Can SL help people with disabilities?

[Mayadaamn]

Hi there, 

I'm a 24-year old anthropology student at the University of Copenhagen doing an essay regarding people with disabilities in virtual worlds such as SL. More specifically, I'm interested in the opportunities that virtual worlds can provide for people with physical/mental disabilities, and what virtual platforms like SL can do to create better user-experiences for people with disabilities. If any of you are interested in the talking with me or chatting with me in this forum regarding the above mentioned or related topics, please do not hesitate to contact me on mayada_10@hotmail.com or wbc162@alumni.ku.dk. 

Best regards, 
Mayada

[Lindal Kidd]

Hi, @Mayadaamn!

Don't expect to get too many email responses.  Most of us in SL prefer our anonymity.  However, I suggest you join the group Virtual Ability in SL, and visit their regions.  Get in touch with the group's founder, Gentle Heron.  Virtual Ability focuses on exactly the subject you're interested in.

In addition, you may be able to track down the paper that was written by ZiplockedGoldfish Twig for her Master's thesis.  Zippy left SL a long time ago, and I don't recall her real life name, so that'll require some good detective work on your part, sorry.  Her thesis dealt with your subject.

People with disabilities in SL tend to use the platform in one of two ways.  Some will create an avatar that has the same disability as they have in RL.  A paraplegic may use an avatar in a wheelchair, for example.  I've seen a blind person present as an avatar with dark glasses, a cane, and a guide dog.  Others will use avatars that are fully abled, and go about in SL in ways that they cannot, in RL.  I know many people who are housebound in RL, and use SL to experience a wider world.

[SpiritSparrow Skydancer]

hehe

[Scylla Rhiadra]

16 minutes ago, Lindal Kidd said:

Hi, @Mayadaamn!

Don't expect to get too many email responses.  Most of us in SL prefer our anonymity.  However, I suggest you join the group Virtual Ability in SL, and visit their regions.  Get in touch with the group's founder, Gentle Heron.  Virtual Ability focuses on exactly the subject you're interested in.

In addition, you may be able to track down the paper that was written by ZiplockedGoldfish Twig for her Master's thesis.  Zippy left SL a long time ago, and I don't recall her real life name, so that'll require some good detective work on your part, sorry.  Her thesis dealt with your subject.

People with disabilities in SL tend to use the platform in one of two ways.  Some will create an avatar that has the same disability as they have in RL.  A paraplegic may use an avatar in a wheelchair, for example.  I've seen a blind person present as an avatar with dark glasses, a cane, and a guide dog.  Others will use avatars that are fully abled, and go about in SL in ways that they cannot, in RL.  I know many people who are housebound in RL, and use SL to experience a wider world.

Is Gentle still around? That's great news. I was wondering if Virtual Ability was still going strong.

And where the hell is @Treasure Ballinger?

[LyricalBookworm]

2 hours ago, Mayadaamn said:

Hi there, 

I'm a 24-year old anthropology student at the University of Copenhagen doing an essay regarding people with disabilities in virtual worlds such as SL. More specifically, I'm interested in the opportunities that virtual worlds can provide for people with physical/mental disabilities, and what virtual platforms like SL can do to create better user-experiences for people with disabilities. If any of you are interested in the talking with me or chatting with me in this forum regarding the above mentioned or related topics, please do not hesitate to contact me on mayada_10@hotmail.com or wbc162@alumni.ku.dk. 

Best regards, 
Mayada

I don't mind sharing my experience with you. I won't discuss things openly here, but I will email you later today.

[Lindal Kidd]

21 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Is Gentle still around? That's great news. I was wondering if Virtual Ability was still going strong.

And where the hell is @Treasure Ballinger?

VA is still there, although they're down to a single region.  I believe Gentle is still around, yes.

[Jules Catlyn]

I know it helped and still helps with mine. As long as i take my meds

[Treasure Ballinger]

1 hour ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Is Gentle still around? That's great news. I was wondering if Virtual Ability was still going strong.

And where the hell is @Treasure Ballinger?

