[nagdu] First person to Use Seeing eye dog in US

[Lyn Gwizdak]

My parents never even used the word "blind" or "visually impaired".  To them 
it was "you girls and your problem" their euphanism for our blindness.
To this day, they STILL say that and they'll never change.  On the other 
hand, we NEVER were made to think or treat anyone differently because of the 
degree of vision any of the blind kids had.  Thus, I never even knew that 
people acted like partials were better than totals until I went to college 
and met Perkins grads who told me about this happening to them - my Perkins 
grad friends wwere both partials and totals.

AS far as termiology, I don't care one way or another if I'm called 
"visually impaired", "partially sighted", or "blind" - doesn't matter to me 
as long as I'm not getting crap over it.  What I hate is when people think 
I'm faking not seeing well because I "don't look blind".  Well, WTF does 
that mean?  I'd ask what did THAT mean?  And the person coouldn't answer me 
on that one.  After years, I did find out about the blind stereotypes of 
rocking, poking my fists into my eyes, and other social maladjustments.  I 
was apalled.  My family raised us to act like everyone else and not do those 
habits called "blindisms" and we never did those things.

The NFB has it right when it says, "It's respectable to be blind" and I 
agree.  Little totally blind kids need someone to teach them how to act in 
public and unfortunately some parents don't get that.  Sighted kids learn by 
watching others what is cool to do or not.  Parents OWE that to their blind 
kids so that kid grows up acting like everyone else and not having a 
horrible habit that makes one stand out in a negative way.

Sighted is NOT better than blind.  Just different ways of doing things.  And 
you totals out there don't have to worry when the lights go out!  Or leading 
a group to safety like Mike Hingson did in the towers on 9/11.  We are all 
people and we all have differnt talents and abilities and we should all 
celebrate that fact.

Lyn and Landon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Margo and Arrow" <margo.downey at verizon.net>
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2011 3:57 AM
Subject: [nagdu] First person to Use Seeing eye dog in US


> the following link has footage taken from The Seeing eye archives and 
> shows Morris Frank, the first person to use a guide dog in this country. 
> He and Dorothy Harrison eustis founded the Seeing eye in 1929 and the 
> guide dog movement has moved forward since then and there are many guide 
> dog schools in this country, Canada, and throughout the world.  the person 
> narrating the video is Lukas Franck, a long-time instructor at the seeing 
> Eye.  Lukas trained my first two guide dogs--Deedee and Wayne.  Lukas also 
> trained wayne and me as a team in 1991.
>
> Margo and Arrow
>
>
>
> http://www.youtube.com/user/seeing4me?feature=mhee#p/u/0/gwYHXNItSks
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