[Job-Discussions] Appropriate use of human guide in the workplace

Wed Jun 7 23:21:18 UTC 2023

Hi all.

I have used human guide in my jobs. Sometimes you have to be open-minded, and try things you would have never tried in the past. 

I worked as a director of a childcare center. Not only did I use sighted guide, I also used a guide dog. In emergencies I trained the children to hold on to the harness, or to my hand to ezit the building. Childcare fields are the hardest to work in, because there is a belief that the employer needs to see to perform the job. Lastly, in my opinion, pick your battles, and compromise are what I had to do, and I was rewarded for it. If I would have fought the use of readers, and of human guide. Then I would have not kept the job, and the word would have not been good about me. By the way, do read the nature of independence. It is really helpful. 

From: Job-Discussions <job-discussions-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Dick Davis via Job-Discussions
Sent: Wednesday, June 7, 2023 2:34 PM
To: Job Discussions internet Mailing List <job-discussions at nfbnet.org>
Cc: dickblind at gmail.com
Subject: Re: [Job-Discussions] Appropriate use of human guide in the worlplace

Hi Kelsey, 

I think we have moved past the point of judging people for having the occasional limitation. Dr. Jernigan even wrote a speech called “The Nature of Independence,” in which he addressed the very thoughts you are having. I suggest you read it. 

To expand on my earlier point of members on this list needing to be supportive of others, I remember some of the people on our old jobs list were critical of some of the questions you asked when you were first seeking employment. Then one of our committee members, Jeannette, who has since passed away, realized how smart you are, took you under her wing and helped you get a job. 

Since that time, you have continued to advance in employment. Your jobs keep getting better and better. Your employers have respected your knowledge and skills and given you additional responsibilities. Your successes prove that a person does not need perfect skills to succeed as long as they have a good mind and a good heart. 

Best wishes,

Dick Davis

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 7, 2023, at 1:51 PM, Jordan Gallacher via Job-Discussions <job-discussions at nfbnet.org> wrote:

Do as you wish. There is no shame in using a human guide. None at all, despite what some of these organizations might say or think.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 7, 2023, at 11:29 AM, Chad Allen via Job-Discussions <job-discussions at nfbnet.org> wrote:

Hi Everyone, 

Not only do I fully agree with using sighted guide but I have a story to tell: 

I am a performing magician. I appeared on Penn and Teller's Fool Us and I am currently booked at The Magic Castle in Hollywood, CA. I say all this only to show I am serious about this work. 

Last year, Mark Riccobono hired me to perform strolling magic at an event in New Orleans. I almost did not accept the job. Stage and closeup magic allows me to have complete control of my performing space however, strolling magic requires me to go table to table in a restaurant or cocktail party environment. I am a successful cane traveler and a successful magician but I cannot travel with my cane and perform card magic at the same time. I need both hands to perform magic. 

I told this to Mark and I was willing to help him find a magician but he said, no. We want you. 

Without skipping a beat, Mark said, why not go sighted guide? I thought about it for two seconds and immediately knew he was right. 

So, at the event, I walked through the party, without my cane and performed magic for everyone. It was a great success and something I now request for every strolling magic gig I get. 

Moral of the story? Do what's best to get the job done. I hope this helps. 

My best, 

Chad Allen 

As seen on Penn and Teller: Fool Us

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCcA5gR0DSI

On Jun 7, 2023, at 07:38, Frye, Daniel via Job-Discussions <job-discussions at nfbnet.org> wrote:

Kelsey:

I rarely answer posts on any of our jobs or employment lists, leaving this venue for the benefit of Federation members, allies, and the like. But your question has prompted me to answer you with my opinion. Of course, I am a member of the Federation, but I am also a member of our organizational staff, so I undertake to not consume space, in deference to our volunteer membership.

I think there would absolutely be nothing wrong with your taking an arm of a team member (assuming that they are agreeable) so that you don't get occasionally disoriented in a parking lot. I think you have a thoughtful manager who understands the value of physical exertion as a means of maintaining your productivity at work and your general health. If walking with somebody gets you the exercise you require; helps ultimately to acquaint you with the route, should you have to travel it alone; and facilitates informal conversation with your colleagues that could not occur, if you were walking alone; I think that these advantages may present you with some social opportunities to integrate yourself while at work.

We are all, of course, encouraged to be as independent as possible to preserve a positive public perception of blindness and simply to be self-sufficient, but I think we must accept people where they are in terms of orientation & Mobility. I have directional hearing issues from time-to-time, and I used to worry that my reliance on somebody to walk to a given destination with me might adversely impact the impression that I leave with the individual and others that see me, but I've learned to be sufficiently self-confident that I minimize this worry, if it is in fact secondary to the other advantages inherent in a particular project. IN summary, I think you should do what feels most productive and useful to you, when considering the entire exercise, and not worry overly much about public impressions that don't consider the nuances inherent in your decision. Again, please don't use this as a rationale for not learning the route, but if it helps you to engage with your colleagues, stay safe and oriented, and learn what you need to know, I'd make these my priority considerations. I urge you to dismiss those who would be unduly judgmental of your decision to walk alongside another colleague; I'm sure that your sighted colleagues do the same thing, for the same reasons, all the time, without having to subject themselves to a test of whether they are independent enough every day.

I hope this feedback provides you with some solace and support as you continue whatever practice feels most comfortable for you. Behaving with integrity, ultimately, is what it is all about.

With Kind Regards,

Daniel B. Frye, JD.
Director of Employment and Professional Development Programs
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
410-659-9314, extension 2393 | dfrye at nfb.org <mailto:dfrye at nfb.org> 
Mobile: 410-241-7006
Pronouns: he, him, his

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Job-Discussions <job-discussions-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Kelsey Nicolay via Job-Discussions
Sent: Wednesday, June 7, 2023 7:25 AM
To: job-discussions at nfbnet.org <mailto:job-discussions at nfbnet.org> 
Cc: Kelsey Nicolay <piano.girl0299 at gmail.com>
Subject: [Job-Discussions] Appropriate use of human guide in the worlplace

Hello,
I work in an office environment in which our manager highly encourages going for a walk outside at least once a day. Due to how the office complex is set up, there are not sidewalks the whole way around the building, so it is necessary to walk in a parking lot. The sound of teammanes’ voices are usually enough to maintain orientation, but the sound of traffic sometimes affects my ability to hear where they are, so I have veered off course. I don’t go sighted guide in the building. Have learned my way around, but would there be anything wrong with me taking an arm to help stay oriented when we go for our team walks outside? 

Sent from Kelsey Nicolay’s iPhone 
_______________________________________________
Job-Discussions mailing list
Job-Discussions at nfbnet.org <mailto:Job-Discussions at nfbnet.org> 
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/job-discussions_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Job-Discussions:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/job-discussions_nfbnet.org/dfrye%40nfb.org
_______________________________________________
Job-Discussions mailing list
Job-Discussions at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/job-discussions_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Job-Discussions:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/job-discussions_nfbnet.org/chadallenmagic%40me.com

_______________________________________________
Job-Discussions mailing list
Job-Discussions at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/job-discussions_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Job-Discussions:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/job-discussions_nfbnet.org/jordanandseptember%40gmail.com

_______________________________________________
Job-Discussions mailing list
Job-Discussions at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/job-discussions_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Job-Discussions:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/job-discussions_nfbnet.org/dickblind%40gmail.com

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/job-discussions_nfbnet.org/attachments/20230607/f49b4c60/attachment.html>