[nagdu] teaching the public

Sat Apr 6 20:26:23 UTC 2013

I find that the adults are the ones who need to be taught. I tell them that 
her harrness is like her work uniform and when she has her uniform on she's 
working and needs to concentrate.  It usually works.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Eve Sanchez" <celticyaya at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, April 06, 2013 2:00 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] teaching the public


> Julie, A lot of good advice for everyone. What I like and think I will
> take with me today, is the 'just ask' lesson. That is a very important
> lesson. When I was teaching, all of my kindergarteners knew that they
> should never approach a dog they did not know without asking first.
> Now-a-days I am often approached by children asking and I explain to
> them why I do not allow her to be petted by others. They understand. I
> also thank them for asking. The adults on the other hand just act and
> never think to ask. I think, giving a lesson like this when in a mixed
> group is an excellent idea as it will teach the adults without them
> thinking or realizing they are being taught. Well, gotta get ready
> now. Thanks again for all of your great ideas. Eve
>
> On Sat, Apr 6, 2013 at 4:38 AM, Julie J. <julielj at neb.rr.com> wrote:
>> Eve,
>>
>> I just did presentations for the Boy Scouts.  They had a disabilities
>> awareness day, which I think could use some improvement, but that's 
>> another
>> post for another list.  Anyway I had only 10 minutes with each small 
>> group
>> of boys.  I first explained that I'm blind, which means I need to use 
>> other
>> ways of doing things instead of looking at them.  This would seem 
>> obvious,
>> but I've learned that a lot of people don't really get "blind".  Then I 
>> move
>> on to the two main ways blind people use to move about, cane or dog.  I 
>> tell
>> them that both methods work just fine and that every blind person has to
>> figure out which they like or works best for them.  I introduce Monty, 
>> who
>> was laying beside me.  I explain that when he is guiding me I hold onto 
>> the
>> handle and walk a step behind his shoulders.  I feel which way he is 
>> moving
>> from his shoulder movement, which travels through the harness handle. 
>> This
>> is where I get a lot of odd questions.  I've found explaining it like
>> dancing gets my point across about the best.  I explain that Monty will 
>> stop
>> if there's something he wants me to know about or if we can't go around, 
>> but
>> that I make all the choices of which way we are going.  People think you
>> tell the dog "post office" and magically the dog takes you there.
>>
>> Over the years I have simplified my list of guide dog rules down to just
>> one, *ask*.  I think that one about covers it and if they can remember 
>> just
>> one thing I hope it is that one thing.  I emphasize it a lot.  If they 
>> want
>> to pet, ask.  If they want to give food, ask, If they want to talk to the
>> dog, ask.  Otherwise they should completely ignore the dog.  I think the
>> just ask approach does a lot of things extremely simply.  If the kids are
>> asking, then they are learning to view the blind person as the leader of 
>> the
>> team.  They are learning basic dog etiquette that will serve them well 
>> with
>> any sort of service dog team, police dog or even pets.  The just ask rule 
>> is
>> extremely universal and flexible for any situation.  It allows each 
>> handler
>> to manage the situation as he/she sees fit.
>>
>> Sometimes I let people pet, but usually not.  Either way I *always* smile
>> and tell them "thank you for asking".
>>
>> Then I take questions.  I don't do demonstrations unless I can't figure a
>> way out of it gracefully.  I've only ever done one.  Monty worked it
>> perfectly, but because the group didn't understand the finer points of 
>> how
>> we work they all thought he had made several mistakes.  I tried to 
>> explain
>> the subtleties, but there just isn't time in these sorts of 
>> presentations. I
>> left feeling very frustrated.
>>
>> I have also done presentations at schools, visually impaired peer support
>> groups, the senior center and of course it comes up from time to time 
>> when
>> I'm doing presentations for work.  A couple of years ago I was presenting 
>> to
>> a group of business leaders about the county programs I administer and I
>> think there were just as many questions about the dog as juvenile crime.
>> *smile*
>>
>> If you enjoy these presentations and are looking for places to contact to
>> offer your time maybe look at church groups, Chamber of Commerce member
>> events, Health Department, schools, colleges especially the special ed or
>> diversity studies, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, leadership groups, 4-H,
>> children's museums, etc.  Something I have noticed through my county job 
>> is
>> that more and more anytime there is state or federal grant funding, there 
>> is
>> usually some component of diversity or disability or something.  There 
>> are
>> trainings held to "educate" the people applying for and manageing these
>> grants about these topics.  Although I had never attended a "diversity"
>> training presented by a "diverse" person...except once.  I don't know of 
>> any
>> easy way to find these opportunities though.
>>
>> HTH I hope you have fun and that the people learn a lot!
>> Julie
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message----- From: Eve Sanchez
>> Sent: Friday, April 05, 2013 11:35 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: [nagdu] teaching the public
>>
>>
>> Tomorrow there is a canine fashion show being put on as a fund raising
>> event for a new K--9 for the Yavapaih County Marshalls. There are many
>> silly things going on to get the community happy. There also some
>> educational things going on to enlighten the community. First on the
>> agenda is a presentation by yours truly on guide dogs. I did a
>> presentation with my dog just last week during a dinner and know that
>> there is an upcoming presentation on the schedule with a local church
>> group. In other words, I am busy becoming an ambassador and educater
>> about guide dogs and guide dog users. I am sure that many of you have
>> done these types of things also and would love to hear about your
>> experiences. It is not that I am some great speaker or anything. I
>> just get asked. Also, in my community, there are a total of three
>> guide dogs. WE JUST DONT HAVE THE NUMBERS
>> I would really like to hear about what you all do with your dogs, not
>> to compare, but to get more ideas of how we could all get involved and
>> what others do that might be good ideas to borrow on. Thanks, Eve
>>
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