Haha, I'm here.  Been a heck of a 2019, sorry for my absence.  I donated a kidney in RL, and my RL husband is in the midst of recovery from a kidney transplant.  I'm still here though, and more importantly, yes, Virtual Ability is still going strong, and yes, Gentle Heron is very much 'still around'.  I would hope the OP would indeed contact Gentle inworld.  Cheers to all!  

[Treasure Ballinger]

1 hour ago, Lindal Kidd said:

VA is still there, although they're down to a single region.  I believe Gentle is still around, yes.

Hi Lindal; Virtual Ability Island still exists, as do our 3 residential sims, Cape Able, Cape Serenity and Cape Heron.  We also have a sim for our educational and professional projects and a private sim for our group events.  We're still here.  

[Scylla Rhiadra]

6 minutes ago, Treasure Ballinger said:

Haha, I'm here.  Been a heck of a 2019, sorry for my absence.  I donated a kidney in RL, and my RL husband is in the midst of recovery from a kidney transplant.  I'm still here though, and more importantly, yes, Virtual Ability is still going strong, and yes, Gentle Heron is very much 'still around'.  I would hope the OP would indeed contact Gentle inworld.  Cheers to all!  

TREASURE!!!!!

/me runs over to hug Treasure, knocks her over in her enthusiasm, helps her up again and dusts her off, and then gives her a HUGE hug

Yikes, you have had an eventful year, and not in an entirely good way. I'm glad that your husband is recovering! And wow, you donated a kidney???

I'm so glad you're doing alright!

[Chic Aeon]

And to the OP.  Not only do some folks present themselves AS they are in RL, many do not. 

I, for example just got a darling little  support alpaca on a gacha.  Most anyone here on these forums would probably tell you that I do NOT seem to need "emotional support"  LOL.  I just love the little guy. I named him Alie.    So HERE, what you see is often not near the real world experience at all. 

 

I am very SHORT for one thing.  Chic is six feet.  I can't reach those top shelves. SHE can :D.  I also smoke cigarettes in SL where I have NEVER done that in RL. 

 

Edited November 26, 2019 by Chic Aeon
spelling

[Caerolle Llewellyn]

5 hours ago, Mayadaamn said:

Hi there, 

I'm a 24-year old anthropology student at the University of Copenhagen doing an essay regarding people with disabilities in virtual worlds such as SL. More specifically, I'm interested in the opportunities that virtual worlds can provide for people with physical/mental disabilities, and what virtual platforms like SL can do to create better user-experiences for people with disabilities. If any of you are interested in the talking with me or chatting with me in this forum regarding the above mentioned or related topics, please do not hesitate to contact me on mayada_10@hotmail.com or wbc162@alumni.ku.dk. 

Best regards, 
Mayada

I know quite a few people in SL who have disabilities to various degrees and use SL to enable them to interact with other people and to have experiences they cannot have IRL. The disabilities range from deafness to limitations of physical mobility to emotional and psychological disabilities. I am not one of those people, so I cannot contribute directly to your project, but I can tell you there are a lot of people with disabilities to whom SL is vitally important. Unfortunately, the vast majority of SL residents do not use the Forum, including all the people I know who have disabilities. I think you might have to go inworld to find people, which (like finding anything else of interest in SL) will likely be low-yield and very time consuming. Sounds like you got a couple of good leads upthread, though.

I also know quite a few who live a life here they cannot IRL not related to disabilities, but more related to social acceptance of their expression of their true selves (or even just to explore a side of themselves without the heavy risks and consequences they would fave IRL) or a lack of a social network IRL. This is different from what you are asking about, but serves a very important outlet for a lot of people.

One last thing, it kind of blows my mind that any 24-year-old would have a hotmail account...

[Treasure Ballinger]

Also, OP, please see our website at:   https://virtualability.org/

 

[Maitimo]

Virtual Ability is still going strong and still has several sims, five I think.

You may be interested in this video which was published last year: 

 

It's long but worth watching.  

5 hours ago, Lindal Kidd said:

People with disabilities in SL tend to use the platform in one of two ways.  Some will create an avatar that has the same disability as they have in RL.  A paraplegic may use an avatar in a wheelchair, for example.  I've seen a blind person present as an avatar with dark glasses, a cane, and a guide dog.  Others will use avatars that are fully abled, and go about in SL in ways that they cannot, in RL.  I know many people who are housebound in RL, and use SL to experience a wider world.

