Tag: blindness

Close reading a Twitter thread: Blind on the NHS

2 page (total) text presented here is a health narrative presented as a Twitter thread that raises issues that could be connected to several themes in courses related to health communication, reproductive justice, public health, narrative medicine, or more general writing courses to which the instructor wanted to add a health component. The outline includes detailed instructions for close reading the text, a central form of inquiry in narrative medicine. The goal of this instructional strategy is to can help participants attend closely to the narrative and find a point of personal connection to it. The format of the health narrative – a thread of about 20 tweets – lends itself to analyzing the role or impact of the medium on circulation of the message. Short enough to read aloud in a 45-50 minute class and work from there; could also be used in a workshop or storytelling group centered on prenatal care and/or disability.

Un suicidio (asistido) en Colombia que nació del amor de un hijo por su madre

The author lived with parents and aunts. When father and her aunts died, she was left alone to help her mother with grief and deteriorating health. The two women struggled with the idea of assisted suicide, but eventually chose that path over further suffering. About 3 pages; workable for intermediate and advanced learners, compelling storytelling for a community group.

Syllabus Spanish Health Narratives

This 3000-level course is of particular interest to Spanish majors and minors with health professions interests, although readings and assignments are aimed at any Spanish student with intermediate level proficiency. Creative writing majors from English, students interested in editing and publishing, International Studies and Global Health Studies majors, Communication Studies majors with general interests in health, all have succeeded. Readings are from Latinx and Latin American authors; some in English, many in Spanish. Assignments are four creative writing projects, one that becomes a digital video.

Film can help us look disability in the eye.

This editorial (2 pages plus 4 links to videos) argues that US Americans are uncomfortable with disabilities and that filmmaking can make it easier for them to do so. The author tells his story of being misunderstood and having awkward interactions many times because of his condition (medical name not given) that he calls “whale eyes:” misalignment of his eyes so people can’t tell where he’s looking. He started by making a film his senior year in college to show his family how the world looks to him and how he works around his condition to read, write, cook, and navigate the world. From there he started making more films with disabled people – one with face blindness, another going blind, a stutterer – so they could tell their stories in similar ways. Videos linked to the article are 8-12 minutes long and all focus on “experiencing” the disability: See what the face-blind person experiences (recognizable faces are shown upside down and sure enough, you can’t identify them). Listen to the stutterer actively filtering out their fluency issues with an imaginary machine called a “Listenometer.” Useful as insight into non-medically focused stories of disabilities, or as examples for a digital storytelling activity.

When the Uber Driver Asks, Do You Have Any Kids?

Prompted by the Uber driver’s small talk, this disabled author reflects on how an alternative self, who is not disabled, might answer–or would not have to answer, because her life would be different. Telling the story of the alternative self and life is a means of revealing some of the ways her Stargardt disease (a rare genetic eye condition) has affected the author. The story speaks to non-apparent disabilities, cultural assumptions (about women, about able-bodied-ness), stigma, and disability.

240 Birds

Juan Pablo Culasso was born blind, but until the age of 5 or 6 this had little effect on him because his family encouraged him to explore and be as active as any other child. Once he started school, an educational system that was unprepared to incorporate him into learning environments built around sighted children created significant barriers to receiving any education at all. His family took over his education and he learned rapidly, including mastering the piano and guitar. One day Pablo informed his father that his guitar is out of tune, off by a hertz or two. This is how they learned he had perfect pitch. He began listening to birds and memorizing each call, eventually being able to identify 240 bird calls. He won a national competition for “The smartest person in Chile” and now works in an ornithology lab in Canada. This podcast can work for upper intermediate learners of Spanish, or higher. The speaker uses a dialect from Uruguay. It could spark discussion on what constitutes a “disability” and how rare talents – like perfect pitch – can be obscured behind that label. Spanish transcript and English translation of the transcript are available.