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

[Lyn Gwizdak]

I looked at the video and wow.  I haven't had cane training by the NFB 
centers, but I have seen the good mobility of some NFBers at conventions and 
see the difference!

Thanks for posting this.

Lyn and Landon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rovig, Lorraine" <LRovig at nfb.org>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, November 04, 2011 10:42 AM
Subject: [nagdu] FW: Why good O&M training is so important


> 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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