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Mayadaamn

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Posts posted by Mayadaamn

    Can SL help people with disabilities?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    Hi there, 

    I know it has been a while since I created this thread! I just wanted to say thank you for all of the help. I'm not allowed do post my paper here in this forum, but if anybody is interested I can send or post the conclusions that I made in it. Just keep in mind that it is a short paper, and it doesn't do justice to all of the nuances within SL and its users.

    Besides that, I'm glad that I got to meet so many helpful and kind-hearted people who took the time to share stories and knowledge about this specific topic with me. So once again, thank you again and take care! :-)) 

    Best regards,

    Mayada 

    • Like 2

    Can SL help people with disabilities?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    On 11/28/2019 at 3:08 PM, Chaser Zaks said:

    I would most certainly say yes.

    I have autism(Asperger's to be specific), with it came a whole bunch of quirks. Second Life has helped me in many ways and I am grateful for it's existence every day.

    One major issue I have is severe mysophobia, which is the irrational fear of germs/bacteria/being contaminated. I am well aware it is irrational and 99% of the time what I am afraid of will not harm me. Unfortunately even with that in mind, it's not a easy thing for me to shrug off.

    Since age 12(or at least around that age), I slowly started to spiral into the mysophobia(and other things related with my autism) I have today. It has gotten so bad that I cannot go outside without taking a 2 to 3 hour long shower, I cannot touch my cats or go eat dinner without washing my hands 50 times, and various other things.

    I also have social anxiety, bad social skills, and miss social cues. I used to not even be able to respond to forum threads, or talk in groups. I'd just sit and watch people talk. I had a intense fear that people would instantly hate me for reasons I did not know, judge me for being me, or hate me for being me.

    Second Life has helped me with all of these things in different ways. It has given me a creative outlet and a way to experience a world without my mysophobia. It has helped me better my social skills and calm my social anxieties. I have been able to interact with people in ways that simple text chat would be unable to encompass. And most importantly to me, it gives me a place where I can finally experience hanging out with friends.

    While I still do have these issues and am taking medication to help, Second Life has really given me a "Second Life" in a sense. I highly would recommend it to people, especially to those with disabilities. While it isn't a replacement for real life, it is a great alternative to it and gives the ability to those unable to experience their real life to the fullest, a second chance to experience life in ways not possible for them.

    I have met many great and supportive people on Second Life. There are people who do to out to cause problems and drama, but those people exist in real life too, so I just consider it part of the experience. Despite having a small few individuals who do like to cause problems, there are many more welcoming, supportive, and understanding individuals. I couldn't ask for a better community.

    Hi @Chaser Zaks, 

    Thank you so much for your response, and thank you for sharing your experience in this forum. 

    I'm so glad to hear that SL has contributed to so many positive experiences in your life, and that it has created a space where you can be yourself and be a part of a community that's welcoming, supportive and understanding. Reading your story as well as all of the other SL-users in this forum, really confirms my believes when it comes to the opportunities that virtual platforms can provide for people with disabilities. 

    • Like 1

    Can SL help people with disabilities?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    On 11/28/2019 at 1:16 AM, LyricalBookworm said:

    @Mayadaamn, I would either be fine doing it through email or inworld. A meeting inworld will have to wait until next week I'm afraid since it is my turn to host Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year so I will just say it is pure havoc at the moment and will only get busier.

     

    @LyricalBookworm, then I think we should email each other, because then we can just answer each other when we have the time for doing so. And I hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving!

    Can SL help people with disabilities?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    On 11/27/2019 at 6:53 PM, AmandaKeen said:

    I have some speech deficits following a brain injury and stroke. 

    SL was a great opportunity for me to be accepted as “normal” back in the pre-Voice days. Within SL no one heard me slurring and assumed that I was either drunk or mentally a little “off”.

    SL Voice has been problematic for me (slightly).  I don’t generally have issues with SL Males wanting me to VoiceVerify because I don’t become intimately involved with them, but many newer Residents are so voice-fixated on how they interact in SL that it becomes an issue occasionally.

    Overall, SL has been a benefit to my self-esteem and a “safe haven” where I can appear as normal as I feel on the inside.

    Hi @AmandaKeen, 

    I'm glad that SL can provide a space for you to be accepted as ''normal'', and I'm glad that you mention different features in SL that has created difficulties for people with disabilities, because even though SL provides a lot of opportunities, I still think it's important to talk about where it need improvements. So thank you for sharing your experience with SL. 

    Can SL help people with disabilities?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted · Edited by 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.. 

    1930203381_braceyourselves.jpg.e2cdebd42c0eb9d52d7ec9f18e841ad2.jpg

    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! 

    • Like 2

    Can SL help people with disabilities?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    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: 

     

    Can SL help people with disabilities?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    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.

    Can SL help people with disabilities?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    @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?

    Can SL help people with disabilities?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    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.

    Can SL help people with disabilities?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted · Edited by 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!

    • Like 1

    Can SL help people with disabilities?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    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

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