[nagdu] cane skills vs. mobility skills

[AnnaLisa Anderson]

Hi Mike and all,

Mike, very well said, thank you!

I know some people who have a hard time finding their way out of a paper
bag,  they just have no sense of direction, and they believe the myth that
getting a dog will solve all their mobility problems.  No, I'm not talking
about someone like Rox who has medical issues, I'm talking about those blind
people who get lost in their own homes, who won't apply themselves to
learning good mobility skills.  We all know someone like that, and have seen
the disastrous results when that person has a dog.  I feel so sorry for that
poor dog!  On the other hand, I have a friend who went through Blind Inc.
and everything but still gets turned around easily, and I think it's because
if she veers off course even a little, she gets all confused and
overcorrects and makes it worse.  So in her case, having a dog might help
her keep in a straight line of travel better and not get caught up into
driveways and such nearly so much.

For myself, I think I'm one of those people who has good orientation skills
for the most part, but the cane skills are not what they could be,
especially outdoors.  I have never been that comfortable with a cane.  I
went to a school for the blind, and even there, I didn't start learning
"mobility" until I was, I think, in third grade.  Even then, they didn't
teach me the cane right away.  First they taught me to walk with one hand
stretched out in  front in the middle of my body, and the other hand in
front of my face.  Even in third grade I thought that was ridiculous, and I
never, ever walked that way outside of mobility class.  Then when I started
using a cane, again I didn't use it much outside of mobility class, unless I
was traveling somewhere outside alone.  If I wasn't alone though, I almost
always went sighted guide with my friends or family.  That was what I was
comfortable with.  To their credit, my parents did push me to use my cane,
but not aggressively so till I was older.  Then I felt embarrassed about it,
especially in my high school and early college days, though I realize now
that using a cane made me a lot more graceful than I was without it.  And
that was long before I knew what the NFB was really all about.  I had heard
of the NFB somewhere or other but thought it was some  organization serving
the blind like the AFB.  My parents were certainly never introduced to it.
The NFB is not well liked in Wisconsin either.  I often wish I had been one
of those toddlers who had a cane in her hand from the get go, who can
navigate with a cane as naturally as walking, like a lot of the NFB kids
these days do.  I envy them  at times.  I wish I had been lucky enough to
grow up in the NFB.  However, I am grateful for the skills I do have, which
I think are pretty good, especially with a dog.  When I was training with
Sunny, my trainer remarked on what a good sense of direction I had, which I
am also grateful for.  But like tami, sometimes if I'm walking with my cane,
especially outdoors, and it  finds something just a little bit off course,
it can totally throw me off and I feel like I've never been there before,
even if I've walked that way a hundred thousand times.  Some of that is just
lack of confidence, I know.  And my mobility teachers in school did teach me
very good problem solving skills, so if I do get in a sticky spot, I can get
myself out again without too much trouble with only my pride damaged.
<smile>

I have gotten both of my dogs from Leader Dogs, and in recent years they
have put much more emphasis on having good foundational travel skills before
you get a dog.  They have an accelerated mobility course, which potential
students can take prior to getting a dog, which teaches the basics of using
a cane effectively and learning to use the cues in your environment to
travel better.  They don't make it an absolute prerequisite, but I know of
several people who were required to take that class and to put into practice
what they had learned for a few months before they could get a dog.  The
people I'm thinking of were all fairly young and just hadn't had much
training in mobility.  And I know for a fact that taking that class has
helped them become better guide dog handlers.  I highly commend them for
implementing this training program.  That and the GPS program, which I'd
love to take part in some year when I have extra money just lying around to
buy a Trekker... Ha!

AnnaLisa and Sundance