[nagdu] cane skills as prerequisite for guide dog

Fri Apr 2 20:42:21 UTC 2010

Albert,

The rationale, or my interpretation of it anyway, is that if you have no 
clue where you are, where you want to go and no clue about the bit in 
between, how are you going to direct the dog?  I mean you don't get a guide 
dog and tell them, "post office" and they take you there.  You have to know 
when to tell the dog, left, right etc.

So my interpretation is that the cane part isn't as crucial as what the 
mental process of getting someplace is.  However reading minds isn't 
something that is very scientific at this point, so the guide dog programs 
have to rely on observations of blind people using canes.  Maybe Jeanine 
will weigh in on this too.  But I doubt if the guide dog programs are very 
interested to see if your cane arc is even or that you have a proper grip. 
I'm theorizing that the bigger issues of knowing where you are and being 
able to mentally map a route to where you want to go, determining when it's 
safe to cross a street, your general pace and that sort of thing are more 
important.

anyway my take is the O in O&M is what the guide dog schools are really 
interested in.

As for why some professionals don't give canes to young children...I have no 
idea.  Personally I think it's teetering on abuse not to give a child the 
tools they need to be able to live a full life.

 just my .02
Julie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "cheryl echevarria" <cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 2:57 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] cane skills as prerequisite for guide dog

> Albert you have never been to a convention, there are tons of blind kids 
> using canes.
>
> Cheryl Echevarria
> Independent Travel Consultant
> http://Echevarriatravel.com
> 1-866-580-5574
>
> http://blog.echevarriatravel.com
> Reservations at echevarriatravel.com
> Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Montrose Travel 
> CST-1018299-10
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Albert J Rizzi" <albert at myblindspot.org>
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 4:02 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] cane skills as prerequisite for guide dog
>
>
>> Why is it a requirement for being considered getting a guide dog anyway? 
>> I
>> would like to understand the rationale. I am not agreeing or disagreeing
>> just wondering about the reasons. Then too, if cane mobility is so 
>> integral
>> to independence, why are there some schools of thought on not introducing
>> the cane to toddlers or blind youth as soon as they can hold one?
>>
>> Albert J. Rizzi, M.Ed.
>> CEO/Founder
>> My Blind Spot, Inc.
>> 90 Broad Street - 18th Fl.
>> New York, New York  10004
>> www.myblindspot.org
>> PH: 917-553-0347
>> Fax: 212-858-5759
>> "The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who 
>> is
>> doing it."
>>
>>
>> Visit us on Facebook LinkedIn
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
>> Behalf
>> Of Tracy Carcione
>> Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 2:33 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: [nagdu] cane skills as prerequisite for guide dog
>>
>> Marion, I don't necessarily agree that good cane skills should be a
>> prerequisite for getting a guide dog.  It's a nice theory.  It would
>> certainly be helpful.  But I know too many people who don't have
>> spectacular cane skills, but do great with a dog.  Some of them are older
>> people, who started getting dogs when cane training was not very
>> available.  Some of them are from places where services for blind people
>> are not very good.  Some of them went blind as senior citizens, and quite
>> a few agencies don't serve that population very well, since they won't be
>> employed.  Should we tell these people they have to wait until they can
>> somehow get cane training?  I don't think so. I've met enough people for
>> whom the dog was the thing that got them back out, living their lives, 
>> and
>> I think getting out and living one's life is a great thing. I'm not
>> willing to stand in someone's way over whether or not their cane skills
>> measure up to some philosophical mark.
>>
>> Should we take good orientation as good enough?  Or should the guide dog
>> schools offer cane training to prospective applicants who they feel 
>> should
>> have it? They seem like reasonable approaches to me, and I believe they
>> are
>> the ones being carried out. Encouraging good cane skills is fine, but I
>> wouldn't make it a prerequisite for a guide dog.
>> Tracy
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nagdu mailing list
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>> nagdu:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/albert%40myblindspot.
>> org
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nagdu mailing list
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>> nagdu:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/cherylandmaxx%40hotmail.com
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/julielj%40windstream.net
> 