[nagdu] Walking in a blind person's shoes, at The Seeing Eye in Morris Township

Larry D. Keeler lkeeler at comcast.net
Mon Nov 28 16:52:53 UTC 2011


I aggree!  I've met so many folks that think Holly has a little library in 
her head and always is supposed to know where I want to go! Ugh!!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jewel" <herekittykat2 at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, November 28, 2011 10:35 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Walking in a blind person's shoes, at The Seeing Eye in 
Morris Township


>I don't like him describing the guide dog as a fuzzy version of GPS.
> THis is certainly NOT one of a guide dog's jobs, to be the GPS...I am
> not sure how he came up with that, since guide dog handlers must have
> an idea of where they are going in their head, or use a GPS unit, but
> certainly GPS is not the dog's job.
>
> My two cents,
> Jewel
>
> On 11/28/11, Ginger Kutsch <GingerKutsch at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Walking in a blind person's shoes, at The Seeing Eye in Morris Township
>>
>> Posted by Morristown Green Contributor on November 28, 2011 .
>>
>> By Berit A. Ollestad
>>
>> Source:
>> http://morristowngreen.com/2011/11/28/walking-in-a-blind-persons-shoes-at-th
>> e-seeing-eye-in-morris-township/
>>
>> It's not until most of us are faced with adversity that we see things 
>> with a
>> different perspective. What are some of the basic challenges confronting
>> blind people?  I did not want to wait for adversity to find out.
>>
>> When I decided to accept an invitation to be blindfolded and navigate 
>> around
>> The Seeing Eye's Morris Township campus with a guide dog, I was quite
>> surprised at the varied range of emotions I experienced during the
>> experiment.
>>
>> I had looked forward to the opportunity, because it promised to take me 
>> far
>> from my comfort zone. It's important to mention what inspired me to delve
>> deeper into The Seeing Eye School and its training program. As I wrote in 
>> my
>> prior article, the mere mention of The Seeing Eye School evokes intense
>> curiosity and bewilderment among residents. Here in Morristown, The 
>> Seeing
>> Eye is an integral part of the town's history and daily life, yet no one
>> seems to know that much about the organization.
>>
>> Photos by Berit Ollestad. Please click icon below for captions.
>>
>>
>>
>> When I arrived in The Seeing Eye lobby, I was greeted by a roaring fire 
>> and
>> the smell of cinnamon wafting through the air. Immediately, I felt right 
>> at
>> home. Doug Bohl, senior manager for instruction and training for more 
>> than
>> 20 years, greeted me along with Craig Garretson, communications manager.
>>
>> But the one I was most anxious to meet would be my lifeline, the one I 
>> would
>> depend on to keep me safe and guide me over the next couple of hours:
>> Alcott,  my Seeing Eye Dog.
>>
>> When I first saw Alcott, a petite golden retriever just shy of 2 years 
>> old,
>> I knew she had the confidence and calmness required to get the job done. 
>> I
>> got down on the floor with her and talked and caressed her silky fur, 
>> hoping
>> to create a rapport in a brief amount of time.
>>
>> Alcott was trained by Peggy McKenna, a trainer at The Seeing Eye for more
>> than seven years.  Alcott was eligible to be selected during the last 
>> class
>> of students to go thru The Seeing Eye. But for some reason she was not
>> paired with a student; she will have another opportunity when classes 
>> resume
>> in late January.
>>
>> Peggy started out working in the kennels.  Her love for each dog she 
>> trains
>> is immeasurable. "The moment one of the dogs I am training does something
>> that he/she has clearly learned in training, there are no words to 
>> describe
>> the feeling that it gives me," she said.
>>
>> As one can imagine, it is only natural to feel sadness when one of your 
>> dogs
>> gets placed with a student and is no longer part of your daily routine. 
>> But
>> Peggy was quick to point out that her mission is meaningful and 
>> rewarding.
>> "I feel so fortunate to do something I love," she said.
>>
>> Completing the circle, Peggy married fellow trainer Brian McKenna last
>> month.
>>
>> WALKING WITH ALCOTT
>>
>> As I attempted to take Alcott's harness gingerly in my hand, I tried to
>> acclimate to my new (albeit temporary) status of being blind. This may 
>> not
>> sound difficult, but imagine my surprise as I rooted around for her 
>> harness
>> and recognized I was at the wrong end.
>>
>> My initial reaction was to rip off the blindfold because I felt so
>> vulnerable. But suddenly, by default, I noticed my other senses taking 
>> over.
