[nabs-l] The Carroll Center for the Blind

Tue Aug 16 04:20:31 UTC 2011

Hi Arielle and all,
    I do think that at least to some degree, effective use of vision needs
to be taught. Some things might come naturally, but others might not. For a
person with a central field loss, he or she might not know that by using
eccentric vision, (peripheral vision) objects will come into focus easier.
That is just one example. Having no vision to speak of myself, I cannot
personally speak to this, however I have heard stories from and about people
who struggled with using or not using their vision doing this or that and
what a difference it made when they were taught techniques for using their
remaining vision effectively. I think visual efficiency coupled with
nonvisual techniques is a recipe for success in the case of someone who has
usable remaining vision.

Liz Bottner
Guiding Eyes Graduate Council
GEB Voicemail:  800-942-0149 Ext. 2531
e-mail: 
liziswhatis at hotmail.com 
Visit my LiveJournal: 
http://unsilenceddream.livejournal.com 
Follow me on Twitter: 
http://twitter.com/lizbot 

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Arielle Silverman
Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 9:04 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] The Carroll Center for the Blind

Hi all,
Liz, I think your points about use of remaining vision are very
reasonable. One thing I'm curious about is whether the efficient use
of remaining vision needs to be taught. Obviously nonvisual techniques
have to be taught initially, although some of them are ones we just
come up with on our own. But does one need to be taught how to utilize
residual vision or is doing so more automatic? Since I have very
little usable vision, I don't know the answer to this question and am
genuinely curious. I do know I automatically use my tiny bit of
residual light perception to avoid some obstacles and to stay lined up
when crossing the street, and no one taught me that. I do know this
method is not always reliable and I don't always detect obstacles or
curbs with my eyes if the lighting isn't right, which is why I'm glad
I know how to use my cane and sound to accomplish those tasks. But I'm
not sure there's anything else an instructor could teach me about how
to locate obstacles or curbs with my eyes because it kind of just
happens without my thinking about it. What do you think?
Arielle

