[NFB-DB] Help from Any deafblind guide dog users

[Showe Trela]

Hello. I am thinking of getting a guide dog to help me travel more independently. I used to feel very confident traveling with my cane when I had full hearing but I am now profoundly deaf on one side and am struggling with walking in a straight line, crossing intersections and navigating in parking lots. Guide dog schools are telling me that I will need to demonstrate that I can complete 3 routes, be able to line up correctly, and tell when the traffic surges. I am curious to know if others have had the same issues and how they qualified for getting a guide dog. I am using audible pedestrian signals to help confirm the traffic surge and the oko app to keep me crossing in a straight line. I have AIRA as an accomodation for work and when I traveled to an out-of-town conference for work, I used AIRA to walk to and from my hotel to the conference and I felt so impowered! Are these tools allowed to be used when meeting with the guide dog school reps while they  observe you? Any advice you all can give me would be much appreciated. 

Showe 


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