[humanser] Jury finds IA Dept. for Blind'sguidedog policy does not discriminate

[James Brown]

Hi Shannon,

I'm going to copy your statement below, but I'm going to insert cane users 
in the place of dog users because I have seen the same thing on the other 
side.

Here's the converse of your statement.  I agree about the skills of some of 
those who use canes.  I've seen some who are fantastic and others who I 
wonder how they manage to get out of their own house.

Weather it's a cane or dog, some people are going to get around better no 
matter how much training they have.  You can't train physical and cognitive 
aptitude.

What I want to know is, are canes really a better mode of travel than dogs? 
Because by mandating in depth, pervaisive cane travel, it sends an unspoken 
message of superiority.

Again, I'm not talking about the legality, but the principal.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Shannon Cook" <SCook at sccb.sc.gov>
To: "'Human Services Mailing List'" <humanser at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 2:19 PM
Subject: Re: [humanser] Jury finds IA Dept. for Blind'sguidedog policy does 
not discriminate


> Hi,
>
> I agree about the skills of some of those who have dogs.  I've seen some 
> who are fantastic and others who I wonder how they manage to get out of 
> their own house.  Thanks for your thoughts on this topic.  I can 
> understand more why this decision was made.
>
> Shannon Cook, MSW
> -----Original Message-----
> From: humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
> Behalf Of Alicia Richards
> Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 1:02 PM
> To: Human Services Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [humanser] Jury finds IA Dept. for Blind's guidedog policy 
> does not discriminate
>
> Oops, I sent my earlier email to the wrong list.  My apologies!  *Smile* 
> I
> had meant to respond to Shannon.
>
> Yes, some of the things you say are true, Shannon.  A person who attends
> guide dog school is, technically, supposed to have good mobility already,
> and be signed off by an O&M instructor.  However, this is definitely not
> always the case by a longshot. Not all clients who go through guide dog
> programs do in fact have good mobility skills.  I used to have a guide dog
> myself, and I assure you that quite a few of the people in my class had
> terrible mobility skills, yet they, and their instructor, thought a dog
> would simply fix that problem.  My school actually had to send one student
> home, she was that poor of a traveler.
>
> Also, when you go to a college to get a certain degree, rarely can you 
> just
> skip classes because you feel like it.  If the college does give you that
> option, you most generally have to test out of that class, and if the 
> school
> is not satisfied with your test results, you don't get to skip the class.
> So it seems to go with a Center.  If you go to a Center, in my opinion, 
> part
> of what you must accept is their entire program, or don't go to that
> particular Center.  Or, if the Center is going to make adjustments, then
> they should test the person's skills in that particular area, but reserve
> the right not to allow them out of that course if they are not satisfied
> with the skills they see.
>
> Alicia
>
>
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