On 8/15/11, Peter Donahue <pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com> wrote:
> Hello everyone,
>
> Yup. Through the use of sleepshades.
>
> Peter Donahue
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Anjelina" <anjelinac26 at gmail.com>
> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 7:44 PM
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] The Carroll Center for the Blind
>
>
> Hi Liz,
> I'm glad you mentioned this aspect of blindness skills training. I have a
> few friends who have struggled with figuring out how to balance when to
use
> alternative techniques, and when using remaining vision may be more
> suitable. Vision is a hardwired sense, and I doubt it's always easy to
just
> not use what one has. Does anyone know if NFB philosophy-based centered
have
> addressed this issue?
>
> Anjelina
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Aug 15, 2011, at 6:57 PM, Liz Bottner <liziswhatis at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>    Personally, my view is that if you have some remaining vision, you
>> should be taught how to effectively use that (visual efficiency) as well
>> as
>> nonvisual techniques so that you have both tools in your toolbox. There
>> may
>> be times when using your remaining vision for a task is preferred and
>> totally fine, and yet others where employing a nonvisual technique is
more
>> feasible. My concern is that NFB centers do not focus on teaching those
>> with
>> low vision how to use their remaining vision effectively alongside
>> nonvisual
>> techniques. If I am wrong in this assertion, someone please feel free to
>> set
>> me straight. I realize and completely agree that the value of sleep
shades
>> to a person with low vision is of crucial importance because it builds
>> confidence and instills the idea that vision isn't everything, but as I
>> said
>> earlier, if someone has usable vision, they should be encouraged to use
it
>> if it will end up helping them.
>>
>> Just my view, for what it's worth.
>>
>> Take care.
>>
>> Liz Bottner
>> Guiding Eyes Graduate Council
>> GEB Voicemail:  800-942-0149 Ext. 2531
>> e-mail:
>> liziswhatis at hotmail.com
>> Visit my LiveJournal:
>> http://unsilenceddream.livejournal.com
>> Follow me on Twitter:
>> http://twitter.com/lizbot
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf
>> Of Salisbury, Justin Mark
>> Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2011 8:58 PM
>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [nabs-l] The Carroll Center for the Blind
>>
>> I attended the Carroll Center for the Blind for two consecutive summers
>> with
>> Justin Young, and I would like to give my personal take on it.
>>
>> Justin and I had this joke where we started the Justin Corporation, an
>> underground mafia meat market.  It was an amazing social experience with
>> all
>> of the other students involved.  If only considering the social frontier,
>> I
>> highly recommend it.
>>
>> I attended the Youth in Transition (YIT) program in 2006 and then the
Real
>> World Work Experience (RWWE) in 2007.  I valued every bit of the
>> experience
>> both years, but I want to first make clear a fundamental disagreement
that
>>
>> I
>> now have with the training that I received.  I lost my vision in 2005, so
>> I
>> was newly blinded when I went to the Carroll Center.  They taught me to
>> use
>> my remaining vision as much as possible and taught me ways to use my
>> remaining vision.  I wish that they had taught me how to do everything
>> non-visually.  I wish that they had occluded (blindfolded) me during O&M
>> lessons and other lessons in general.  I learned a lot of great things,
>> but
>> blindness skills should be about knowing how to do things non-visually.
I
>> am now planning to attend an NFB training center (Louisiana Center for
the
>> Blind, Blind, Inc, or Colorado Center for the Blind), where I will learn
>> all
>> of the skills I need non-visually.  Also understand that I have a stable
>> visual field and acuity.
>>
>> I am much better off having gone to the Carroll Center than I was before
I
>> went there, but it wasn't the best possible program that I could have
>> chosen.
>>
>> In the Youth in Transition program, they worked with us on our confidence
>> and social skills.  They taught us some basic cooking skills, how to do
>> laundry, a lot of O&M, housekeeping skills, how to use low vision
devices,
>> and they had a class called "personal management," where they taught us
>> about shaving, tying a tie, sewing a button, and things like that.  If we
>> already knew how to do something, they would watch us do it and suggest
>> modifications in technique if necessary.  They also had a class called
>> adaptive technology, where they introduced me to ZoomText and other
>> students
>> with less vision than me to Jaws.  We had a lot of great group activities
>> and social opportunities that I will remember for a long time.  We also
>> saw
>> a counselor while we were there on a weekly basis to make sure that we
>> were
>> adjusting well to the environment.  Another activity, called "people
>> talk,"
>> was a time that we all gathered to talk about certain issues that often
>> led
>> to self-awareness and confidence building.
>>
>> In the Real World Work Experience program, we were evaluated on our
skills
>> for a week and prepared for a month of work.  Once we started work, we
>> worked for three days per week in volunteer positions, and we were paid
by
>> the Carroll Center.  The other two days were used for field trips and
>> training days.  Again, it was an amazing experience.  Different students
>> were placed in different positions in the Boston area.  We were
>> responsible
>> for using public transportation to get to and from our work sites.  We
had
>> two job coaches in charge of about 10 or 12 students in the program, so
>> they
>> weren't with us all the time.  They were sighted people who watched us at
>> a
>> distance while we were in the environment.
>>
>> At the beginning of the RWWE program, I met a few adults who were at the
>> end
>> of their adult program, which runs during the regular school year.  They
>> spoke well of their program, but they told me that there wasn't an
>> aggressive Braille standard that they had to meet in their program.  They
>> studied it a little bit, but they didn't become what an NFB training
>> center
>> would push them to become.  Also, students at the Carroll Center live in
a
>> dorm and eat at a dining hall, which gives them a comfortable crutch, but
>> it
>> does not push them to really be independent.  When you walk into the
>> dining
>> hall, you are expected to put your cane in a docking station and navigate
>> the dining hall without it by walking in either a clockwise or
>> counter-clockwise direction.
>>
>> The Carroll Center is a good training center with good people in it, but
>> it
>> is not the very best option available.
>>
>> I'd be happy to answer specific questions on- or off-list.
>>
>> Justin
>>
>>
>>
>> Justin M. Salisbury
>> Undergraduate Student
>> The University Honors Program
>> East Carolina University
>> salisburyj08 at students.ecu.edu
>>
>> "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
>> change
>> the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."    -MARGARET MEAD
>>
>>
>>
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