[nagdu] O&M skills

Fri Jan 31 19:07:47 UTC 2014

The problem is, the CFB is only in the western provinces of Canada, not in any others.
I have O and M through CNIB,and i see my instructor once a week or 2 weeks.

Matthew Dierckens
Macintosh Trainer
Blind Access Training
www.blindaccesstraining.com
1-877-774-7670 ext. 4

On Jan 31, 2014, at 1:45 PM, Andrew <andrewjedg at gmail.com> wrote:

> hi  I am not so sure that there is allot abvailable here in Canada
> through my research for o and m except for the cnib  as Amanda is in
> Canada.  but even cnib it takes while for them to come out and things
> you are lucky if you see them once or twice a month.  Amanda I am not
> sure how to help you on this but  best suggestion I have is get with
> cfb  it is a branch of nfb. and maybe they have thoughts on the o and
> m stuff or know of something.  Canada does not have very much when it
> comes to training centers.   I  still say no harm in contacting cnib
> at least
> 
> On 1/31/14, Marsha Drenth <marsha.drenth at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Julie, very good ideas. Another idea is to find a university or college that
>> has an O&M certification/degree program. Usually those students need hours
>> to complete there intern/degree. Contacting the school to see if any of the
>> students are willing to help, would be another way of getting that
>> information you all are talking about.
>> It just takes some thinking out of the box sometimes...
>> 
>> Marsha drenth
>> Sent with my IPhone
>> 
>>> On Jan 31, 2014, at 1:09 PM, Julie J <julielj at neb.rr.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> You have to be a client of a VR agency because it is vocational
>>> rehabilitation funds that pay for  those services.  The VR agencies are
>>> federally mandated to provide services that will lead to employment.
>>> There are limited funds and services for non VR clients, commonly called
>>> Independent Living or perhaps Older Blind services.  I doubt that you
>>> could get much O amd M training through these non VR services though.
>>> They are pretty limited and O and M is pretty involved.
>>> 
>>> If you are willing to privately pay for O and M training, then there might
>>> be options.  I know of one lady who is certified NOMC and I don't think
>>> she's found a job yet.  I bet if you were willing to pay her expenses plus
>>> a fee for her seervice, she could come and work with you.
>>> 
>>> If you just need specific information about your environment, what about
>>> finding a volunteer?  I work in Crimminal Justice and all of my clients
>>> need to do community service.  None of them are dangerous.  Lots of
>>> college and high school students need to do volunteer work for classes.
>>> Quite a few church youth groups/confirmation classes also do community
>>> service.  There are others, but these are some resources that aren't often
>>> discussed.  Anyhow, the volunteer could walk with you, answering questions
>>> and giving you visual information.  It's not O and M training, but what
>>> I'm hearing a lot of people say is that they aren'tt as familiar with
>>> their environment as they'd like to be.  To me that's different from
>>> learning O and M.  In the case where the person isn't able to walk long
>>> distances, the volunteer could go out and scccope out routes while talking
>>> through the details over the phone.  Then the blind person could ask
>>> specific questions to determine if it's a route they want to invest the
>>> time to learn.
>>> 
>>> Julie
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPad
>>> 
>>>> On Jan 31, 2014, at 11:24 AM, "Star Gazer" <pickrellrebecca at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> So am I. This seems like it could and should be like any other service.
>>>> Why
>>>> isn't it?
>>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of melissa R
>>>> green
>>>> Sent: Friday, January 31, 2014 11:00 AM
>>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] O&M skills
>>>> 
>>>> I wonder if there is a way to get around being a client of rehab just to
>>>> get
>>>> services like O&M.
>>>> there just has to be a way.
>>>> I have a really good instructor who also worked at a guide dog school.
>>>> Not all people are working or going to school.
>>>> they just want to live their life.
>>>> Might have to ask my instructor.
>>>> I am curious now.
>>>> best wishes,
>>>> Sincerely,
>>>> Melissa R Green
>>>> "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole
>>>> staircase." -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
>>>> 
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
>>>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2014 1:17 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] O&M skills
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Hi Julie M.
>>>> I agree wholeheartedly.  Being afraid to go out is very sad.  It also
>>>> disgusts me to hear of people who want to get training but can't find
>>>> anyone
>>>> to provide it.  It ought to be a basic thing provided by any state
>>>> agency
>>>> for the blind, to help any blind person who asks for it get timely
>>>> training
>>>> in O&M.  Is there anything we can do about this?  And I don't mean just
>>>> telling everyone to take several months out of their lives to attend an
>>>> NFB
>>>> center.  That's useful, but not always practical, IMO.
>>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
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> 
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