[nagdu] Blind Inc.

Sat Apr 3 12:12:16 UTC 2010

Again not all but opinion here in NY.

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 10:58 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind Inc.

> 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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> >>> mail.com
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> _______________________________________________
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> >>> n.net
> >>>>
> >>>>
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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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> >
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> >> org
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> > il.com
> >>
> >
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