[nagdu] Blind Inc.

Buddy Brannan buddy at brannan.name
Sat Apr 3 03:54:18 UTC 2010


A little bit of light reading:
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/WAMT.asp
--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY



On Apr 2, 2010, at 10:58 PM, Albert J Rizzi wrote:

> Really? Is that a standard opinion held by other federal organizations?
> rehab centers? What gives?
> 
> 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 Buddy Brannan
> Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 10:42 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind Inc.
> 
> It's a strong statement that is true in many states; I don't know whether
> New York is one such or not. However, it is true in some and has
> historically been true for many.
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
> 
> 
> 
> On Apr 2, 2010, at 10:37 PM, Albert J Rizzi wrote:
> 
>> that's a strong statement.
>> 
>> 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 cheryl echevarria
>> Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 6:35 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind Inc.
>> 
>> Albert the Commission knows all about all three schools they don't offer 
>> them to us, we have to ask and know that they are out there.  The
> Commission
>> 
>> here in NY does not like the NFB.
>> 
>> 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 6:38 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind Inc.
>> 
>> 
>>> Wow, I just looked at blind inc. 6 to 9 months? wow. That is an intensive
>>> program. does the commission for the blind in nyc know about this
> program?
>>> it was never offered to me as an option when I lost my eye sight 4 years
>>> ago. Must be expensive.
>>> 
>>> 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 Wayne Merritt
>>> Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 5:35 PM
>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind Inc.
>>> 
>>> This seems like an appropriate time to throw in my 2 cents worth.
>>> Others have said what I would have said pretty well. I did attend the
>>> Colorado Center too back in 1999 from January to August. I used my
>>> guide dog at the time for about 5 months of that before I retired him
>>> for personal reasons which had nothing to do with Center ttraining.
>>> I've touched on this in other posts on this list, but the short
>>> version was that I was getting too stressed about the daily
>>> responsibilities of having a guide dog. Anyway, though the CCB policy
>>> for guide dogs has changed since I attended, now they're more in line
>>> wiht the other NFB centers, I didn't encounter any resistance
>>> regarding my dog while in training, other than trying to take my dog
>>> into a kitchen one day, but that makes sense.
>>> 
>>> I've said this next item a few times in the time that I've been on
>>> this list and now seems like another appropriate time. I work at the
>>> Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center in Austin, Texas, which though it's
>>> the state adult training center for the blind, they do accept people
>>> from other parts of the U.S. Our Center has probably the most
>>> inclusive policy of all the centers I've heard of; basically, the
>>> student can use their dog for 4 of the 8 hours of training, and then
>>> the rest of the training day they have to leave their dogs in their
>>> rooms or I suppose they could leave them in someone's office. People
>>> with guides have come to the Center frequently over the time its been
>>> operating. I'm okay if anyone wants to contact me off list and I can
>>> pass your information along to our admissions person. We have had a
>>> student from out of state, about 2 years ago a woman from Florida came
>>> with her guide dog. Criss Cole offers many of the similar core
>>> training areas as other centers, such as Braille, technology,
>>> Industrial Arts, Career Guidance, Daily Living Skills (including
>>> cooking, planning and organization skills), O&M, Home and Personal
>>> Management, and others. We offer the traditional 6-9 month program,
>>> though there has been talk of letting people come specifically for a
>>> certain training area, such as career guidance. In fact, we do
>>> currently have a gentleman that's just here for career guidance.
>>> Anyway, if you're interested then contact me off list. I think that
>>> during O&M, you have to use the cane at least in the beginning, in
>>> order to build those ever crucial cane skills. Our center also has
>>> people with partial vision or light perception wear the sleepshade or
>>> blindfold during the training day, from 8-12 and 1-5, just like the
>>> NFB centers.
>>> 
>>> Sincerely,
>>> Wayne Merritt
>>> 
>>> On 4/2/10, Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC) <REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com> wrote:
>>>> Exactly. NFB seems to have no idea that there are people with other
>>>> disabilities that also happen to be blind.
>>>> Also, NFB touts independence but only their flavor of independence.
>>>> Kind of like a parent saying to a kid "You can be whatever you want when