I do it the first way; as soon as mesh made it possible, I modified my avatar to have a missing arm, just as I do in RL. Then again, my disability doesn't impair me much in RL; I might think differently if it did.

[Mayadaamn]

.

Edited November 27, 2019 by Mayadaamn

[Mayadaamn]

Hi @LyricalBookworm, 

That would be great! And of course we can discuss it elsewhere. I honestly don't know why I wrote that we had to do it in this forum. Besides that, could you email me on: mayada_10@hotmail.com? My universities website is under construction at the moment so I wont be able to use that mail (wbc162@alumni.ku.dk) the next couple of days. Then I will make sure to send you some questions as soon as possible. And just so you know, if you decide that you don't really feel like sharing your experiences that's more than okay!

Edited November 27, 2019 by Mayadaamn

[Mayadaamn]

Hi @Jules Catlyn, 

I'm really glad to hear that 🙂 If it's something that you would like to elaborate on, I would love to chat with you. If not, I'm just glad that SL has helped you and still is doing so!

[Mayadaamn]

Hi @Chic Aeon, 

Thank you for your response. I would like to get as much diversity into this essay as possible, so your perspective means a great deal to me. 

Haha, Alie looks really cute and I'm sure he's a great emotional support 🙂

Tell me about it. I think it's nice that people can pick and choose how they want to represent themselves in SL, whether ones avatar looks like oneself in real life or not.

[Mayadaamn]

@Caerolle Llewellyn, 

Thank you for your response. I take all of the help that I can get, so even though you can't contribute directly to my project you still have given me some insight that I didn't have before. To be honest, when I created this forum I didn't expect to get as many answers as I've already gotten, so the leads that all of you have given me are much appreciated. 

I though it might be a problem getting in direct contact with people with disabilities that use SL in the forum. Since my essay isn't going to be that long, I don't have much time to go inworld at the moment, but I'm actually thinking of doing my thesis on the same subject, so maybe it's a good idea to get started in case I might need it later on. 

I'm very glad that you mention that. Because to me it's still worth mentioning that even though I'm focusing one particular aspect of people with disabilities in virtual worlds such as SL, there are still many other aspects that are equally as important to consider. 

Hahaha, I've never really thought that it was weird. I still get quite a few emails there, so maybe I'm one of the few youngsters that keeping it alive?

[Mayadaamn]

Hi @Matty Luminos, 

Thank you for your response. I don't why I didn't notice that you attached ''Our Digital Selves: My Avatar is Me'' at first, but thanks for that. I've actually already watched the documentary in my Digital Identities course. It's very interesting! 

Can I ask you what it meant to you that it was made possible to modify you avatar to have a missing arm in SL? 

[Mayadaamn]

Hi @Treasure Ballinger, 

Thank you for your response. I'm sorry to hear that you've had to deal with a lot of things this year, but I'm also happy to hear that your back and I hope that your RL husband is recovering well. 

It's good to hear that Virtual Ability is still going strong, and that Gentle Heron is still around. My essay isn't very isn't going to be very long, but I would very much like to contact Gentle inworld just out sheer interest and maybe for a later thesis. 

Thanks for the link. I've actually already contacted Virtual Ability by mail.

[Mayadaamn]

22 hours ago, Lindal Kidd said:

Hi, @Mayadaamn!

Don't expect to get too many email responses.  Most of us in SL prefer our anonymity.  However, I suggest you join the group Virtual Ability in SL, and visit their regions.  Get in touch with the group's founder, Gentle Heron.  Virtual Ability focuses on exactly the subject you're interested in.

In addition, you may be able to track down the paper that was written by ZiplockedGoldfish Twig for her Master's thesis.  Zippy left SL a long time ago, and I don't recall her real life name, so that'll require some good detective work on your part, sorry.  Her thesis dealt with your subject.

People with disabilities in SL tend to use the platform in one of two ways.  Some will create an avatar that has the same disability as they have in RL.  A paraplegic may use an avatar in a wheelchair, for example.  I've seen a blind person present as an avatar with dark glasses, a cane, and a guide dog.  Others will use avatars that are fully abled, and go about in SL in ways that they cannot, in RL.  I know many people who are housebound in RL, and use SL to experience a wider world.

