[nabs-l] Training centers

[bookwormahb at earthlink.net]

Humberto,
Of course anyone who is legally blind can go to the program.
You can be blind from birth or gone blind anytime in life.
Ashley

-----Original Message----- 
From: humberto
Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2011 11:22 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Training centers

Again, just my 90 cents here:

You are talking, all about when people are new to blindness, and
they attend blindness centers. But how about people who are blind
since birth like me? Can we also go to training centers, or is it
just for newly blinded people? I'm just Curious; and also I
wanted to be a little more fair on this topic so as to provide
fair equality for also those who are blind since they were born.
thanks anyways.


> ----- Original Message -----
>From: Tara Annis <TAnnis at afb.net
>To: "nabs-l at nfbnet.org" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>Date sent: Wed, 9 Feb 2011 14:38:09 -0500
>Subject: [nabs-l] Training centers

>I attended the Colorado Center program between semesters at
college.    I attended the school for the blind and also took
some classes at a local association of the blind, so would like
to provide some insight.
>I do agree that blind people can be successful and have above
average skills, even though they do  not go to the NFB center,
but this is really rare from my observations.
>Before I went to CCB, I did not know that blind people could walk
long distances using a cane, as in m five or ten miles.  I
thought people could only walk routes that the O&M instructor had
taught them, and the route would be a mile or less.  I thought
blind  people needed sighted  guide for any new place they
visited, and couldn't use the cane to follow someone.
>I didn't know that blind people could use a charcoal grill.
>Some observations:
>1. There were no nurses at CCB that had control of the medication
you took.  If you are supposed to be living in the real world,
why have someone keep track of your meds?

>2. There were no lights out at CCB.  As long as you showed up to
class on time, who cares what you do at night, as long as you
aren't breaking the law.  You're adults, so you should be treated
like them.
>Go to bed when you feel like it.

>3. There was no hassle at CCB when you wanted to go for lunch.
You just  walked out the door.  You didn't need to make sure
people had a sighted guide before beginning.  You didn't need to
have a sighted person to come along to help out.


>4. Instructors were blind at CCB, and not ashamed of it. At other
training centers, the instructors would never be caught using a
cane or reading braille.  Sighted people wore dark glasses when
traveling with blind people, so the public couldn't look into
their eyes.  They did  not like being stared at by the  public.
Yet, they never told blind people this fact.

>5. Colorado staff did not hide the fact that the public can
sometimes be cruel, and many do not understand blindness.  I have
witnessed at  other centers staff outright lying to blind people
telling them that no one can tell they are blind and that they
don't need a cane, since they get around  so well.  Yet, the
people they tell this to have disfigured eyes, and run into
obstacles.  The instructors do not want the blind person to feel
bad so that is why they make up these lies.


>6. I hate how at other centers they always assume a blind person
has low self  esteem, and needs counseling.
>CCB  knew that some of their students are at an intermediate
level, already past the adjustment phase of blidnness, and just
came to CCB for advanced skills training.







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