[nabs-l] Training: As needed, or all at once?

[T. Joseph Carter]

Jedi,

I think it comes down to rejection of the notion of blindness for 
many people.  It did for me:

	Let me show you how to do this task without vision.
	But I can still see!
	Yes, but if you do it this way, you won't need to see.
	...But I can still see!

The fact that I looked like I had far more of a disability than I 
thought I did never entered into the picture, because my perception 
was that my disability wasn't really that severe.  Video reveals the 
truth: I can't see squat.  Mr. Magoo's probably got better eyesight 
than I have, and at least he's got the excuse of being old.  Nobody 
expects him to get a job, raise a family, etc.

Is it any wonder why a sighted person might question my ability to do 
those things?  Maybe I learned not to take such questions seriously 
while I was in Colorado, they're still asked far too often by stupid 
people with far too much power.  Certainly I won't prevent that, but 
I needn't give it ammunition by doing things that I know make me look 
foolish in front of them, like trying to read a 16 point serif font, 
for example.

Now that said, ideally, kids who grow up blind should not need our 
training centers.  That so many do is a testament to the state of 
education in this country for blind children, and it's not a good 
one.  That's a whole separate thread though, and I've got a midterm 
to finish writing.

Joseph


On Wed, May 13, 2009 at 08:58:48AM -0400, Jedi wrote:
> Joseph,
>
> amen. I couldn't have said it better myself. I  wish more low vision  
> people would watch themselves doing visual tasks versus watching a  
> skilled blind person use alternative techniques to do the same thing.  
> It's interesting to me how hard people will fight just to be normal, yet 
> it makes them seem more disabled than they really are. You know?
>
> Respectfully,
> Jedi
> Original message:
>> Ashley,
>
>> No attack from me.  Disagreement, sure.  The best time to get
>> training is before you enter the workforce.  Once you have a job, you
>> are going to have financial responsibilities and training will get in
>> the way.  If you get them while you're young, your job prospects are
>> going to be better.
>
>> I use the skills I learned every day.  Oh I don't work in a shop, but
>> I use what I learned about safety in the shop everywhere else.  I
>> don't read Braille daily and my speed has dropped down to a paltry 40
>> words per minute, but I know I can have it back any time I need it.
>
>> I use the skills I learned for working with screen readers to reduce
>> my dependency on the mouse.  I work much faster because of it.
>
>> I can tell you what the traffic patterns are two blocks away through
>> my open window.  I never used to pay attention to the fact that there
>> were traffic patterns until I got to an intersection.  (Thank you
>> Eric Woods!)
>
>> Every day the little things that I now can do things without burying
>> my nose against them, all because of the skills I got in Colorado.
>> Since you're talking about people with lots of stable vision, do you
>> have any idea what such a person looks like doing visual tasks?
>> Record yourself on video sometime and watch it.  It's not flattering,
>> and it will cause you to want to not look like that.
>
>> In a perfect world, I'd agree with you.  Get what you need when you
>> need it, and do what works.  But it's not a perfect world.  We have
>> responsibilities and others' perceptions to deal with.  That changes
>> things a bit, to my mind.
>
>> Joseph
>
>
>> On Mon, May 11, 2009 at 06:03:47PM -0400, Ashley  Bramlett wrote:
>>> Hi Jim,
>
>>> This is my opinion and  I will be in the minority and hope not to be
>>> attacked.  If your vision is stable and you
>>> can function well with print and other visual skills, then don't do
>>> training now.  Yes its a lot of time  and effort on your part to learn
>>> skills you'll likely never need.
>
>>> Some visually impaired people I know never learn braille and they do
>>> well; they are successful at work.
>
>>> NFB centers imerse you in nonvisual skills and you are blindfolded.  Does
>>> your state offer a state rehab center?  Often state centers allow you to
>>> use low vision techniques and use nonvisual ones as needed.  What state
>>> do you live in?  You may consider a state center where you can choose
>>> what you need rather than a nfb center first.
>>> So I think if your vision is stable there is no need to go for blindness
>>> training now.  I commend your decission to learn to use a cane. Many high
>>> partials like yourself never try it.  Learning and using a cane will not
>>> only help you travel better but it will identify your visual impairment
>>> and eliminate the need to explain sometimes.  I have usable vision
>>> although not as much as you.  We both have tunnel vision.  So I've always
>>> used visual and nonvisual techniques to function.
>
>>> Ashley
>
>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nabs-l mailing list
>>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nabs-l:
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/carter.tjoseph%40gmail.com
>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nabs-l mailing list
>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nabs-l:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/loneblindjedi%40samobile.net
>
> -- 
> Email services provided by the System Access Mobile Network.  Visit  
> www.serotek.com to learn more about accessibility anywhere.
>
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nabs-l:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/carter.tjoseph%40gmail.com