Am I really blind? & Points of Courtesy When Talking to Someone Who is Visually Impaired / Blind

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) has created a great resource page on their website called "Straightforward Answers About Blindness."  I found a different answer to a question I had asked myself earlier about whether or not their is a difference between someone who is visually impaired or blind.  I am finding that it depends on who you ask.  The NFB website stated that some people use terms such as visually impaired or low vision instead of blind. The NFB uses the term blind for all people, regardless of their visual acuity, who need to use alternative techniques to accomplish the same thing that a sighted person can do using eyesight.  Individuals experiencing severe vision loss may find it helpful to learn some non-visual ways of accomplishing everyday tasks, if they are struggling with visual methods.  It is estimated that only 20 percent of blind people are totally blind.  Most blind people have some remaining vision.  The legal definition of blindness is visual acuity of not greater than 20/200 in the better eye with correction or a field not subtending an angle greater than 20 degrees. In everyday language this means that a blind person sees about 10 percent of what a sighted person can see.  I wonder if it bothers Drake that there is not a clearly agreed upon definition of blindness?  Does he sense the need to explain to others the exact level of his visual impairment?  Is he stereotyped by others based on their own personal definition about what it means to be visually impaired or blind?  I always assumed that if you used a cane or had a guide dog you were definitely considered blind.  I now think that assumption could be risky. 

Another question I was intrigued by on the website was "Are there any points of courtesy that will encourage sighted people to feel comfortable and at ease around me?"  I read over the list that the National Federation of the Blind referred to as "Courtesy Rules for Blindness."  I think this will really be really helpful when I actually get the opportunity to meet Drake in person.  In summary, here are some of the key points I took from reading over the material. 

* Someone who is blind is an ordinary person, but they are just blind. You don’t need to raise your voice or address the person as if they were a child. They also want you to talk to them and ask them questions directly and not direct questions for them to their companion. 
* A person who is blind may use a long white cane or a guide dog to walk independently.  Also, they  may ask to take your arm. Let them decide and don't grab their arm.  Instead, let me take yours.
* A person who is blind wants to know who is in the room with them. Speak when you enter. Introduce the person to others in the room, including children, and tell me if there’s a cat or dog present.
* The door to a room or cabinet or a car left partially open is a hazard someone who is
* At dinner, do not assume that a blind person will have trouble with table skills.
* Don’t avoid words like “see.” A blind person uses the word, too. They say things to people like, "I'm glad to see you."
* A person who is blind does not want pity, but don’t talk about the “wonderful compensations” of blindness. Their sense of smell, touch, or hearing did not improve when they became blind.  The rely on them more and, therefore, may get more information through those senses than you do.
* When talking with someone who is blind remember that they have many other interest besides talking about their blindness.
* Don’t think of the person as solely a blind person. They are a person who just happens to be blind.

I think these tips will really help me when I meet face to face with Drake.  Am I nervous and anxious?  Yes.  I don't want to say or do the wrong thing.  The above list addresses so many assumptions and stereotypes that people who are not blind have about people who are blind.  The Voice Project is not just teaching me about Drake.  It's also making me aware of how I cling to assumptions about many different types of people.  I feel like it's helping me to see the world through a new prescription.  It's like I'm wearing an improved set of lenses.  I really like the part about the person not being solely blind.  They are a person with many different interests, hobbies, abilities, life experiences, etc. and blindness does not encompass all of who they are as an individual.  It's just one small part of who they are as a person. 
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Answers_about_Blindness.asp?SnID=850963487

