[nabs-l] Training centers

[bookwormahb at earthlink.net]

Jen,
What program did you attend at carroll? Feel free to explain what you 
learned, pros and cons, of it off list.

-----Original Message----- 
From: Jennifer Aberdeen
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2011 4:32 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Training centers

Hi all,

I met my boyfriend when I was at the Carrol Center. They had issues with
touching etc over there, but we didn't actually start dating until after we
were both finished our programs, so it wasn't a big deal for me.

Jen
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Shop my store for the latest and greatest in beauty and wellness products!
www.youravon.com/jaberdeen

Jennifer Aberdeen, AVON Independent Sales Representative
freespirit328 at gmail.com
401-644-5607

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Beth" <thebluesisloose at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2011 11:21 AM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Training centers


As far as dating at Centers, I am still dating my current bf and
he's amazing.  I met him here at CCB, and he welcomed me with
open arms.  HE's an amazing traveler, but snow is his weakness.
lol
Beth

----- Original Message -----
From: Arielle Silverman <nabs.president at gmail.com
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Wed, 9 Feb 2011 21:41:15 -0700
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Training centers

Hi again,

Humberto, yes, people who are born blind are just as welcome at
NFB
centers as people who just went blind. I think when I was at LCB,
it
was about half and half, or maybe even more people who grew up
blind
than people who are newly blind. Some students also attend who
have
been "legally blind" for most or all of their lives, but who are
recently losing more vision.

Brian: It's sad, but also funny to hear about other centers
discouraging students from dating, because to my knowledge dating
between students at NFB centers is actually quite common, and not
discouraged (sometimes teasingly encouraged by staff who like to
play
"matchmaker"). I believe that several blind married couples who
are
active in the NFB first met at training centers (Dr. Maurer and
Mrs.
Maurer met at the Iowa training center, the one that the three
NFB
centers are modeled after). That said, there is certainly no
expectation to get romantically involved with a fellow center
student
and many students intentionally avoid it because the time at the
center is relatively short, or because they don't want to be
distracted during their training by such things. Either way is
perfectly acceptable, in my opinion.

Arielle

On 2/9/11, Arielle Silverman <nabs.president at gmail.com> wrote:
Hi all,

As you know, there is no magical number of days you must stay at
a
training center in order to emerge as an "enlightened" blind
person.
Nor is the center itself magical, or absolutely necessary for
everyone
to achieve their optimal amount of self-sufficiency and
integration in
the world. If you attend a center (NFB or not), you will
hopefully
gain skills you can combine with your prior skills so you have
as many
"tools in your toolbox" as possible. Having attended the
Louisiana
Center for the Blind, and knowing many people who have gone to
the
other two NFB centers, I believe that our centers are unique,
and
anybody can gain something from attending one of them at least
for a
short time, whether you "need" it or not. However, I also don't
think
attending a center is essential for success. Unfortunately,
center
training often must serve to fill in the gaps in one's childhood
blindness skills training, so if you already have a solid
foundation
in Braille, Computers, cane travel, and home management and feel
appropriately confident in your skills in all four of these
areas,
then going to a center may not be as important to you as other
goals,
like college attendance. However, if you feel deficient in one
or more
of these skills or feel your independence is limited because of
these
issues, then a center is an excellent way to fill in that
knowledge
gap.

In answer to a couple questions that were raised, at least in
Louisiana, the evenings and weekends are, for the most part,
your
time. There are occasional trips like rafting and rock climbing,
and
sometimes optional weekend activities, but the rest of the free
time
is yours. I know at LCB many students attended local churches
and some
exercised at the local fitness center. You are more than welcome
to
sign up for community activities, as long as they don't take up
time
during the week (Monday-Friday from 8:00-5:00, or 8:00-4:30 for
CCB;
I'm not sure about BLIND, Inc.'s exact schedule).

As someone mentioned, contrary to some people's stereotypes
about NFB
centers, they really do make an effort to treat every student as
an
individual. There are graduation requirements, but if you are
struggling to meet them, the teachers will work with you to
develop a
plan so that you can graduate and be challenged without being
overwhelmed. When I was at LCB I saw lots of students with a
great
range of prior skills and some who had additional disabilities
and I
thought that for the most part, the staff did an exceptionally
good
job of adjusting to each person's specific needs and abilities.
And,
you can negotiate the length of your stay. If you stay for less
than
six months you might not officially graduate or get a "freedom
bell"
but if you say you only can attend for a few months because of
school,
work or other reasons, they're not going to turn you away. I
think the
more time, the better, but even a one-month stay is better than
none
at all.

There are a lot of things that make NFB centers stand out but I
think
the high expectations and belief the instructors have in their
students is the most important. A few of the instructors are
sighted,
but I was struck by the difference in basic approach between the
sighted teachers at LCB and the other sighted instructors I had
growing up. It was clear that the teachers all believed in and
respected the students' capacity to learn and become independent
in
completing the assignments. They were both patient and firm,
challenging us to go beyond what we thought we could do while
also
being willing to invest the time and attention we needed to
learn the
skills correctly. Even with little things, like having us
independently find the pots we needed for cooking or the tools
we
needed for woodshop, they conveyed that they expected us to
employ
alternative techniques in every step of the process. It was also
clear
to me that it wasn't just a "day job" for the staff. They really
care
about the students and their progress even after graduation.

