[nagdu] Jury finds IA Dept.forBlind'sguidedog policy does notdiscriminate

[Tamara Smith-Kinney]

Hope,

That's exactly what I would love to find, too, and I do grumble a lot to
myself about the lack of something that can be more tailored to my actual
needs, or at least a close approximation.

Then again, I don't have the first clue about developing and managing such a
program -- or funding it.  I imagine the added flexibility could end up
being more expensive...  Or maybe not.  Some people learn like the wind and
want to breeze through, find a thing or two, explore adaptive tools and get
an idea how they work, then blow on out to get on with their lives.  /smile/
Those people are pretty dang cheap, so the program has more time and money
to spend on people who need or want more time and resources than the
average.  That's a wild guess; I have no idea what I'm talking about.
/grin/

At this point, I'm finally getting the use of my hands back and am looking
forward to learning adaptive yard work.  /smile/  DD (Daisy's Dad) even has
a wood shop in a shed out back, to I've started softening him up on the idea
of my learning to do that blind.  He's only known me as a hopeless klutz, so
he does not thrill to the notion.  /smile/  He's also pretty sensible, so
once I can demonstrate that, indeed, I can do things with my hands without
creating a disaster, I might just be able to manage a table saw without
cutting the dang things off.  /smile/


Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Hope Paulos
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 5:39 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users;
nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Jury finds IA Dept.forBlind'sguidedog policy does
notdiscriminate

Hi Alysha.  That's exactly what I'd like to see.  I also agree 
that cane skills are important, but I mainly want to attend the 
NFB center to improve cooking, home management, and perhaps some 
specific computer programs like xl or power point.  I can't seem 
to find a program either, and I think there should be one.  It 
would teach  Nfb philosophy, but be more individualized to the 
student.  Not every student learns the same.

> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Alysha" <anjeans at att.net
>To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org
>Date sent: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:07:44 -0600
>Subject: Re: [nagdu] Jury finds IA Dept.  forBlind'sguidedog	
policy	does	notdiscriminate

>As others have mentioned in their posts, I think we need to 
consider that
>much more than just cane travel is offered at training centers.  
So say
>there's a guide dog user who is comfortable with mobility but who 
needs some
>work on cooking or technology or braille.  Then, there doesn't 
seem to be a
>program out there this person could attend to learn the necessary 
skills
>without risking damage to their relationship with their dog.  I 
do think that
>cane travel is quite important and that all guide dog users 
should be
>comfortable with it, but it seems like all the training centers 
I've heard
>about mandate it as the only means of mobility to be used during 
the time
>one is there.  So I suppose I'm wondering why there are no 
programs (that I
>know of) that accommodate the potential needs of guide dog users 
instead of
>expecting them to essentially temporarily give up their chosen 
mobility aid.
>The important thing is that we can get around independently, not 
whether we
>do so with a dog or a cane.  Why is it that people seem to link 
mobility
>classes only with cane travel? I think a guide dog user could 
still benefit
>from mobility lessons that aren't focused on the training of the 
dog.  The
>problem solving and orientation skills taught in good mobility 
programs are
>useful to you no matter what mobility aid you use.  So I think it 
is fair for
>a program to demand competency with a cane, but I do not think 
that it is
>right to restrict the choices of guide dog users to either doing 
without
>training in the myriad of skills taught at centers or giving up 
the use of
>their dogs for a significant fraction of the day.

>Alysha


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