Going From Place to Place on Campus

I came across a blog by Jordan Moon, an African American male with visual impairments who is currently attending Arizona State University.  While Drake, is a white male with visual impairments, Jordan speaks to the common challenges that college student with visual impairments face when navigating a college campus.  He shared that getting from place to place is difficult for anyone, especially when that place is new.  For the college student with visual impairments to go from home to school, find their classes on campus, learn the classroom, and find their way back home is a challenging feat.  He added that navigating campus is a major worry and that there have been times when he has decided not to take on major transportation issues in college because they would be too difficult and dangerous.  When students who are visually impaired / blind first try learning their campus’s layout, it can be extremely challenging. Many times, they need someone else to show them how to navigate the campus and help them navigate it so that when classes begin, navigating throughout the campus will be second nature. Learning the campus can take a while so many college students who are blind/visually impaired try doing this step a month or two in advance of their classes.  Many of these students use a mobility instructor to help them learn the campus and surrounding areas and routes that they will frequently utilize. Mobility instructors are trained to teach people who are visually impaired/blind how to navigate certain physical obstacles, such as crossing streets, taking public transportation and so forth.  In Jordan's case, he had his parents help him learn to navigate campus about two weeks before he was scheduled to start class. He had enough vision to see landmarks and navigated his way around campus by noticing those landmarks.  Jordan shared that he also uses a cane to navigate around campus, and the cane is used for mobility purposes as well as awareness purposes.  Using a long white cane when you walk allows you to locate steps, curbs, streets, driveways, doorways, bicycles, elevators, escalators, people, chairs, tables, desks, or any other object or place. On college campuses, such as Arizona State University, where there are a number of bikes, Jordan said a cane helps identify him so a biker will know Jordan can’t see him/her.  Many students who are visually impaired or blind also use guide dogs to help them navigate campus.  Jordan said that the advantage of having a guide dog is that it allows a student to walk to class at a faster pace.  Jordan said that one of the most stressful aspects about college, and life in general, for someone who is visually impaired or blind is transportation.  Jordan is unable to drive so he must rely on others or public transportation.  He said that many college students are required to get some type of internship in order to graduate and this can be challenging because it requires a person who is visually impaired or blind to find someone to help them get to their destination.  Jordan compares navigating a college campus to trying to ice skate for the first time.  You are initially scared and frustrated, but eventually you learn how to do it without thinking of each individual step.  It becomes more comfortable and natural. 

Reading Jordan's blog made me realize how much I take for granted as someone who can navigate from place to place using my eyes.  I can understand how important it is for students with visual impairments to realize the concept of interdependence.  When it comes to transportation and navigating new places, this is a natural area where they will need to rely on others for assistance.  It also makes me realize how a student with visual impairments must constantly plan well enough in advance so they can become familiar with the physical environment on campus and any challenges that may exist.  As a student affairs professional, I can see how critical it is to know what resources are available on campus for students who are visually impaired / blind.  In addition, it makes me think of the bigger picture of how important it is to be aware of the many different voices that make up the student body of any campus.  I look forward to learning more about what services the office of disability services provides to students with visual impairments.  I'm also curious to find out what resources exist for faculty working with students with visual impairments.  As part of our assigned class reading, we read about social identity.  I learned that as a student affairs professional, part of my role will be to seek out ways to work with oppression, privilege, and power, in an effort to enhance students' development (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton & Renn).  I thought about Drake's social identity as a white, male with visual impairments, in addition to considering my own social identity as a white, female.  I have never given much thought to oppression and privilege and I realize now how these two things can negatively or positively affect our identity.  As a white male, I learned that Drake is privileged.  Due to his visual impairments, however, Drake is considered oppressed.  I never considered using the word "oppressed" when describing someone with a disability, but I can now see how assuming one normative way of doing something privileges those who carry out the act as prescribed and oppresses those who use other methods.  I wonder how Drake feels about this?  Does he see himself as privileged in one sense, but oppressed in another sense?  I wonder what other types of oppression might come into play with Drake.  Does he have Christian, social class or heterosexual privilege, too? 

Link to Jordan's Blog  http://jdmoon.personal.asu.edu/wordpress/

Regarding navigating campus, I also came across an article about Darrell Shandrow, a white journalism student at Arizona State University who is blind.  The article said that roughly 75,000 students at colleges and trade schools are visually impaired, according to Education Department figures (Brainard, 2010).   To get around town, Darrell runs iPhone applications that identify nearby buildings. 

Brainard, J. (2010, December 12), Colleges lock out blind students online. Chronicle of Higher    
     Education, Retrieved from http://www.chronicle.com/

Different Levels of Visual Impairment & the 7 Vectors

I, embarrassingly, need to admit a very poor assumption that I made about Drake.  I assumed that the fact that he was visually impaired met that he was blind.  WOW!  That is not necessarily true.  A quick browse online quickly showed me that visually impaired can mean a number of things. If you are visually impaired it doesn't necessarily mean you are blind.  The terms partially sighted, low vision, legally blind, and totally blind are often used in the educational context to describe students with visual impairments.

