[Home-on-the-range] April Monitor defines SDL

[Dianne Hemphill]

Just when we needed this easy to find explanation  of the training method the NFB refers to as Structured Discovery Learning (SDL), the April Braille Monitor gives it to us! Jeff Altman, Travel instructor at the Nebraska Center f/t Blind, provides an excellent overview of why the SDL can be such a practical approach for training the blind/visually impaired. There are many who question the approach , mainly because they fear blindness and can't comprehend how by learning blindness skills till they are second nature can benefit both those without vision and those with some useful though unreliable vision. 

The use of sleep shades is one of the most controversial techniques used in SDL as is the requirement to use the white cane at all times during training. Jeff explains how being able to use blindness skills effectively actually allows the use of one's remaining vision  to be more effective. This is because one can make a more informed decision on what makes the most sense to us individually because we know what the choices are and how useful it is to us personally.  SDL is so much more than skills training as it fosters the development of enhanced confidence and independence . Skills are, of course taught, but it is the way they are taught that makes the difference between this method and the traditional training approach...as well as the anticipated outcomes for  greater personal freedom and employability.  Let's hear from those of you who have questions as well as those of us that better understand SDL and its possibilities . Find this info in "When the Sleep Shades Come Off".  Dianne