you do?
>
>
>> Right i have no usable vision. Not all blind people are socially awkwad
>> if they are blind from birth. I agree with you that explaining is
>> basically a waste of time. I am saying this guy brought questions to my
>> mind....is it harder to lose your vision mid life or to never have it to
>> lose? Things like this and if one has been sheltered either sighted or
>> not they are going to have a bit of social awkwardness. This guy had
>> never really been around people without knowing how to act.
>>
>> -Teal
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Mark J. Cadigan" <kramc11 at gmail.com>
>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 5:30 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Awkward Situations: What would you do?
>>
>>
>>>I hope you are not implying that all people that have been blind since
>>>birth are socially awkward. I may not have lots of sighted friends, but
>>>this is not due to me not knowing how to act. Also when people concitter
>>>themselves blind it does not meen that they see absolootly nothing. I
>>>have a little bit of usable vision, but not enough to do much with and
>>>when people ask I say I am blind. I don't bother with attempting to
>>>explain the miniscule amount of vision I have, it just confuses people.
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Teal Bloodworth" <tealbloodworth at gmail.com>
>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 5:29 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Awkward Situations: What would you do?
>>>
>>>
>>>> well honestly i have only been around one guy totally blind since birth
>>>> and he was socially awkward. When he was happy or excited he would do a
>>>> wiggling of the butt up against someone and would giggle like a child
>>>> when he was 27. I think he was sheltered his whole life by his parents
>>>> since he was adopted and the only blind/V.I. in the house. I guess this
>>>> gave me an indifferent impression.
>>>>
>>>> Another guy with retina problems can see like looking through a straw
>>>> and was a senior in college trying to be a priest. He is probably my
>>>> hero and gave me some saying i will use in the future.
>>>>
>>>> -Teal
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Jedi" <loneblindjedi at samobile.net>
>>>> To: <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 3:50 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Awkward Situations: What would you do?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Teal,
>>>>>
>>>>> I don't know which blind guys you're hanging with, but I don't notice
>>>>> too much difference between those born blind versus those who had
>>>>> sight at some point. Fundamentally, there is no significant
>>>>> personality differences between the two. Life experiences may vary,
>>>>> and life experiences shape our perceptions, but not so much so that it
>>>>> fundamentally changes an individual on such a deep level. That is,
>>>>> unless they let it.
>>>>>
>>>>> Respectfully,
>>>>> Jedi
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Original message:
>>>>>> you dont show any emotion? I am sorry but that is hard to
>>>>>> believe....maybe
>>>>>> the facial expression you do show is presumibly unfriendly?
>>>>>
>>>>>> As for them not talking to you that is rediculus. The dark shades is
>>>>>> alittle
>>>>>> stereotipical for me but i oddly keep my eyes open....Not sure why
>>>>>> and i say
>>>>>> i am totally blind but i dont just see darkness. This is probably a
>>>>>> psychological factor in that i see a type of gray scale all the time
>>>>>> and in
>>>>>> department stores it seems to be lighter because of the numerous
>>>>>> florescent
>>>>>> lighting but other times i cannot really tell for sure whether i am
>>>>>> in a
>>>>>> lighted room or not. Have you been blind or visually impaired since
>>>>>> birth? I
>>>>>> have found a slight difference in personality characteristics in
>>>>>> people
>>>>>> blind since birth and those that have become blind in the middle of
>>>>>> life.
>>>>>> And honestly i have heard of people who wear the dark shades but
>>>>>> never
>>>>>> personally met anyone that does. Can i ask you why you choose to do
>>>>>> so?
>>>>>
>>>>>> -Teal
>>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>> From: "Mark J. Cadigan" <kramc11 at gmail.com>
>>>>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>>>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>> Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2009 8:21 PM
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Awkward Situations: What would you do?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>> Most sighted people just think I am angry or something based off my
>>>>>>> facial
>>>>>>> expression. I am just neutral, neither happy nor mad or any ware
>>>>>>> else on
>>>>>>> the emotional spectrum. Some people don't like it when I don't
>>>>>>> make/keep
>>>>>>> eye contact. Sometimes people don't talk to me, because they think I
>>>>>>> am
>>>>>>> too unreadable at times.
>>>>>
>>>>>>> As a side note, how do you think wearing dark sunglasses all the
>>>>>>> time
>>>>>>> affects others reaction to you? In my experience my dark glasses and
>>>>>>> occasionally emotionless body language create a lot of oukword
>>>>>>> situations.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>>> From: "Teal Bloodworth" <tealbloodworth at gmail.com>
>>>>>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>>>>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>>> Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2009 9:00 PM
>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Awkward Situations: What would you do?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Honestly, yes i have had vision before but my eye movement via TBI
>>>>>>>> isnt
>>>>>>>> the best however people say through my facial expressions and
>>>>>>>> ability to
>>>>>>>> look in the direction of the person thanks to depth perception
>>>>>>>> people say
>>>>>>>> i dont even look blind. I am not sure of what a typical blind
>>>>>>>> person
>>>>>>>> looks like but i believe all of these reflexes you are describing
>>>>>>>> comes
>>>>>>>> naturally from your environment and maturation during infancy. We
>>>>>>>> are
>>>>>>>> actually talking about this in developmental psych. Reflexes like
>>>>>>>> reaching, grabbing and walking and talking is a distinct
>>>>>>>> developmental
>>>>>>>> stage according to piaget. Some say we learn these through
>>>>>>>> environment
>>>>>>>> and social interaction while others say it is a specific cognative
>>>>>>>> change
>>>>>>>> in our biological being.