>> The air smelled crisper and the sounds around me became clearer.
>>
>> Although blindness is labeled as a disability, I would prefer to call it 
>> an
>> inconvenience. It surprised me how quickly I started to function in my 
>> new
>> alternate reality. Granted, I was on a closed course with an instructor
>> close by my side, yet I still felt surprisingly normal.
>>
>> As Alcott and I ventured around the campus, I quickly realized that I 
>> needed
>> to pay closer attention to her cues. This was never more evident than 
>> when
>> she was indicating by her refusal to go forward that there was danger 
>> ahead
>> in the form of a pothole.
>>
>> My first reaction was to gently tug on her leash and command her "to go." 
>> It
>> wasn't until Doug pointed out that she was practicing one of the 
>> principles
>> she was taught: "Intelligent disobedience."
>>
>> Though I was commanding her to go forward, she recognized the danger 
>> ahead
>> and ignored me. I couldn't help but be reminded that if you are someone 
>> used
>> to being in control, this will be humbling.
>>
>> Sighted people make safety decisions based on their subconscious 
>> awareness
>> when they are walking about town. I'm sure if someone were to ask how 
>> many
>> potholes you averted on South Street you wouldn't have a clue. Yet for
>> someone who is blind, potholes are a major hazard. That is why guide dogs
>> are taught to make conscious decisions for blind individuals.
>>
>> "Guide dogs are not taught to do certain things in particular situations. 
>> We
>> teach them to evaluate what is the safer option when given a choice to 
>> make
>> the safest decision," according to Doug.
>>
>> Working with dogs, I found, is much like working with small children. The
>> dogs are brought into town daily for their training sessions, which 
>> average
>> 45 minutes per day. Anything past that and you risk losing the dog's
>> attention.
>>
>> For trainers to get an idea of what would be an appropriate pace for each
>> student, trainers mimic a guide dog by placing a harness over themselves 
>> and
>> allowing students to "guide them."  This lets them gauge their normal 
>> pace,
>> for choosing the appropriate dog.  Students are assigned a dog after they
>> are at The Seeing Eye for two days.
>>
>> After following behind Peggy with the rookie Coach and the seasoned 
>> Alcott,
>> I determined that the training itself isn't the difficult part. 
>> Essentially
>> the dogs are taught very few commands. Verbal commands such as left, 
>> right,
>> hup-hup ("let's go") and a few specialized ones seemed to be the extent 
>> of
>> it.
>>
>> The trainer also will use hand signals in conjunction with verbal 
>> commands
>> if traffic noise, construction, etc.,  prevents the dog from hearing 
>> verbal
>> commands. The primary principle the dog is taught is to take the blind
>> person from the beginning of a street to the end of the street. The dog 
>> then
>> will await the person's command to go forward or turn left or right.
>>
>> At the risk of sounding silly, I always had wondered how guide dogs 
>> seemed
>> to know exactly where they were going. After speaking to a handful of
>> different people I realized I wasn't alone in my line of thinking. As 
>> Doug
>> explained to me, "When you are getting in your car and heading to Newark
>> Airport, you need to have an idea of how to get there before you start 
>> out.
>> The car will get you there, but you need to know how to drive it there."
>>
>> It then all made sense to me: A guide dog is simply the warm and fuzzy
>> version of a GPS system. Doug then told me to close my eyes for a minute 
>> and
>> give him directions on how to get to my house from the airport. This
>> illustrated how blind persons are just as capable of visualizing 
>> directions
>> as I am.
>>
>> At the conclusion of my experience, I could see how being blind might be
>> considered a gift as well. It gives each of us the ability to relate to 
>> each
>> another with a slightly different perspective, and to relate to the world
>> differently.
>>
>> I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to 
>> everyone
>> at The Seeing Eye School for the kindness shown to me, and for the
>> opportunity to learn about the school.  The Seeing Eye is a vibrant and
>> valuable part of our community;  I encourage everyone to reach out and 
>> get
>> to know our neighbors a little better.
>>
>> Berit Ollestad and Alcott, a Seeing Eye Dog who guided Berit around The
>> Seeing Eye's Morristown campus. Berit wore a blindfold to experience
>> training as a blind person would.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
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