How to Be Authentically Accepted Without Needing to Perform
AFB’s Director of Research Arielle Silverman, Ph.D., was inspired by a recent article in the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB) to write a blog entitled, “How to be Authentically Accepted Without Needing to Perform: What Educators of Blind Children Can Learn from the Autistic Community.” In it, she questions the theory behind social skills training, wondering if blind kids should really be taught the skills and behaviors expected by their peers to promote social connections, and draws parallels to similar sentiments among the autistic community.
Blind since childhood, Dr. Silverman wrote, “The social skills instruction I received in school taught me to perform in specific ways to please my teachers, but those behaviors never felt authentic. I was also keenly aware of being singled out to receive this training, when my sighted peers, even those who bullied other kids, were not.”
Dr. Silverman compared her own experiences with those of autistic individuals, “[S]ocial skills training … teaches autistic people to ‘mask’ or ‘pass’ as they pretend to be neurotypical in order to make friends. In the long-term, however, instead of building belonging and connection, this pressure leads to deep feelings of isolation, depression, [and] anxiety. Autistic people often thrive, socially and emotionally, in authentic relationships with other autistic people.” She also wrote of forming relationships with blind peers and being “authentically accepted without needing to perform.” She concluded, “My relationships with blind peers paved the way for me to create meaningful social relationships with both blind and sighted people as a blind adult.”
To read Dr. Silverman’s article, access other publicly available content, or to subscribe to JVIB, visit www.afb.org/jvib.
