"An Australian woman is blind three days out of every six because her eyes involuntarily shut and she cannot open them, a report has said."

Is this for real?

That is crazy. Poor woman. It's so strange that the eye closing is predictable.

"No, Mom, I can't possibly go to school and take that test. My eyes won't open. See?"
"I don't think I could ever have a job because I can't...open...my eyes"

Seems like a good strategy.

1. Could be a food or environmental allergy.

2. Blind people CAN "see their friends", so she needs to get proactive about learning how to do things when she can't see.

3. Shut up, mless2.

This is weird, and must be insane to live with.

"Susie - if you keep making that face, it will stick that way today, next Tuesday, and on alternating Wednesdays for the rest of your life!"

It sounds like she is receiving care.

Blinking is normally an involuntary reflex, and it would be hard to maintain a closed-eye state for hours on end voluntarily.

The fact that they clamp shut probably points to some kind of brain or nerve damage rather than, say, a palsy or tic.