[Nfbf-l] Iowa decision goes against dog users
Sherri
flmom2006 at gmail.com
Mon Feb 23 15:22:34 UTC 2009
I agree Marion and stated my case before seeing your much more eloquently
worded message.
Sherri
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marion & Martin" <swampfox1833 at verizon.net>
To: "NFB of Florida Listserv" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 8:27 AM
Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] Iowa decision goes against dog users
> Jodi,
> There has been a great deal of discussion on this issue in which I have
> participated on the NAGDU list. I believe it is not a matter of "we know
> best"; however, it is a matter of developing sound fundamentals in the
> skill of orientation & mobility. although all guide dog schools claim a
> person must have good O&M skills before obtaining a guide dog, the
> practice is quite different. It cannot be assumed that a person who uses a
> guide dog has had such training. Likewise, it cannot be assumed that any
> person - even one who uses a cane - has good mobility skills. Some on the
> NAGDU list have said the centers show very little concern for the
> individual and I don't see it this way. In order for a curriculum to be
> effective, there needs to be some sort of structure and consistency. If
> there is not, there is no way to determine if any individual graduating
> from the program received the same training as another.
> While in undergraduate school I took particular classes to obtain my
> degree. One of them was Research Methods and everyone was required to take
> this course, as it gives fundamental knowledge to understand and interpret
> other courses. There was a blind guy in my school who claimed that this
> class should not be required of him because he is blind and, he argued,
> blind people cannot grasp the concepts taught in statistics. I wrote an
> article for the University newspaper stating, in part, that to grant his
> exception would call into question every degree the school offered,
> including mine, as no one would be able to be certain that anyone received
> an adequate education.
> Every student who attends the Iowa commission for the Blind's center
> receives O&M training, whether you have had it in the past or not and
> whether you use a cane or a guide dog. Students know this when they go to
> the center and, by doing so, consent to the program.
> Now, when I went to graduate school, the school required me to take
> Research Methods....again! I could have argued that I already had Research
> Methods in undergraduate school and, therefore, should not be required to
> take it again. However, my argument would have been futile, since the
> school would simply say, "This is a part of our program that you are
> required to take!" Furthermore, the scope and complexity of the course was
> very different than what I took in undergraduate school, so there was no
> substitution.
> On the NAGDU list, one person argued my example by stating that schools
> often offered electives, so why couldn't O&M be an elective? The
> counterpoint is that the school also has prerequisites and mandatory
> classes that provide the foundation for other classes. Research methods is
> one of those prerequisite, mandatory classes that provide the foundation
> for other classes, including electives. Orientation and mobility training,
> I believe, is a prerequisite, mandatory course.
>
> Fraternally,
> Marion Gwizdala, President
> National Association of Guide Dog Users
> National Federation of the Blind
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jody W. Ianuzzi" <jody at thewhitehats.com>
> To: "NFB of Florida Listserv" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2009 5:24 PM
> Subject: [Nfbf-l] Iowa decision goes against dog users
>
>
>>I have a real problem with this decision. If a person makes the decision
>>to
>> use a guide dog then that decision should be respected. The training
>> program can enhance this training rather then rejecting it.
>>
>> it strikes me that the training center is taking a 'we know best'
>> attitude
>> and this custodial attitude towards approach of a training center is the
>> very reason the NFB was established in the first place.
>>
>> Good cane skills are a prerequisite to getting a guide dog in the first
>> place and both cane travel and guide dog work can be improved at the same
>> time. many people are in a situation where they can't leave their dogs
>> behind and a prolonged absence will greatly hurt the bond and training of
>> the guide dog.
>>
>> I think it is very wrong that a training center for blind people is so
>> bluntly discriminatory against guide dogs. Any place else would be
>> accountable.
>>
>> JODY
>>
>>
>> Jury finds Iowa Department for the Blind's Guide Dog Policy Does Not
>> Discriminate
>>
>> Des Moines. A Polk County jury has rejected a Des Moines
>> woman's claim that the State of Iowa Department for the Blind
>> discriminated against her by refusing her request to use a guide dog
>> while she attended the Department's orientation and adjustment training
>> program.
>>
>> The Department for the Blind orientation and training
>> program is a comprehensive program that utilizes a totally non-visual
>> approach to teaching blindness skills. Students with partial vision are
>> required to wear eyeshades to prevent reliance upon any visual cues
>> during training. Department policies prohibit the use of any visual
>> aids within the orientation and training program, including guide dogs.
>> The Department has no objection to guide dogs in other situations.
>>
>> Stephanie Dohmen, who is legally blind, attended the
>> program for several months beginning in September 2000 and sought to
>> re-enter the program in June 2002 accompanied by her guide dog.
>>
>> Dohmen claimed in her lawsuit that the Department's policy
>> violated her rights under the Iowa Civil Rights Act and under federal
>> laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability.
>>
>> After a six-day trial, the eight-person jury rejected
>> Dohmen's claims in a verdict entered Wednesday.
>>
>> The Department for the Blind, which
>> was represented in the trial by the Iowa Attorney
>> General's Office, argued that a totally
>> non-visual approach - and training without
>> assistance of a guide-dog or other visual aids -
>> is the most effective approach for
>> visually-impaired persons who are learning skills
>> and techniques for dealing with blindness.
>>
>> The Department places no limitations
>> upon the use of guide dogs in other settings,
>> including in the Department for the Blind
>> building in downtown Des Moines. For example,
>> Karen Keninger, the Director of the Department,
>> uses a guide dog, and the dog accompanied
>> Keninger during her testimony at the trial.
>>
>> The orientation program typically
>> includes about six months of full-time training
>> in various problem-solving skills, such as
>> cane-travel on public streets, using Braille,
>> using computers, and dealing with many other situations.
>>
>> The Department for the Blind's
>> orientation and adjustment program was
>> established in 1959 and is considered by many to
>> be one of the most effective in the country.
>>
>> During the trial, the State
>> Department for the Blind presented testimony from
>> Joanne Wilson and Frederic K. Schroeder, each a
>> former Commissioner of the U.S. Rehabilitation
>> Services Administration, which oversees programs
>> for the blind around the country.
>>
>> "Iowa's orientation program
>> profoundly changes lives," said Wilson, who also
>> is Executive Director of the National Federation
>> of the Blind. "It works. It's a cutting-edge
>> program and a model for other states." Wilson is
>> a Webster City native and ISU graduate who went
>> through the Iowa Department for the Blind's orientation program herself.
>>
>> Schroeder said: "To me the central
>> point is that individuals have a choice in the
>> type of training they take. While programs must
>> and should make reasonable accommodations, they
>> cannot be required to alter the fundamentals of the program."
>>
>>
>> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>>
>>
>>
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