In reading through Chickering & Reisser's seven vectors of development this week and discussing them in class, I initially related the seven vecotors to my life and my personal, professional, and academic experience.  The more we discussed the seven vectors in class, the more I thought about Drake and how this model might apply to him.  The vectors include developing confidence, managing emotions, moving through autonomy toward interdependence, developing mature interpersonal relationships, establishing identity, developing purpose, and developing integrity.  We learned that the vectors are broad themes and are best pictured by a spiral or steps and not a straight line.  The vectors do build on each other, but they are not sequential.  I wonder what vecotrs Drake feels are his strengths.  How does the fact that he is visually impaired affect his ability to develop confidence, manage his emotions, move through autonomy toward interdependence, etc.?  My assumption is that Drake would experience some challenge with each of the vectors due to his visual impairment.  And the vector I think he would find most challenging during the college years is moving through autonomy toward interdependence since this vector moves one away from the need for constant approval, involves taking action to solve your own problems, and interdependence.  I also think that Drake has problems developing mature relationships because it has to do with rebalancing the need for autonomy and attachment and the capacity for intimacy.  Drake probably has a difficult time making friends on campus and sharing at a deeper level with others.  The fact that Drake is a white male, with visual impairments, shapes the context of psychosocial development.  Psychosocial development is skills-based and there are age-related developmental tasks that need to be successfully resolved for continued development and maturity. New situations or stress may require the need to revisit tasks or relearn coping strategies.  Depending on the level of Drake's visual impairment, he may find himself in new situations and/or situations that invoke stress quite frequently as he navigates campus, attends class, participates in campus activities, etc.  He may or may not be certain about who he is, what he believes, who he loves, and what he wants to do.  When matched against other white males in a collegiate setting, he may not earn the level of respect he desires and deserves due to his visual impairment. 

So Many Questions

I  have so many questions and so few answers.  A visually impaired white male is someone quite different from me.  My first thought is that I assume it would be a huge undertaking for him to decide to attend college.  I have very little understanding of what his world is like.  I also have the impression that not many students with visual impairments decide to tackle college because of the challenges. 

I wonder about the following:

How does he interpret the events in his life?  I am such a visual person.  It's hard for me to imagine not being able to receive information in that way.

Did he always know that he wanted to go to college? 

What is important to him when considering a college to attend?

Does he have a desire to live on campus and does the option of living in a residence hall exist for him?

How will he navigate campus?

What types of modifications will be made for him in his classes? 

Are his instructors prepared to handle his disability?  How does he educate them?

What does he enjoy doing?  What are his hobbies and interests?

What social activities does he enjoy?  Does he listen to tv shows that I watch?

Does he date or have a girlfriend or partner?  If so what things does he enjoy doing with him/or?  In phrasing this question, I initially phrased it asking if he had a girlfriend and after my first week in the CSP program I realized that he may have a partner of the same sex vs. a girlfriend.

Does he consider himself more of an introvert or an extrovert?  Is it difficult for him to make friends? 
How does he handle shopping for what he needs or wants? 

Are his other senses enhanced (i.e. taste, smell, hearing, and touch)?

I look forward to learning more about Drake this semester.  And my assumption is that more and more questions will continue to surface once I meet him face to face and get to know him better. 

A Mixed Range of Emotions

I first learned about the Voice Project when I was reviewing my syllabus the week before class started.  I read through the instructions for the assignment several times and discussed it with family and friends.  I had mixed emotions ranging from nervousness and anxiety to excitement and curiosity.  The more I thought about the project the more fear entered into the equation.  As I considered different voices, I thought about whether or not I had previous experience interacting with that voice.  We were encouraged to challenge ourselves to choose a voice with which we had little or no experience.  Was I up for that challenge?  I've never considered myself a huge risk taker.  It was interesting to hear others thoughts on whether or not I should pursue a particular voice.  Ideas were swirling.  Maybe I could acquire the voice of a gay, African American man, or a white male with  visual impairments or a physical disability who was in a wheelchair.  Or what about a transgender person or a lesbian?  As I was interpreting my own feelings about the level of risk I wanted to take, others shared their concerns about me taking on a voice very different from my own .  I was not the only one who was feeling uncomfortable about the assignment.  I thought about who I knew off the top of my head that I could talk to about a particular voice.  As I considered my family, friends and acquaintances I tried to think about gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, class, age, disability, and religious belief.  I came to the realization that my social and professional network did not include a diverse range of people who were not like me.  Were others students encountering something similar?  I trust that this will change in the future.  Let me rephrase that.   I hope that this will change in the future.  I think of myself as someone who is open to diversity and who enjoys meeting new people.  I wonder if that is just easy to say when you don't come in contact with people that are not like you very often?  There is much to think about and I know the Voice Project is going to be a huge learning experience over the course of this semester.  With a mixed range of emotions I decided to acquire the voice of someone I've never met- a white male who is visually impaired.