[nfbwatlk] drawing blood and reading visual cues

[KAYE KIPP]

It's true that we as blind people can't read body language and visual clues, 
but As a counselor, I've found that by listening I can get a lot more than 
just verbal cues.  For example, I can tell if a person has his head down, if 
they're depressed, sometimes I can even get clues about how they're dressed. 
I think that, as blind people, we can tell a lot more about our environment 
than some people think we can.

Kaye
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mary Ellen" <gabias at telus.net>
To: "'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, April 12, 2008 7:10 PM
Subject: [nfbwatlk] drawing blood and reading visual cues


Hi Lisa,
Your husband obviously cares enough about you to discuss his questions and
doubts honestly. Without honest discussion we can't grow and learn.
I had the same doubts about a blind doctor drawing blood until I met a
medical student who did it routinely. The faculty at the medical school she
was attending had serious doubts about a blind person's becoming a
physician, but they told her she was the best in her class at drawing blood.
Do I know how she did it? Not in a million years! But you can't argue that a
thing requires sight when somebody has done it without sight. It would be
more helpful to you if I could remember the woman's name, but alas I can't.

As for the need for a psychiatrist to observe nonvisual cues, the same has
been said about blind psychologists, social workers, counselors, etc. We all
know loads of blind people who have succeeded in those professions, so I
think the visual observance of body language is a matter which can be
handled nonvisually by listening. Of course, there are times when it would
be useful to get information on the appearance of a patient. Is he wearing a
tailored suit or walking around in dirty mismatched shabby clothes? The
Human Services Division of the ;NFB includes a nummber of individuals who
could help you answer your questions about observing visual cues.

As more and more of us succeed in professions which were previously
considered to be visual, the answers to these questions will be easier to
find. In the meantime, good for you and your husband; keep talking to and
challenging one another's notions. Thanks for sharing the discussion with
the rest of us. Perhaps someone else on the list can come up with names I
don't have. Dr. Mark Strax (not sure of spelling) is a blind physician
within the NFB. I also read an artidcle a year ago about a blind person
graduating from medical school, I believe it was somewhere in Oregon. Good
luck. Please keep us posted.

Mary Ellen



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