[Journalists] helping sighted understand

[Kelly, Laura]

When I was first diagnosed with my macular dystrophy and made the big emotional announcement at work that I would eventually be legally blind, I dealt with all kinds of ridiculous comments and attitudes. 
 
One fave: "Are there eye exercises you can do to avoid that?" 
 
And, at one point, I had to say pointedly, in front of others, to a senior editor who was acting like I could no longer do my job, "PLEASE, can we remove the coffin from room? No one has died here." 
 
  

________________________________

From: journalists-bounces at nfbnet.org on behalf of LoriStay at aol.com
Sent: Mon 10/1/2007 10:16 PM
To: journalists at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [Journalists] helping sighted understand




In a message dated 10/1/07 7:41:57 PM, cwade at mdn.net writes:


> They just figure, "oh, I'd
> sit down and die, and I couldn't dress myself." We have to work on
> those perceptions, but i don't always have the answer to how.
>

I hesitate to suggest this because some will say it's too limited, but while
at the National Center for the blind, Joanne Wilson had a bunch of us bake
brownies under sleepshades.   While I don't suggest people do this for the first
time in an industrial kitchen, I will say that after a certain amount of time,
I began to get a feeling of where things were, and what techniques to use,
and this was only after an hour.   It left me thinking, okay, so it can be done.
  Now I didn't go around for a day under sleepshades letting others lead me
around, which I never felt was too helpful.   But having a specific job to do
that interests the person will give them the feeling that after all it can be
done without vision.   The brownies were pretty good, too.
Lori Stayer


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