[nfbmi-talk] Blog by Federation Writer In omaha

[Cheryl Wade]

I think the best experience I ever had was when another blind person taught 
me hy to get around CMU. We had a great time. He taught it to me in a manner 
I could visualize, building one thing on another. It was very successful. I 
agree that blind people should teach other blind people to get around, but 
I'd freak out totally if I had to do that. Just differences in people.

Cheryl Wade
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Fred wurtzel" <f.wurtzel at comcast.net>
To: "'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 11:28 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Blog by Federation Writer In omaha


> Hi Cheryl,
>
> I am so happy you are on this list.  You are definitely preparing for the 
> right profession.
>
> This post was not to bring up the old, tired and irrelevant dog/cane 
> debate.  This is a subjective matter and your story is perfect proof of 
> this.  The whole point is to travel, who cares if you use a dog and I use 
> a cane.
>
> Again, the NFB philosophy of training is significantly different from that 
> of Western Michigan University, when it comes to travel training.  We 
> believe that blind people can teach blind people to travel.  We believe in 
> structured discovery where skills are built upon skills and a thought 
> process for problem solving is developed.  notice the example of when 
> Bridgit strayed into the body shop.  She used environmental clues to 
> resolve her mistake and did it on her own.  There is no shame in asking 
> questions.  With structured discovery, I believe that some fundamental 
> skills can be taught that will serve in any city or town or countryside at 
> any time to create a self-confident capable traveller.  Dog or cane, no 
> different.  Your point about your relationship with your travel trainer is 
> telling.  At Leaderdog you received respect.  That is fundamental to 
> structured discovery.  The instructor must respect the student enough to 
> believe in them and help them to develop universal and generalizable 
> problem-solving techniques.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> On Behalf Of Cheryl Wade
> Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 11:43 PM
> To: NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Blog by Federation Writer In omaha
>
> Hello,
>
> Here I go running my mouth off again.
>
> I am glad there are centers where blind travelers can get lots of concise 
> cane training. I had cane training at the Michigan School for the Blind 
> summer program and later at the college prep program at the University of 
> Detroit. In all these instances, I never was able to reach a destination 
> independently. I cried on the shoulder of one O&M instructor when I was in 
> about seventh grade, and asked him what would happen to me. These 
> instructors were grad students from WMU, I think.
>
> So I didn't use a cane in high school. After all, I was convinced it would 
> not work for me. I was afraid I would only be able to take curb-to-curb 
> service to my job -- when that job should happen -- and that I would 
> always go sighted guide.
>
> Then I reluctantly and fearfully got my first guide dog. I had lots of 
> problems and cried through the training. My family and I expected this dog 
> to be a kind of four-legged human who would sit around and be nice. Anna, 
> my shepherd/husky cross, wasn't! But somehow, over the ensuing months, I 
> learned my way around Central Michigan University's campus, then learned 
> about the shops downtown and the shops just off campus. For the first time 
> in my life, I was free! I could walk straight because the dog would do the 
> eyeballing and walk straight. I not only knew the directions, but I could 
> execute them.
>
> I definitely advocate the long white cane as the first line of defense. I 
> think children should have canes by the time they're three years old. But 
> I was not fortunate enough to have that kind of training, or at least I 
> did not do well at it. I truly would like to know, how would you have 
> helped a discouraged, frightened kid like me? What went wrong in my 
> education? Why couldn't these teachers in the summer programs have a 
> rational discussion with me -- I was certainly bright enough for it -- and 
> help me strategize for getting to destinations alone? How do you teach a 
> totally blind person spatial relations and get them accustomed to what 
> "straight" feels like? I now tell people to imagine a steel cable 
> extending straight in front of their stomach, and follow it. I continue to 
> be an independent traveler, but the people at Leader Dog were much 
> friendlier and kinder to me, and made me feel much less "on trial" than 
> the cane teachers did. Using a dog was fun; if you screwed up, they didn't 
> yell at you. They didn't make me feel like everything was a big test, and 
> that if I failed, I couldn't do all the cool assignments the other kids 
> were allowed to do. I was made to feel like a colleague in this journey, 
> not a subservient. (I had one cane instructor who called me "Little 
> Cheryl" because I could not use a cane like a "Big Cheryl"
> should be able to. Talk about patronizing!
>
> I do feel that travel skills are transferable, but I do NOT like the idea 
> that a kid can go to some other city and learn to get around, then come 
> home and have no one to help them get started identifying locations. It 
> takes a fairly seasoned traveler to figure out where stores and other 
> places are.
> You have to use the Internet to compare addresses of places you know with 
> addresses of places you don't know. You have to know cardinal directions, 
> absolutely. You have to ditch your fear of getting lost, and love yourself 
> enough to feel comfortable asking people for directions.
>
> Is an eight-month training program the only answer?
>
>
>
> End of rant.
>
> Cheryl Wade
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Fred Wurtzel" <f.wurtzel at att.net>
> To: "'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 8:47 PM
> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Blog by Federation Writer In omaha
>
>
>> Notice, there is no travel instructor following Bridgit as she goes on 
>> her
>> first route.  The Iowa Center teaches well and then truststhe student to
