[NAGDU] Introducing a New Member

Wed Nov 29 15:24:06 UTC 2017

Welcome!

Someone told me once that something like 90% of blind people have some 
useable vision.  Blind to me means that the primary way I do things is with 
a nonvisual alternative.  I think most blind people understand this, but 
sighted folks think blind is totally blind.

There's also this misconception that only really blind people or those with 
poor mobility skills need dogs.  This is also untrue.  A guide dog is a good 
choice for anyone who feels they can benefit or prefers that means of 
travel.  Personally, I feel like I travel more easily with a dog, but I am 
completely comfortable using my cane.

Others have mentioned how important it is to not over ride the dog's 
decisions by using your vision.  It erodes the dog's training and it's also 
quite dangerous.  I did it and paid a steep price.  My dog stopped and 
refused to move forward.  I thought I knew better and stepped in front of 
him.  Yeah, bad idea.   Don't do that, just sayin'!

A decent level of mobility skill is required to work a dog.  You do need to 
have a basic understanding of where you are going, how many streets to 
cross, which side of the street you need to be on, when it's your turn to 
cross the street and so on.  I think the better your orientation skills are, 
the better you will be able to get meaningful information from the dog. If 
you don't know where you're going you can't communicate correct directions 
to the dog.

I think all of the guide dog schools are going to require that you meet 
certain legal definitions of blindness.  Generally, we talk about 20/200, 
but there are other considerations like field of vision.   If you are 
receiving rehab services that is a good indication that you meet the legal 
requirements to qualify for a service dog.  All you can do is apply, explain 
your situation and see what happens.

Good luck to you, and again welcome!
Julie
On The Go with Guide-and-Service-Dogs.com
http://www.guide-and-service-dogs.com
also find my products in the Blind Mice Mega Mall
<https://www.blindmicemegamall.com/bmm/shop/Directory_Departments?storeid=1916046>
-----Original Message----- 
From: Christopher O'meally via NAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2017 8:50 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Christopher O'meally
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Introducing a New Member

hey.  I Can see enough to play Xbox and read large pring when I have
to, and I have a dog.  I know plenty of people who can see mor than I
can who have dogs.  Its really about what you think you need, if you
ask questions from other users and you should use that to decide.
don't be worried about the schools saying no, if you use a cane, your,
and excuse my term here, your blind enough to use a dog.  Feel free to
ask me any questions off list that you have, and welcome to the list!
My email is below.
chris.omeally at gmail.com

