[nagdu] mobility independence question

Sun Apr 13 23:41:12 UTC 2014

John,

Blind friends who are good travelers can be the best teachers. My only 
advice in regards to going that route would be to be sure you can keep 
yourself safe while you are learning the listening skills and other O&M 
skills they probably have by now. I've heard that only a "certified O&M 
instructor" can safely teach a blind person, but when one of those is 
not available, you gotta do what you gotta do. I'm largely self-taught 
and didn't have many other blind folks to ask while I was learning. So 
it can be done. I did have some residual vision and started learning 
while it was still somewhat usable for safety. Then we moved to a larger 
town, where I had lost enough vision that I just had to go out and learn 
to navigate it with the cane. I made some rules for myself to follow for 
extreme caution until I was sure I could afford to be braver and live. 
It worked. Since then, I've learned a lot from more experienced blind 
travelers, of course. /smile/

I would be one to want a perfect video, too. But I think what others 
have observed about the benefits of making a more true-to-life video is 
very good advice. /smile/ Either way, the more you know about how to 
travel safely and solve the problems you encounter along the way, the 
better off you are.

Best,

Tami

On 04/13/2014 02:30 PM, starmy22 at gmail.com wrote:
>     Hi,
> I have a question:  if I'm not able to get any mobility training here in
> the Okemos Michigan area from a mobility instructer, would I have to
> turn to a couple of blind friends who would be able to show me the
> proper way of crossing streets?
> I want this video that I'm going to have help from some one who is
> sighted to be perfect.
> I want no errors.
> I don't want to have anything in the video that would make the two
> schools out in california to say that I'm not eligible for a guide dog
> because I'm unable to do this properly.
> I hope to hear from you soon.
> Sincerely,
> John Sanders
>
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Larry D. Keeler
> Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 3:43 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] mobility independence question
>
> Well, write offlist. MMichigan has a lot of issues in there commission
> and I
> have a few questions not meant for this list. Larry D Keeler from Ann
> Arbor.
> ----- Original Message ----- From: <starmy22 at gmail.com>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 1:05 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] mobility independence question
>
>
>> Hi,
>> My mobility instructer had read over my previous mobility report that
>> she had wrote up for me.
>> This was a year ago.
>> I live out in Michigan, and the agency  that is working with me the
>> Michigan Commission for the blind, the mobility instructer from what I
>> understand from what my rehabilitation counselar has told me is that
>> in order to get training from her, it needs to be in a certin area.
>> I'm going to be going to college with in the next month.
>> I'm going to need some training on how to get to the various buildings.
>> That's what the mobility instructer is there for.
>> I'm not able to get any mobility practice and getting myself prepared
>> to get a guide dog unless I have a mobility instructer assisting me
>> with the steps that are required.
>> I hope to hear from you soon.
>> Sincerely,
>> John Sanders
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message----- From: Michael Hingson
>> Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 12:33 PM
>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] mobility independence question
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Your mobility instructor read over what report?  Also, as someone else
>> asked, what do you mean that lights are a problem?
>>
>> If your mobility instructor were doing her job she would be
>> addressing, or have addressed issues of you working with traffic
>> flow.  As far as going into buildings and needing assistance in
>> getting to the right bus this is vague at best.
>>
>> It sounds to me as if your instructor needs to stop making up
>> classifications like "semi independent" and begin teaching you real
>> mobility skills.
>>
>>
>> Best,
>>
>>
>> Michael Hingson
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>> starmy22 at gmail.com
>> Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 07:41 AM
>> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [nagdu] mobility independence question
>>
>> Hi,
>> I have a question:  My mobility instructer read over my report and she
>> said that I’m a semiindependent.
>> The report said that I can successfully cross at stopsigns.
>> Lights are a  problem for me.
>> Will a guide dog school except some one who is semi-independent?> The
>> report did say that I use a lot of assistance with getting in to
>> buildings especially the bus stations and getting to the right bus
>> numbers.
>> I hope to hear from you soon.
>> Sincerely,
>> John Sanders
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>>
>>
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>
>
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