Hi All,
If you are interested, I received some very nice replies to this message. Our colleague, Maureen Duffy, pointed me to a blog she did for VisionAware back in 2015 on this topic citing another research study that had a similar outcome. You can check it out below.
New Research: "Blindness Simulation" Activities May Do More Harm than Good
http://www.visionaware.org/blog/visionaware-blog/new-research-blindness-simulation-activities-may-do-more-harm-than-good-1746/12
I think it would be awesome if our field could get together, along with people who are blind or have low vision, and put together some good activities to do with sighted people (or "sight dependent people" as I like to call them sometimes, LOL) that will help raise their awareness of the competencies of blind people and people with low vision. Hopefully we can include some activities about how things are made inaccessible because of poor planning and lack of knowledge like website accessibility. Could this be a project that might get started at the consumer conferences (NFB & ACB) this summer and then continue next summer at AER? We all know that the general public's awareness has been tainted by the media and common misconceptions throughout history. I personally think that this is one of the biggest reasons we see such low employment because potential employers have no idea and cannot imagine how someone with limited or no sight can do the jobs at their business. A good awareness and educational program might go a long way to improving this situation.
Please share your thoughts & ideas, and if you are interested in such a project, please let me know. I'm not exactly sure what I can do about it now, but maybe I've just found my project for my retirement in a few years.
Thanks for your consideration,
Ike
Hi All,
I know that there are varying opinions about simulation activities like dining in the dark. If you are interested in this topic please check out the link to the article below.
Finally, many of us have noticed that simulation activities (such as Dining in the Dark) are popular ways to raise awareness about disabilities. However, they often can be more harmful than positive. The following link helps explain why (and is also a great example of why knowledge is so important): https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170411151019.htm.
Ike Presley, TVI, CLVT, CATIS
National Project Manager
American Foundation for the Blind
739 W. Peachtree St., Suite 250
Atlanta, GA 30308
404-525-2303
www.afb.orghttp://www.afb.org/