I wonder how aware he was of it and how much he experienced it as socially isolating. When I saw "Shallow Hal," the beautiful thin actress who wore a fat suit for the role of the fat girlfriend tried it out by going to a bar. She was used to being looked at. No one looked at her when she was the fat girl. She remarked in an interview how socially isolating it was. I know he is blind but he is not stupid. I wonder how much of that he notices.
But a thin girl in a fat costume knows what it's like to be thin and socially active. It makes it more jarring to go from one extreme to the other (as it would be for an overweight person who was ignored to suddenly become the centre of attention).
By that same token, I don't know if Dr. Miele would notice much of it, because he has been isolated in public from such a young age.
I am handicapped and so are my sons. We are "normal" to each other. I forget how impaired my oldest son is. When he runs into something which trips him up, I am often jarringly reminded. The article suggests Dr. Miele likely experiences a "normal" home life and is sensitive to the detail of wanting to be known for the right reasons. He may not be painfully aware of how strangers react, because he is used to it. Or it might be like a constant annoyance which grates all the more for having gone on so long. It would be interesting to hear his take on it.
