Half way through I was supposed to go to my Auslan course but when I got there it was all quiet and the lights were off. Then I checked my mobile phone and I found that the whole course had been cancelled due to lack of members. That was a bit disappointing because I was really enjoying that course and I was learning a lot. I will have to start to place more formalised personal structure in learning from the other resources that I have for signing.
After the O&M presentation we were given the opportunity to wear occlusion glasses that simulate Raphael's vision loss. It was an eye-opening experience (if you will pardon the pun). Even though I was aware of Raphael's vision field losses, this practical experience showed me what it was actually like to experience that vision.
My most notable impression is that I can now see why people think that he has good vision by casually observing him; but I am also much more aware of what he is missing out on and how limiting it is to see what can be found in his environment. I found that my hearing would react to things that my vision would normally detect first and so I was frequently in a state of surprise. Raphael of course does not have the benefit of normal hearing and so this sense of environmental awareness is further limited for him.
After my wife and I had both had a turn we put the glasses on Raphael, first in the opposite way to his actual vision which confirmed that it effectively blinded him. He was unwilling to move anywhere and briefly made an unsuccessful groping motion with his hand to find something to touch. When we turned them around to match his vision loss he was happy to crawl around again but eventually signed "finished" to indicate that he had enough of wearing the glasses (caught on the last photo in this blog entry).
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