>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I agree with yu that it is a very interesting question and this
>>>>>>>> topic is
>>>>>>>> a personal interest. As for showing the world when you are pissed
>>>>>>>> off or
>>>>>>>> sad or even happy i dont think you learn from actually seeing other
>>>>>>>> peoples responses to an action. I believe you learn these emotions
>>>>>>>> through personality development of what actions give you these
>>>>>>>> feelings,
>>>>>>>> then these feelings are visually portrayed naturally.
>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Dont quote me on anything, this is my opinion of the answer to your
>>>>>>>> question...i am a social work/psychology major
>>>>>
>>>>>>>> -Teal
>>>>>
>>>>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>>>> From: "Joseph C. Lininger" <jbahm at pcdesk.net>
>>>>>>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>>>>>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>>>> Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2009 5:29 PM
>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Awkward Situations: What would you do?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>>>>>>>>> Hash: SHA256
>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Teal,
>>>>>>>>> LOL That's funny. Honestly, I've never had much sight and never
>>>>>>>>> had
>>>>>>>>> muscle control over my eyes. So I don't know much about looking at
>>>>>>>>> other
>>>>>>>>> people, eye contact, that sort of thing. I have been told it's
>>>>>>>>> disconcerting for a person to never make eye contact, and that
>>>>>>>>> it's even
>>>>>>>>> more disconcerting for a person to make eye contact constantly and
>>>>>>>>> never
>>>>>>>>> break it. I'm afraid I never learned the finer points though.
>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> This is somewhat related, and I'd be curious to know what the
>>>>>>>>> psychologists and sociologists among you think. I'll need to lay a
>>>>>>>>> little ground work for the more general question, so bare with me.
>>>>>>>>> I've
>>>>>>>>> known for some time that my emotions and moods are communicated
>>>>>>>>> visually, at least sometimes. But I had something happen that
>>>>>>>>> actually
>>>>>>>>> got me curious about trying to find out exactly how it happens. We
>>>>>>>>> had a
>>>>>>>>> router go down in a data center at a company I had been working
>>>>>>>>> for a
>>>>>>>>> few months ago. I'd had a bad day the day before trying to get
>>>>>>>>> everything working, and that router went down at about 4 am and
>>>>>>>>> took the
>>>>>>>>> entire company off the Internet. Well, I came out of my hotel room
>>>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>>>> one of the first things the guy driving me to the data center said
>>>>>>>>> was,
>>>>>>>>> "wow Joe, you look really pissed off. Like maybe you'd like to
>>>>>>>>> kill
>>>>>>>>> someone." I hadn't given any hint to being pissed off, though I
>>>>>>>>> was. I
>>>>>>>>> wasn't even aware of it being communicated in my looks, I'd tried
>>>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>>>> look pleasant and ready for another day despite the promise of yet
>>>>>>>>> more
>>>>>>>>> problems.
>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> After this, I became curious about exactly how expressive or not I
>>>>>>>>> was
>>>>>>>>> with body language, facial expressions, etc. I asked people who
>>>>>>>>> had
>>>>>>>>> known me for a while, mainly family members about it and they all
>>>>>>>>> said I
>>>>>>>>> was in fact expressive visually, at least to a point. My sister
>>>>>>>>> even
>>>>>>>>> provided a running commentary one day for a few minutes on what my
>>>>>>>>> face
>>>>>>>>> was doing while conversing with people at her house. So, here's my
>>>>>>>>> question.
>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I always thought that at least to a point people learned these
>>>>>>>>> expressions and that mostly by observing those around them and
>>>>>>>>> learning
>>>>>>>>> what they meant. I knew basic stuff like a smile or frown didn't
>>>>>>>>> work
>>>>>>>>> that way, and I could even understand certain reflexive
>>>>>>>>> expressions. For
>>>>>>>>> example, stiffening in response to fear or anger. However, I
>>>>>>>>> thought the
>>>>>>>>> more detailed stuff, arching eyebrows, moving of the eyes with
>>>>>>>>> certain
>>>>>>>>> expressions, that sort of thing was learned behavior. Well, seeing
>>>>>>>>> in
>>>>>>>>> how I can't see others doing these things and never have been able
>>>>>>>>> to,
>>>>>>>>> how would I have possibly picked them up? Have any experiments
>>>>>>>>> been done
>>>>>>>>> regarding such things? And more interesting... Some stuff, such as
>>>>>>>>> nodding, shaking the head, or shrugging, I had to be specifically
>>>>>>>>> taught
>>>>>>>>> those while I didn't other expressions. Does anyone have any ideas
>>>>>>>>> on
>>>>>>>>> what governs what visual cues are natural or learned in spite of
>>>>>>>>> lack of
>>>>>>>>> vision and which must be picked up visually?
>>>>>>>>> - --
>>>>>>>>> Stress (N): The condition that occurs when ones mind overrides the
>>>>>>>>> body's natural desire to reach out and slap the hell out of
>>>>>>>>> someone
>>>>>>>>> who desperately deserves it.
>>>>>>>>> Joseph C. Lininger, <jbahm at pcdesk.net>
>>>>>
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>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
>>>>>
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