[Home-on-the-range] "It's not what we do but the way that we do it!"

[Dianne Hemphill]

Good morning federationists! Convention time is just around the corner and excitement is mounting. What about that new technology we want to know more about? Well, we can hear more about all of it and make a more informed decision about our next purchase.  Or are you thinking about some of the other options listed on the agenda and wonder what we might learn this year about "everything effecting the blind "?  I , myself, keep coming back to our friends from the Colorado Center (CCB) once again joining us as they frequently have done in the past. 
There is  a commercial running now that says "it's not what you do , but  the way that you do it" . I don't even know what they're advertising but I do know it can help define the difference between traditional rehabilitation and the approach that the NFB has  used for decades. The federation refers to this training approach as "structured discovery" Learning(SDL".  Many people in the rehab biz claim they also used SDL as they view that the skills that they teach are basically the same as those found in the NFB centers. They get offended when discussion about the differences and want to only refer to the mandate of using sleep shades by those with any useful, (though unreliable, if not down right dangerous low vision)  takes place.  So what besides using sleep shades during the training, is really different? If it's only about the use of sleep shades, why would a totally blind person go through this training method? And, of course, if your low vision , though  your eyes allow you only slow and unreliable ,   but some access  to  reading some print , etc, why would SDL training programs  be a consideration for you?  I'd like to suggest that we begin a discussion about what SDL is all about and why it has been effective. The feds define effective as having it's graduates go into  competitive  integrated work settings followed by a closure of an individuals Vocational Rehabilitation Services case.  Being able to effectively communicate the differences between traditional rehab and SDL is necessary in order for us to help our blind brothers and sisters to seek rehabilitation with the greatest potential for successful employability outcomes.  

If you have questions about this subject please post them here...if you have insights about SDL and/or traditional rehab, please share. How is it that some of us have been successful in terms of employment  having gone through traditional training  while most have not? What makes SDL so effective? What do you want to hear from the CCB that would make a difference in your understanding about why SDL has been the training approach used by federation centers? 

With most of us (conservatively estimated at 70 percent) have not been successful in landing a regular job or entering a career in a competitive, integrated work setting  are still trying to figure out what would give us an edge, let's consider what makes SDL tick. Traditional rehab, based around only providing skills training, has left the majority of us in the dust  ...so what makes SDL so effective? ,,,and, of course, why is there such resistance from the rehab specialist to embrace SDL? A quote from Einstein, might help us  to harness our resolve to "help" the rehabilitation system take notice, "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". ...  
The way you can help all of us here on home on the range is by helping us better understand what this whole rehab thing is and, more importantly, what it needs to be and why. Dianne