[Missouri-l] Accessible world presents the debut of Issues Facing persons who are blind, Sept. 12, 2010

[Nancy Lynn]

Newswire:

"I believe you could really drive my car if you wanted to." "I forget all 
about your being blind." "It's amazing how well you get around your 
apartment." "You're taking care of the baby all by yourself! When will your 
wife be home?" "Are you sure you have enough money to pay for the tickets to 
this play?"



On a daily basis, blind people are bombarded by well-meaning relatives, 
friends, and acquaintances with questions like these. How should we answer? 
Often treated like children, we are asked to think through situations and 
choices a sighted relative or friend would never ask another sighted person 
to. How can a blind person achieve equality in a relationship with a sighted 
person? Does the "one way mirror" somehow diminish us? What advantages do 
they have in seeing us when we can't see them? How can we make them more 
comfortable and maintain our dignity at the same time? How important are 
matters of etiquette in eating out, conversation, and other events? Often 
treated and seen only in extremes, the sighted world consigns us to a 
pedestal from which we cannot escape or sees us with eyes and minds filled 
with pity. How can we finally attain that special place where we truly can 
be ourselves without being set apart? Many of us are fortunate in having 
tremendously open minded colleagues, friends, and family who happen to be 
sighted--Some blind people lead lives of isolation choosing to be with other 
blind people most of the time. How can we work together to change this 
pattern and achieve the meaningful relationships we would all like to have.



Joanne Wolfe, the group facilitator will bring this innovative program to us 
weekly. As a marriage and family therapist she brings a lifetime of 
experience to these and other blindness issues.



Relationships are difficult under even the best circumstances. If you have 
questions about relating to people who don't understand blindness and how it 
affects you or want to do something that will bridge the gap and end the 
awkward discomfort of a situation with a sighted person, come to this debut 
of Issues facing all of us who are blind. Together, we will learn how to 
climb the slippery slope and discover effective solutions that will lead to 
meaningful communication with sighted individuals and convey in new ways who 
we are and how much we have to give.



We meet every Sunday telephonically at 9:30 PM EDT.  Just a few minutes 
prior to the event, please call 218-844-3388 and use the pin: 090807 
followed by the pound sign.  We look forward to meeting you on September 12. 
These programs will not be recorded.



Joanne Wolfe, Group Facilitator

Email:  Joannewolfe42 at yahoo.com.



Time: 6:30 PM. PDT, 7:30 PM MDT, 8:30 PM CDT, 9:30 PM EDT,

          and elsewhere in the world Thursday 01:30 GMT.



Accessible World uses News Wires, like this one, to inform people of the 
topic and times for the many Discussion Groups on Accessible World. The 
lists are announce only to keep the traffic to a minimum. You can join the 
Accessible World Announce List, the Tek Talk Announce List or the Sports 
Talk Announce List by completing the form at: 
www.accessibleworld.org/mailinglists



Accessible World Contacts:



Robert Acosta, Chair

Accessible World

818-998-0044

Email: boacosta at pacbell.net

Web:  www.helpinghands4theblind.org



Marcia Moses, Events Coordinator

Accessible World

734-495-1496

Email: mgmoses at comcast.net



Steve Hoffman, President

Talking Communities

Email: steve at talkingcommunities.com



The Accessible World, a division of Helping Hands For The Blind, a 501(c)(3) 
not-for-profit organization, seeks to educate the general public, the 
disabled community and the professionals who serve them by providing highly 
relevant information about new products, services, and training 
opportunities designed specifically to eliminate geographic and access 
barriers that adversely affect them









Robert Acosta, President
Helping Hands for the Blind
Email: boacosta at pacbell.net
Web Site: www.helpinghands4theblind.org

You can assist Helping Hands for the Blind by donating your used computers 
to us. If you have a blind friend in need of a computer, please mail us at 
the above address. 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://moblind.org/pipermail/missouri-l_moblind.org/attachments/20100906/93daa514/attachment.html>