Hi @Lindal Kidd, 

First of all I want to thank you for your response, it's very useful to me! I actually read a little bit about Virtual Ability which I have contaced by e-mail, but it's probably even better to visit their regions and get in touch with the group's founder as you suggest. 

I'm glad that you mention ZiplockedGoldfish Twig in this thread, because most of my knowledge in this area is based on Tom Boellstorffs ''Coming of Age in Second Life''. After reading a little bit a bout her, I think her way of debunking falsities regarding virtual disabilities expressed in the writings of the predominant SL theorist Boelstorff (her opinion), will contribute greatly to my essay! Know I just need to track down her thesis. 

I think it's very interesting how people choose to design their avatars and what those decisions are based on. I actually saw a documentary in my Digital Identities course called ''Our Digital Selves: My Avatar is Me'', which touch upon the way people with disabilities create representations of themselves in SL. 

NB: Sorry if I replay various hours after you've posted you answers, but that's probably because of time differences. Besides that, I apologize for grammatical errors or poorly written replies. English isn't my mother tongue, so there might come some weirdly constructed sentences out of this, haha. 

Here's a link to the documentary if anybody is interested: 

 

[Drake1 Nightfire]

22 hours ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Is Gentle still around? That's great news. I was wondering if Virtual Ability was still going strong.

And where the hell is @Treasure Ballinger?

[Drake1 Nightfire]

2 hours ago, Mayadaamn said:

Hi @LyricalBookworm, 

That would be great! And of course we can discuss it elsewhere. I honestly don't know why I wrote that we had to do it in this forum. Besides that, could you email me on: mayada_10@hotmail.com? My universities website is under construction at the moment so I wont be able to use that mail (wbc162@alumni.ku.dk) the next couple of days. Then I will make sure to send you some questions as soon as possible. And just so you know, if you decide that you don't really feel like sharing your experiences that's more than okay!

Just an FYI... You could always meet Inworld... I know that SL has helped me in many ways. i was very much a loner and not really a people person before SL. It was pretty much my wife and myself alone. In SL we have many friends we spend time with and have met in RL as well. I have several SL/Rl friends that actually live just a town over from me. Never would have met them if not for SL. People with mental health issues can benefit as well. finding people with the same issues give a larger circle of help than a RL therapist can give. Therapy is great, it gives you the skills to deal with your issues, but a circle of friends helps you deal with them on the daily. 

 

Also, i would be remiss if i didnt post this.. 

[Mayadaamn]

26 minutes ago, Drake1 Nightfire said:

Just an FYI... You could always meet Inworld... I know that SL has helped me in many ways. i was very much a loner and not really a people person before SL. It was pretty much my wife and myself alone. In SL we have many friends we spend time with and have met in RL as well. I have several SL/Rl friends that actually live just a town over from me. Never would have met them if not for SL. People with mental health issues can benefit as well. finding people with the same issues give a larger circle of help than a RL therapist can give. Therapy is great, it gives you the skills to deal with your issues, but a circle of friends helps you deal with them on the daily. 

 

Also, i would be remiss if i didnt post this.. 

That's actually a good idea @Drake1 Nightfire! I'm up for that if that fits you better @LyricalBookworm? You just have to mind me being a newbie to SL and not being very technical as you might already have noticed, haha. 

I'm really glad to hear that SL has made such a positive impact in your life, and it's even better that you have the opportunity to meet some of the people you've gotten to know in SL in RL. It's nice that you mention therapy in your response, because I actually read that more and more therapists in Denmark recommend using VR and certain virtual platforms to their patients in order to process (social) anxiety, PTSD and so on (I would have posted the articles if it wasn't for the fact that they are all in Danish). Reading your comments speaks volumes of how VR can have a lot of positive impacts on peoples lives. 

Haha, yes I'm just one out of many people who's going to ask you to fill out surveys and answer questions! But it is much appreciated that all of you have taken the time to write about your experiences in SL and on top of that given me a lot of new insights and leads. So thank you! 

Edited November 27, 2019 by Mayadaamn