>>>> you grow up, and I'll even let you choose which type of doctor you want
>>>> to be". Promoting independence also means allowing people to make
>>>> choices that and individual may dislike.
>>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>>> Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
>>>> Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 11:55 AM
>>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind Inc.
>>>> 
>>>> Marion, I think a person can live "fully and vibrantly" even if they
>>>> don't
>>>> have great cane skills.  I know a guy who often seems confused while
>>>> traveling, but he gets where he wants to go.  More than that, he goes
>>>> places I'll probably never go, like Iraq and Korea, as well as
>>>> travelling
>>>> all over the U.S.  Now he has retired his dog, and because of declining
>>>> health has not gotten another, but he still gets where he wants to go.
>>>> Isn't that what the oft-cited Nature of Independence speech was about?
>>>> Basically, stop judging each other on how we get where we want to go, so
>>>> long as we get there?
>>>> Cane skills are very handy, but people who don't have them can still get
>>>> where they want to go, and that's what counts.  I do get tired of this
>>>> veneration of the sacred long white cane.  It's just a long stick.
>>>> Using
>>>> it is not rocket science.
>>>> 
>>>> I found what Rox said about her travel very interesting.
>>>> Tracy
>>>> 
>>>>> Jewel,
>>>>>   If you are going to attend a center, I think it would be best if
>>>> you
>>>>> did
>>>>> so before getting your guide dog. Their very intensive O&M training
>>>> will
>>>>> make you a superior guide dog handler. If you choose to go after
>>>> getting
>>>>> your guide dog, I would suggest you do so well after you and your dog
>>>> have
>>>>> bonded. During the day, you will be using your white cane. You will be
>>>>> able
>>>>> to see your guide dog during breaks and for relief, as well as before
>>>> and
>>>>> after training.
>>>>>   Just for the record, there are those who will try to spin this
>>>> policy
>>>>> to
>>>>> be an "anti guide dog" policy; however, I am of the opinion, from
>>>> talking
>>>>> to
>>>>> and listening to what they believe and how each of the centers
>>>> approach
>>>>> this
>>>>> issue, that it is not anti guide dog, rather it is pro sound O&M
>>>> training.
>>>>> I
>>>>> am of the opinion that, like the general public, many blind people see
>>>> a
>>>>> guide dog as the answer to their O&M problems, rather than as an
>>>>> enhancement
>>>>> to them. Both the white cane and guide dog have their advantages and
>>>>> disadvantages. Without the flexibility to choose the one that works
>>>> best
>>>>> for
>>>>> a particular application, a blind person limits their independence and
>>>>> their
>>>>> ability to participate in all aspects of society and life! A carpenter
>>>>> learns how to use a hammer, but cannot build a house with just one
>>>> tool!
>>>>> In
>>>>> order for us to live fully, we must have several blindness tools in
>>>> our
>>>>> tool
>>>>> box. Of course, if one is comfortable with limiting their choices,
>>>> that is
>>>>> their prerogative. My choice is to live fully and vibrantly. Sometimes
>>>> my
>>>>> guide dog is not a part of this choice. JMHO!
>>>>> 
>>>>> Fraternally yours,
>>>>> Marion Gwizdala
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: "Jewel S." <herekittykat2 at gmail.com>
>>>>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>>>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 10:36 AM
>>>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind Inc.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>>> Hi, this makes me curious. I am considering going to Louisiana Center
>>>>>> for the Blind. Should I go before I get a guide dog? What are the
>>>>>> rules at LCB for guide dogs?
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> ~Jewel
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> On 3/31/10, Tracy Carcione <carcione at access.net> wrote:
>>>>>>> Hi Martha.
>>>>>>> There are people on this list who have been through the Colorado
>>>> Center
>>>>>>> with their dogs, or there used to be.  Jen was one of them, I
>>>> believe.
>>>>>>> She
>>>>>>> said it was fine.  I don't know if the dog arrangements are
>>>> different
>>>>>>> at
>>>>>>> Blind Inc.  They have always appeared to me to be the most anti-dog
>>>> of
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> bunch, but that's my opinion.
>>>>>>> I wouldn't do it myself, but others have and it's been OK for their
>>>>>>> dogs.
>>>>>>> Tracy
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
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>>>>>> 
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>>>>> 
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>>>> 
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>>> 
>>> 
>>> -- 
>>> Follow me on Twitter at:
>>> www.twitter.com/wcmerritt
>>> My blog:
>>> http://wayneism.blogspot.com
>>> My websites:
>>> www.wayneism.com
>>> www.whitecaneday.org
>>> 
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