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

Marsha Drenth marsha.drenth at gmail.com
Tue Nov 29 02:47:27 UTC 2011


I love this quote, " A guide dog is simply the warm and fuzzy
version of a GPS system." 

Marsha 


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From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
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Sent: Monday, November 28, 2011 8:40 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] Walking in a blind person's shoes,at The Seeing Eye in
Morris Township

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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