The main reason I decided to attend the center was because of
travel.
Like many of us I grew up with very traditional travel/O&M
instruction
where I learned that I could only go to places if I had
memorized the
route first. My parents were also very protective and I lived in
a
suburban neighborhood so I had few opportunities to walk around
on my
own or deal with busy streets, shopping centers, etc. without a
sighted guide. In college when I did get to travel on my own, I
frequently got lost, and I had learned from my traditional
travel
instruction that getting lost was a "messup" or a failure. So, I
hated
getting lost. I also wasn't very good at identifying when I was
going
the wrong way because I had never really been taught to pay much
attention to environmental cues. And, I was afraid of most
intersections. It would literally take me fifteen minutes to
cross a
lighted intersection that didn't have an audible signal because
I
couldn't reliably tell the difference between parallel and
perpendicular traffic. I knew when not to cross, but couldn't
tell
when it was safe to cross until it was too late. At LCB we spent
time
working on these issues. I also spent many days going out
finding
addresses, often to places I had never been before. My
instructor
would tell me the address of the business, so I knew what block
it was
on, but of course I didn't know the set route to get to the
place. I
really had to pay attention to where I was going using cardinal
directions and carefully tuning in to traffic sounds. We also
worked
on parking lots. When I was growing up I was taught to never
ever walk
in a parking lot. I was taught routes to get to places where I
had to
go around the block or cross over gravel to get to the entrance
of a
business without using the parking lot. At LCB I regularly had
to
traverse parking lots, sometimes big ones, and I learned that
there
was nothing to be so worried about.

I attended the center for just under seven months, graduating in
August 2008. I will not say that today I am a great traveler, or
even
an above-average cane traveler. I still get turned around a fair
amount (actually did today). But, since leaving the center, I
don't
get nearly as frustrated when I do get lost or turned around.
More
importantly, I can recognize when I am turned around much more
quickly, and correct it much more accurately, than I did before
training. I can reliably detect parallel and turning traffic at
intersections and I can cross uncontrolled intersections (no
light or
stop sign) like the one by my house without problems (something
else I
was told to avoid as a child). And, I cut across the driveway
for my
condominium complex or the big parking lot by my grocery store
without
a second thought. Had I stuck with my traditional training, I
think I
would have had artificial limits on where I could live, and my
mobility on the bus would have been limited by my inability to
cross
streets or negotiate parking lots. I find it unlikely that I
would
have gained this confidence and safety in cane travel at a
non-NFB
training center, because I think the reason these benefits stay
with
me today is because the NFB center assignments are so rigorous
and I
spent so much time practicing these basic skills, both with
instructors and by myself.

Of course this is just one person's story, and everyone has a
different story to bring to the table. I do think all of us can
experience heightened confidence and skills by attending an NFB
center
for any length of time, but of course, there are trade-offs in
life
between center training and other priorities. I do think, as Joe
alluded, that it would be great if we can figure out how to
bring
NFB-style training to the one-on-one/home setting so blind
people can
receive this quality of instruction without having to leave
their
homes or their communities for several months. Until that
happens,
though, the NFB centers all have an excellent track record for
turning
out competent, self-reliant graduates.

Arielle

On 2/9/11, Anmol Bhatia <anmolpbhatia at yahoo.com> wrote:
Kirt,
Would you really need to attend a training center? I do not know
you
well,
but having met you a time or two I am not really sure if you
need to
attend
a training center. However, if you do attend I would encourage
you to get
involved in the community and find sighted friends and do not
fall into
common blind bubbel of only socializing with other blind people.
Like you
said there is nothing wrong with that, but like you most of my
friends
are
also sighted and I believe that we live in a sight world and
will live in
a
sighted world it is important that blind people get out of their
comfert
zone and participate in activities that sighted people do. Just
my two
sense.
Anmol
I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad.
Perhaps
there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague,
like a
breeze
among flowers.
Hellen Keller


--- On Wed, 2/9/11, Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com>
wrote:

From: Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Training centers
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date: Wednesday, February 9, 2011, 2:37 PM
Dear Beth, Tara and all,
  Is it hard to get involved with the community
outside the center?
Let me clarify the question, as it maybe doesn't make
sense.
  I know a lot of blind people (and please keep in
mind I'm not
calling anyone out or judging), who graduated from the
training
centers and now spend their lives mostly with other blind
people.
There's nothing wrong with that, it's just not for
me. I'm probably
not going to marry a blind person or seriously date a
blind
person...simply because most of my friends aren't
blind. So, with
that in mind, I'm going to want to find ways to get
involved in the
community at large, at whichever center I decide is right
for me.
So...do you think I'll be discouraged or austricized if I
choose to
spend lots of my free time with church groups, volunteer
programs,
other friends I might find outside the center, etc?
Because I think
the worst thing that could happen to me is to get caught in
a "blind
bubble" where I learn all the skills I need, hang out with
center
people all the time, and miss out on whatever other
opportunities I
might find living away from home for such a long
time. Don't get me
wrong, I hope to make friends at the center and have a
great time.
But I don't want that to be my whole life while I'm out on
my own like
this. Thoughts, anyone?
  Kirt

On 2/9/11, Beth <thebluesisloose at gmail.com
wrote:
Training centers are a good way for blind people to
learn the
skills, but the CCB staff being blind makes it
easier. Tara, I
agree with you on all points. At a center in
Daytona Beach,
Florida, there were nurses, old creeps,, and lots of
rules such
as the lights out rule. Sexes were separated by
wing, and there
was no question about dating. At CCB, blind
people are treated
like people.
Beth

----- 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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--
Arielle Silverman
President, National Association of Blind Students
Phone:  602-502-2255
Email:
nabs.president at gmail.com
Website:
www.nabslink.org



--
Arielle Silverman
President, National Association of Blind Students
Phone:  602-502-2255
Email:
nabs.president at gmail.com
Website:
www.nabslink.org

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