Treated Like Mentally Disabled?

Category: Let's talk

Post 1 by HonorGuardBuglerUSReserve (Account disabled) on Thursday, 14-Feb-2008 16:03:40

Have you guys ever been treated like you're mentally disabled as well as blind? I hate when people talk in those baby voices and treat me like a mentally retarded person. They do this until I tell them stuff like being in honor guard and university. Yuck. Tell me some of your experiences you guys and some stories.

Post 2 by Brooke (I just keep on posting!) on Saturday, 16-Feb-2008 12:15:18

I think this happens a lot. I remember when I was in college, going to one of my classes for the first time. The professor knew I was blind because I had already been in contact with her via a letter to let her know I'd be recording parts of the lecture. But on the first day, she got right up in my face and started speaking in this loud, monotone voice. It took all I had to keep from laughing as I explained to her that I could hear her perfectly fine; my loss of vision only affected my eyes, not my ears! But she turned out to be one of the nicest profs I had; she'd just never been in contact with a blind person before.

Post 3 by Dubstep1984 (I just keep on posting!) on Wednesday, 20-Feb-2008 11:04:03

yep my science teacher would do the same thing until he got to know me and oh my god his breath was atrocious!

Post 4 by wildebrew (We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?) on Wednesday, 20-Feb-2008 19:00:40

Wait, so a mentally retarded person can't be in an honor guard, and I thought you dropped out of university to play fluit in some marching band.

Post 5 by happy (Generic Zoner) on Sunday, 02-Mar-2008 17:48:15

Yes I can relate to what you're saying. When I was in school the teachers would direct a question to my mom instead of me. Just like I wasn't in the room.Also they would speak loud like I couldn't hear them.

Post 6 by redgirl34 (Scottish) on Monday, 03-Mar-2008 15:33:26

Hi, some times when I was at college if the lecturer had a question me he wouldask my support worker instead. My support worker would say ask her yourself. The support worker was for taking notes or reading to me if things were not in the correct format for me.

Post 7 by Godzilla-On-Toast (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Tuesday, 04-Mar-2008 7:17:26

Do you think, you guys, that people talk to the sighted person with you because they know they can make eye contact with that person and not you, so they'd rather communicate with someone who will communicate in the easy and familiar way. Apparently being verbal only without all the nonverbal cues must be quite a hardship for some people. Any sighted folks want to give me a confirm or deny on this?

Post 8 by Texas Shawn (The cute, cuddley, little furr ball) on Tuesday, 04-Mar-2008 7:52:30

of course, maybe you are mentally disabled and just don't know it!

Post 9 by margorp (I've got the gold prolific poster award, now is there a gold cup for me?) on Tuesday, 04-Mar-2008 16:58:21

I was once lumped into the "developmentally slow" group. Of course, I never was. Indeed, I was smarter than most of those.
So yes, I was fucked by the system...that happens.