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Colourful sounds: Discussion on developing attitudes when interacting with visually impaired

13 May 2021

“Kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the bold can see,” opened Leo Sammanie Munasinghe during the Colourful Sounds webinar – a project for the visually impaired by the Leos of Sri Lanka.  The guest speaker for the evening, Colombo University Career Advisor Udari Withanage, spoke on the topic of attitude development for interacting with visually impaired individuals.  “When I’m counselling, people come to me with their problems, meaning that these people are suffering. But, just imagine the life of people who are hard of hearing or visually impaired,” stated Withanage, as she started off by highlighting the importance of empathy.  She shared a personal experience, commenting that she knew a student that was blind: “I was really happy to interact with her, and I asked her ‘Can I walk with you?’, after holding her hand and guiding her to her hostel, she said something that really shocked me. She asked me if I wanted tea or Nestomalt.” This simple question was confusing to Withanage, who couldn’t help but ask the student if she was able to do so. This was the day she learned to never underestimate people that have disabilities: she received a perfectly made cup of tea that she remembers to this day, by someone she viewed as incapable.  Using this experience as an example, she stated that we should never try to look at these people in a different light: “The first thing, and the best thing that one should do is respect this person as you would anyone that isn’t hard of hearing or visually impaired. Everyone deserves equal respect.”  Withanage went on to add that from her learnings as a counsellor, she finds respect to be a form of encouragement for people with disabilities. When they are viewed no different from the rest of us, they feel the motivation to perform daily tasks and activities that may be strenuous to them in comparison to what may be of second nature to us. “Attitude is everything. None of us like people putting us down; that is normal, we want the love and respect we deserve. Even when entering the Colombo University’s Faculty of Arts, you can see the specially abled students room, where I have seen them get together with the other students.” She described that feeling of wanting to help another as one’s attitude. She stated that it shouldn’t be viewed as a burden or an embarrassment to help a specially abled person, but something to be proud of. She added that when you’re with a person of special needs, everyone’s eyes are on you, this is where you can set an example to the world and normalise helping such people so they are not viewed as abominations, but simply human, just like the rest of us.  She also explained that there is no greater joy for a person, that when someone is actively listening to their problems; they realise that someone understands them. That is when they realise how loved they are. “This feeling of empathy is when you listen to someone and not judge them for what they are feeling, even though you may not understand it. For someone with special needs, this is especially important because we are sure to not understand their problems, but the small act of being there and listening to them goes a long way for their mental health and wellbeing.” She highlighted that if we can hear and see another person's problem, in the way that they are expressing it, and view their life from their eyes; one needs a strong attitude and that is what we all need to work on to make this world a safer, more accepting place.  Concluding the webinar, she left us with a question to ponder on; “Why is it so difficult for us to get along with people who are differently abled?”. 


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