[nagdu] Drop-offs

Fri Apr 17 11:23:42 UTC 2009

I can't help you with the publication/information question.

I did want to say that you can decline assistance without being rude.  Just 
say "no, thank you" in a polite but firm tone.  Most folks will be 
respectful of your wishes.  There will be a few that don't, but I'd say they 
are being rude.

HTH
Julie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andrew J. LaPointe" <alapointe89 at comcast.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 2:46 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Drop-offs

> Hi, sorry to post this but, I am interested in this topic.  Now, I 
> remember
> being dropped off years ago just once.  I had some usable vision then. 
> Are
> there any publicationsout there that could give me some good read on drop
> offs?  I know when I get lost, or misplaced, I have a tuff time getting 
> back
> on track.  Sometimes, I end up with sighted assist due to here in Salem, 
> MA.
> people come out of the woodwork to help.  The problem with that is, you
> don't have the chance to get back on your own.  I don't want to be rude 
> so,
> I except.  Andy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org]On Behalf 
> Of
> Wayne Merritt
> Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 3:52 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Drop-offs
>
>
> There was no greater confidence boost for me than when I successfully
> returned to the Colorado Center after being dropped off on the side of
> the highway out in the middle of nowhere. Let me tell you, you don't
> really know where nowhere is until you're out in the middle of
> nowhere. Then all the rules of addresses and street patterns in a
> given city go out the window. Granted, those were in the between dog
> days, but I was also on cloud 9! When on NFB center drops, you are
> only allowed to ask one question. It might sound cruel, but by that
> point of your training, toward the end, you can do it.
>
> Wayne
>
> On 3/10/09, sblanjones11 <sblanjones11 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>> I experienced a drop-off last time I was in class at Guiding Eyes.
>> There is a good bit of detective in me, and I love the exercise of using
> my
>> clues, and working at figuring out where I am.
>> One of the things I love about working with a guide dog is, I don't feel
>> stuck, b/c she and I keep moving.
>> With my cane, I often got stuck in places where I could hear where I was
>> supposed to be, but couldn't get there, b/c there was a wall in the way,
> or
>> I was inside a maze, etc.  (I experienced that in the renaisance Center 
>> in
>> Detroit where we're going this summer) but my dog can see the logical way
>> out, where as I might be walking around for a long time, trying to find 
>> it
>> with my cane.
>>
>> Anyway, I admit, when I was younger, and not so patient, and unskilled at
>> using my clues, I didn't like drop-offs very much.  Now I find them kind
> of
>> fun, and challenging.
>> Susan & Rhoda
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
>> Behalf
>> Of Allison Nastoff
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 2:23 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Drop-offs
>>
>> Occupaws did a drop-off with me the day before my graduation.  I had
> walked
>> the sidewalks around my college where we trained countless times, but I
>> admit the prospect of being dropped off and lost was a little scary.  I
>> think it was a valuable exercise though because getting lost occasionally
> is
>> an inevitible part of life.  The trainer wanted to prove that if it
> happens,
>> it's not the end of the world, and he told me to start walking and when I
>> hear a pedestrian coming, get their attention and ask them what street 
>> I'm
>> on.  There was a lot of fumbling, and the trainer, who was watching at a
>> distance did have to come to my rescue after a pedestrian gave me bad
>> directions.  But I think it was a great confidence builder, and a great
>> exercise in trusting strangers.
>> Since then, I have gotten lost occasionally.  Of course when I get myself
>> lost, it is a little easier because usually I know where I started from,
> and
>> can figure out where I went wrong.  I used to panic when I was lost, but
> now
>> when I am lost I think to myself, "I survived a drop-off, so I will
> survive
>> this (grin)."
>> I do think that when schools do drop-offs, students should have a partner
>> with them.  When I had my training, the blind person who founded Occupaws
>> came to observe some of the lessons.  Since she was there on the day of
> the
>> drop-off the trainer had her and her guide dog accompany me.  She 
>> couldn't
>> really help me because she was unfamiliar with the area.  But there is
>> something comforting about being lost, but not alone.
>> Allison and Gilbert
>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>From: "Jenine Stanley" <jeninems at wowway.com
>>>To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog
>> Users'" <nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>>Date sent: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 10:52:05 -0400
>>>Subject: [nagdu] Drop-offs
>>
>>>Someone asked me recently which schools still do "drop offs"
>> where they
>>>drive you around a familiar area until you are basically lost
>> then turn you
>>>lose to return to the lounge or van or whatever is the agreed
>> upon landmark.
>>
>>>The person asking was mortified that this was actually done at
>> some schools,
>>>including the one from which she obtained her dogs, obviously
>> prior to her
>>>time there though.
>>
>>>So, I'm pretty sure GDB still does this for most students,
>> correct? What
>>>other schools currently do "drop offs"?
>>
>>>If you've done one of these recently, would you care to share
>> your feelings
>>>about them?
>>
>>>I can tell you GDF does not do "drop offs", not since I have been
>> attending
>>>class, 1990, unless it was an individual instructor's practice
>> for some
>>>students.  They may have done it in the past though.
>>
>>>Personally, I see great value in doing this if appropriate
>> preparation is
>>>done in advance.  I'm a fan of solos too though.<grin
>>
>>>I do recall in my very first class at Pilot, our instructor did
>> such a "drop
>>>off" route, letting us out on a street, not telling us its name
>> but telling
>>>us to follow our dogs because they knew where  they were and how
>> to get back
>>>to the school.  It was only three blocks straight back but whew,
>> that trust
>>>exercise was harrowing but good in the end.  I've never done
>> another one and
>>>have always wondered how people feel about them.
>>
>>>I completely understand and appreciate anyone who has serious
>> anxiety about
>>>"drop offs".  Believe me, I hate being lost or feeling as if I
>> may be lost.
>>>So no judgment calls on liking or disliking such training
>> exercises.
>>> Jenine Stanley
>>>jeninems at wowway.com
>>
>>
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>>
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>
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