Table 5. Difficulties with, and changes to, social interactions arising from poor face perception.
| % of Patients Reporting or Endorsing this Experience ('+' indicates minimum value, i.e., not all patients asked directly about the experience) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description of Experience | Mild (n = 8) |
Mod (n = 8) |
Severe (n = 5) |
Total (N = 21) |
| Identity domain | ||||
| - "Some people with AMD may appear disengaged, this may be because they cannot see who is in a room." (N = 15) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| - When I don't recognise others, I worry they will think I’m rude or unfriendly | 50+ | 63+ | 60+ | 57+ |
| - To avoid false recognition of someone I don't actually know, I am cautious / hesitant / noncommittal (e.g., I don't say people's names, wait for them to speak first) | 38+ | 25+ | 80+ | 43+ |
| - To try to avoid giving offence to people I know by ignoring them, I'm indiscriminately friendly (e.g., I smile at everyone) | 25+ | 25+ | 0+ | 19+ |
| Expression domain | ||||
| - "People with AMD may be unable to see a person’s facial expressions i.e., whether someone looks happy, sad or bored. Because they cannot see facial expressions, they might miss social cues. For example, someone might be looking bored but the person with AMD can’t see this so they keep on talking, or a person might be just having a joke and is smiling when they say something, but the person with AMD takes it seriously." (N = 16) | 86 | 100 | 100 | 94 |
| - Patient gave specific example/s of above from their own experience | 38+ | 50+ | 20+ | 38+ |
| Face perception domains in combination | ||||
| - Social interactions are slowed or take more mental effort | 63+ | 50+ | 80+ | 62+ |
| - Particular difficulty in groups | 38+ | 25+ | 40+ | 33+ |
| Responses to mistakes | ||||
| - I apologise | 63+ | 38+ | 60+ | 52+ |
| - I explain I have vision loss (or wear a vision impaired badge) | 88+ | 88+ | 100 | 90+ |
| - I use humour (laugh it off) | 25+ | 63+ | 60+ | 48+ |
| - I sometimes let it go/pretend there is no problem | 75+ | 88+ | 100 | 86+ |
| - I sometimes feel bad (embarrassed, frustrated, sad, upset) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| - I worry what other people think of me and how they judge me | 63+ | 88+ | 60+ | 71+ |
| - Others usually respond positively to my mistakes (e.g., humour, kindness, helpful) | 50+ | 50+ | 60+ | 52+ |
| - Others can get angry/upset when I make mistakes | 38+ | 25+ | 20+ | 29+ |
| - I sometimes can't tell how others respond (because I can't see their expressions) | 50+ | 63+ | 40+ | 52+ |
Notes: For the two statements listed in quotes, a subset of patients (N = 15, and N = 16) were read these statements, as part of the pre-testing phase for the patient information sheet (within Interview 2), and asked whether they agreed with them.