On 11/29/17, Cindy Ray via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi, Bree, and welcome to the list. It is good to have you here asking
> questions.
>
> You don't need to apologize for being able to see. Most of the blind 
> people
> in the world can see some. Blindness takes various positions, and yours is
> such that your reading vision seems to be far better than your travel
> vision. I knew a couple once who were both blind, but one could read
> easily;
> the other could travel easily. We used to joke that if they could be 
> merged
> as one person they would have perfect vision.
> Second, no matter what anyone says, you are essentially blind. There is
> nothing wrong with this. That's my opinion and the opinion of many of us 
> in
> the National Federation of the Blind; it is not shared by everyone.
> I used to think that guide dogs were only handed out to totally blind
> people, but it isn't so. If you have a guide dog though, you have to be
> careful not to second guess that dog. You have to trust it will do the
> things for you it has been trained to do. The more trust you can hand over
> to the dog, the better it will work for you. If you constantly second 
> guess
> the dog, it eventually comes to believe that it doesn't really have to 
> work
> for you. The dog and the person work as a team. You have to find the best
> balance, and when you have you have a delightfully successful team.
> If  you applied for a guide dog, the school to which you apply will
> evaluate
> your need. You aren't taking a dog from someone who needs it more. That's
> not your decision. That one belongs to the school where you have applied.
> If
> you get a dog and it helps you travel in a manner that you feel is more
> efficient, then you have what you need and the school is happy to have
> accommodated you. I think you have too much input from people who believe
> blindness is the end of the world, but you sure don't have to apologize 
> for
> being grateful for your sight. Any sight a person has, when she uses it
> effectively and efficiently is sight that helps her function. If you use
> alternative techniques (in this case a dog) and your sight, you will be
> less
> burdened with trying to make it. There is no shame in being a blind person
> even if you can see some. Contact the schools that interest you; tell them
> your dilemmas; soon enough they will be able to help you make the 
> decision.
> And certainly don't hesitate to ask questions.
> I hope something I've said is helpful.
> Cindy Lou Ray
> cindyray at gmail.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Bree R. via
> NAGDU
> Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2017 2:41 AM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Bree R. <bree_reyes at post.com>
> Subject: [NAGDU] Introducing a New Member
>
> Thank you for letting me join your list. I don't know if this is a list
> that
> can help me. Or if I belong here. I think I want to at least try to get
> some
> more info about guide dogs before I decide whether or not a guide dog 
> would
> help me with travel.
>
> I finished mobility training through ACBVI before I moved last spring. I
> met
> a few people who had guide dogs and I wondered if they were even an option
> for me. I know I should talk to the guide dog schools to ask but it's
> intimidating since what if they just say no & I'm wasting their time.
>
> I don't think or don't know if I should even try because I have done
> mobility training and it helped a lot. I don't think I have to have a 
> guide
> dog to be safe. Or take someone's dog who needs them more than me. Mostly
> because my better eye I can see out of is corrected or can be to 20/70. I
> think that I would not think of a guide dog if I could see enough to not
> use
> a cane & if the people I met didn't make me wonder.
>
>
> ACBVI said it is low vision but not blindness & I know guide dogs are for
> people who are really are blind. I just can't use what I can see very well
> I
> guess is how to explain it because what I see doesn't match what is there.
> I
> don't have RP but it's similar they said except there's just rod and cone
> dystrophy and mostly it's a male condition so they didn't know what was
> going on for a long time. I wear glasses over contract lenses which is how
> I
> can see 20/70 in one eye and it's like 20/200 on the other. My glasses are
> made with crystals and they're supposed to help them work together but it
> doesn't always work and sometimes makes it worse. I am night blind since I
> was a kid and have amblyopia where my right eye won't look straight and
> also
> photophobia. I think if I could see 20/70 really like 20/70 is then I
> wouldn't need a cane even it's just it is not the same trying to walk or
> get
> around as it is to read letters on a chart.
>
> The counselor at the last session I had with Voc Rehab told me my vision 
> is
> really not bad at all and to be grateful and I am. I think that is why I
> don't want to call and talk to guide dog schools because I feel guilty.
>
> I wanted to ask someone with a guide dog though if I really couldn't try 
> to
> have a guide dog. I remembered the name of the NFB from something a while
> ago so I found a google result for your list when I searched NFB and guide
> dogs.
>
> I hope it's ok for me to ask this here. I mean I know Im glad I can still
> see and all and I hope I don't keep having worse vision but I'm 27 and it
> has been getting worse for many years now. I feel bad though if I sound
> ungrateful. I'm really not. I just wonder if it is true that I cannot try
> to
> get a guide dog and that they are for only totally blind people. I sort of
> wish I could try to have one now because it seems like it would be much
> better to travel and to not have to run into something to know its there
> with my cane and to move around things a dog would see especially in the
> winter when it's hard to tell where curbs and roads are and the snow makes
> it hard to find landmarks.
>
> I hope it isnt breaking any rules for me to post here and thank you. I am
> nervous as you maybe can tell.
>
> Bree
>
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-- 
Very Respectfully,

Christopher O’Meally.

NVB of Virginia 2016 leadership fellow.

Lead instructor and CEO of Access Tech Media INC.

Contract Closeout Specialist, Defense Contract Management Agency.

Chris.omeally at gmail.com

(804)658-6668

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