[nagdu] FW: Why good O&M training is so important

[Rovig, Lorraine]

Wow! Here below is what an NFB cane travel instructor, a sighted counselor who was trained by Dr. Kenneth Jernigan at the Iowa Commission for the Blind, and is now working at BLIND, Inc., in Minneapolis, saw when he watched the video on Tommy's need for accessible signals at crosswalks. (Is  a state VR agency giving him such poor travel training?)

Lorraine Rovig
PS: After I was taught cane travel by Dick Davis, I easily passed a 4-mile cane travel test, walking around the city of Des Moines while wearing my sleepshades.

-----Original Message-----
From: Dick Davis [mailto:ddavis at blindinc.org] 
Sent: Friday, November 04, 2011 2:28 PM
To: Rovig, Lorraine 
Subject: RE: [nagdu] Why good O&M training is so important

Hi,
Although you can tell from Tommy's commentary that he made a mistake
crossing the first street, in the second he hesitates before crossing,
neglects to use moving traffic to stay straight, veers to the right, and
gets tangled up in a truck that is parked at the curb a distance from the
crosswalk.  If you use the video in seminar class, I suggest somebody
describe what is happening.  Check out his other stuff: he can't swing a
golf club worth a darn, and flying to Los Angeles for the weekend becomes
a major adventure.  The fact that he has the man who showed up with the
wheelchair lead him through security and all the way to the boarding area
demonstrates how independent he really is.  They are making a film on his
life as a blind person, and if they succeed in marketing it, I think it
will do a lot of damage to public attitudes about blindness.  Center
students might want to see the video and offer comments on YouTube.  I
thought of adding my own, but I think they would be better coming from
blind people.
Dick Davis
BLIND, Inc.
-----Original Message-----
From: Rovig, Lorraine [mailto:LRovig at nfb.org]
Sent: Friday, November 04, 2011 9:05 AM
To: Dick Davis 
Subject: FW: [nagdu] Why good O&M training is so important
Importance: High

The several emails on this NAGDU listserv topic make a thoughtful
discussion in their own right that is completely in line with NFB convention
resolutions. The email below is the first in the series. BTW, the archive
for an NFB listserv is open to non-members.
Lorraine

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Aaron Cannon
Sent: Wednesday, November 02, 2011 10:17 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] Why good O&M training is so important
Importance: High

This video posted on the Yahoo Accessibility blog seeks to demonstrate the
need for accessible crossing signals.  However, in my opinion it manages
to do just the opposite quite nicely.

http://yaccessibilityblog.com/wp/blind-people-cross-street.html 

I find it troubling that he talks about needing the signal "to indicate
that it's safe for me to cross the street."  Even worse is his comment "I
don't have to listen for the traffic coming the other way, I can just
listen to the tone."

He also calls crossing without a signal "daunting" and "scary".

I can understand that such crossings can be quite daunting and scary if
you don't have good training or practice making such crossings, so I don't
really fault him for that.  However, I fear that people, especially other
blind people, watching this video will assume that that's how it is for
everyone.

Finally, I do think that accessible signals can have their place, but
certainly not the type shown in this video, which seem like they could
actually interfere with listening to the traffic.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share.

Aaron Cannon

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