[Blind-Rollers] Guiding wheelchairs

Thu Aug 13 20:48:55 UTC 2020

Hey Loren, good to hear from you again. I am so sorry to hear about your health issues and will keep you in my prayers. I did get to talk to your sister a little bit and some of the convention zooms and I got to watch her on the Nebraska anniversary zoom. I don’t know what the cylinder is but knowing Barbara, it probably has a different name. LOL.
As for wheelchair mobility, we were taught by Doug Boone some cool techniques but I have picked up more since then from a man named Scott Crawford out of the affiliate a blind of Louisiana.
If you still have your upper body strength and mobility, you can get a longer cane so you can clear a path and find your obstacles and drop offs. You just have to make sure you don’t roll backward without sweeping first just like when you’re walking. Your terms are going to be a little more difficult but with a little practice, you should be experienced enough with a cane to figure them out. Just try not to take any door jams off or take out any nurses. LOL.  OK, one or two nurses but no more.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 13, 2020, at 12:13 PM, Lauren Merryfield via Blind-Rollers <blind-rollers at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> And I can't help it!  I want my guide leopard!
> Lauren
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Blind-Rollers <blind-rollers-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Jane Lansaw via Blind-Rollers
> Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2020 8:41 AM
> To: Blind wheelchair users list <blind-rollers at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Jane Lansaw <lansaw at icloud.com>
> Subject: Re: [Blind-Rollers] Guiding wheelchairs
> 
> Hi Becky and Maureen,
> About a year and a half ago, I went through every dog guide school in the United States, calling them one by one. Every dog guide school referred me to another except for guide dogs for the blind in San Rafael.  I had a client in a wheelchair who wanted a dog guide. Unfortunately, when I ended at California, they told me that they stopped training dog guides for wheelchair users because they were not getting enough applicants to used wheelchairs and their trainers were not working at keeping their skills up as blind wheelchair travelers.
> I think if you get enough wheelchair users interested in getting dog guides, you might be able to persuade them to revisit the program but it will take some time because they will have to retrain all of their trainers. I actually approved of this because I was glad to see that they were working at their blindness skills. You always hear stories about dog guide trainers being required to travel with the dog nonvisual late to make sure that the dog can do everything he or she is purported to be able to do. Still, I don’t think that dog guide trainers get very much non-visual training.
> I was fortunate enough to be allowed to train for apprentices at guide dogs to Texas when I was teaching can travel down there.  I spent two days under blindfold with me and did a very good job. Go dog trainers tend to be a bit more athletic and aware of their bodies in space than most folks and usually catch on pretty quickly. With a regular student I wouldn’t expect to have them crossing major later dinner sections on the second day but with these guys I was able to take them to a major intersection in San Antonio where we had five streets coming together. I checked everyone’s blindfold and one by one, ask them to tell me what the cars were doing. They did a fantastic job of identifying they’re turning traffic and when it was safe to cross. I was thrilled with their performance.
> I can’t promise That all dog guide trainers do that well under blindfold but it made me feel better about the amount of time that the trainer spends under the blindfold. When San Rafael told me that their trainers were out of practice, I appreciated their desire to stop training dogs for wheelchair users if they could not maintain their own skills.
> This is why I think if you get maybe 10 or so people together who want to get dog guides, you might be able to convince one of the schools to return to wheelchair training the trainers. Then when they are ready for you, they could do specialized classes and be prepared as they need to be.   This is a great list to talk about this. If everyone gets together and picks one or two schools to petition, you might have some luck.
> 
> Jane Lansaw
> NOMC
> Tulsa Oklahoma
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Aug 13, 2020, at 9:43 AM, maureen Pranghofer via Blind-Rollers <blind-rollers at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Becky
>> I went down the road several years ago and at that time Southeast 
>> Guidedog in Florida was doing it but only to graduates of that school. 
>> Since then I'd heard that Paws with a Cause and Leader Dog were doing 
>> it but that was several years ago.
>> Maureen
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Blind-Rollers <blind-rollers-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of 
>> Becky Frankeberger via Blind-Rollers
>> Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2020 9:23 AM
>> To: 'Blind wheelchair users list' <blind-rollers at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Becky Frankeberger <b.butterfly at comcast.net>
>> Subject: [Blind-Rollers] Guiding wheelchairs
>> 
>> Are there any schools flexible enough to train a dog for a wheelchair 
>> user who is totally blind. I am asking for my friend and maybe myself 
>> for the future.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Warmly,
>> 
>> Becky
>> 
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