>> use their skills.  This is what I mean by the professionals building
>> confidence in blind clients.  Iowa practices the positive philosophy as I
>> mentioned earlier in the post on this list about rehabilitation
>> counselors.  Again, I strongly encourage everyone to read “Blindness:
>> handicap or Characteristic,” probably the best single essay on blindness
>> ever written.
>>
>>
>>
>> As a note, Bridgit is writing in the Omaha World herald as a staff
>> blogger.She is a member of the NFB Writers Division.
>>
>>
>>
>> Livewell logo
>>
>> Using the long white cane
>>
>> Published
>>
>> Thursday April 14, 2011
>>
>> By
>>
>> Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
>>
>> The entryway of the Iowa Department for the Blind was warm.  Heat 
>> streamed
>> out of
>>
>> the vent enveloping me in warmth.  I reveled in it as I prepared to step
>> out in the
>>
>> cold of February.
>>
>> Flipping the glass lid up on my watch, I felt the raised dots and arrows
>> checking
>>
>> the time.  It was now or never.  I had been at the training center for 
>> two
>> weeks,
>>
>> and after working with an instructor on how to use a long white cane, I
>> was now going
>>
>> out on my own for the first time.
>>
>> I took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
>>
>> A blast of icy air greeted me as I slid my cane down the first step, my
>> feet following.
>>
>> Repeating this until the final step, I turned south beginning my walk
>> around the
>>
>> block.
>>
>> My black heels click-clacked on the pavement as my cane arced left to
>> right.  Keeping
>>
>> the motion in a shoulder width pattern, my body avoided collision with
>> parking meters
>>
>> and buildings.
>>
>> Halfway down the block, a cold breeze flitted around me, and the faint
>> sound of traffic
>>
>> echoed through the alley separating the Department from the building next
>> door.
>>
>> I crossed the alley, continuing toward Grand Street.
>>
>> Traffic in front of me sounded closer.  A greasy warmth permeated the 
>> air.
>> I wrinkled
>>
>> my nose as I passed the Domino’s on the corner.
>>
>> Cars whooshed and rumbled by on busy Grand Street as I turned the corner.
>> My cane
>>
>> tapped against the cement planters which surely were empty in late
>> February.
>>
>> My pace remained steady until my cane slid off a curb.  Stopping, my ears
>> detected
>>
>> cars to my right.  The traffic on Grand was still speeding by.  This was
>> the parking
>>
>> garage so I listened to determine if any cars were pulling in or out of
>> the garage
>>
>> before crossing the drive.
>>
>> Reaching the other side, my cane found the curb, and I stepped up on the
>> sidewalk.
>>
>> Nearing the end of this block, I was elated with my progress.
>>
>> Arriving at Fifth Street, whirring, buzzing and hammering blared in the
>> distance.
>>
>> The sounds came from the auto body shop midway down the block.
>>
>> The sounds magnified and the temperature changed slightly.  I stopped to
>> recognize
>>
>> my surroundings.  The traffic was muffled and people shouted over the
>> heavy-metal
>>
>> music mingling with electric screw drivers and the pop of hydraulic car
>> lifts.  I
>>
>> realized I had meandered into the body shop.
>>
>> Listening to the sound of cars, my cane began its rhythm once more as I
>> left the
>>
>> shop.  The air grew chill again, and the buzz of traffic was no longer
>> muffled.
>>
>> Since the sun was beaming today, it assisted me in finding my directions
>> as its weak
>>
>> February warmth flirted on my face.  I returned my gate to a quick,
>> succinct pace
>>
>> continuing towards Watson Powel Street.
>>
>> My cane soon slid into an object in front of me.  Gently tapping it along
>> the object,
>>
>> I discerned a car was parked.  Hearing the distant traffic to my right, I
>> knew I
>>
>> was on the other side of the alley by the Department.  This must be the
>> mail truck
>>
>> that parked in the alley each day.
>>
>> Using my cane to tap around the front of the truck while maintaining the
>> shoulder
>>
>> width motion, I crossed the alley drive.
>>
>> My feet started up an incline.  This was the wheelchair ramp at the back
>> of the Department.
>>
>> A moment of temptation seized me as I contemplated cheating.  It was cold
>> and I wanted
>>
>> back in, but it would be worth it to finish this first independent travel
>> lesson.
>>
>> Turning around, I caned back down the ramp.  A metallic ring echoed as my
>> cane found
>>
>> the railing along the ramp.  I lined myself up using the sun again as a
>> guide and
>>
>> clicked on down to the end of this block.
>>
>> Finally, I came to home block.  I sidled closer to the brick building.
>> Tapping my
>>
>> cane against the brick, I was searching for the stairs.  I tapped my cane
>> to the
>>
>> left on the ground, but tapped against the building on the right so I
>> would find
>>
>> the stairs.
>>
>> Sure enough, a quarter of the way down, my cane slid onto the first 
>> cement
>> stair.
>>
>> Holding the cane in front of me this time, I followed it up the steps. 
>> My
>> body prickled
>>
>> as warm air ushered me back into the entry way.
>>
>> I opened the second set of doors and walked into the building.  The tip 
>> of
>> my cane
>>
>> clicked again as I left the rug of the entry way and found the marble
>> floor of the
>>
>> reception area of the department.
>>
>> Angling slightly to the left towards the elevator, I smiled.  My first
>> outdoor travel
>>
>> lesson, and I made it back in one piece.
>>
>> These initial lessons, known as structured discovery, were meant to
>> prepare me for
>>
>> independent mobility anywhere.  It is like riding a bike—once you learn,
>> you never
>>
>> forget, and you can hop on any bike and ride it.
>>
>> It is confusing and even doubtful for some that the long white cane is an
>> effective
>>
>> tool for independent travel, but if you learn the technique and actually
>> use it,
>>
>> the cane is a powerful and capable tool.
>>
>> Eight years later, my travel skills have strengthened, and time and time
>> again, the
>>
>> cane assists me in traveling with independence and efficiency.
>>
>> To learn more about structured discovery and the long white cane, visit
>>
>> www.nfb.org
>>
>> ,
>>
>> www.blind.state.ia.us
>>
>> or
>>
>> www.ncbvi.ne.gov
>>
>> .
>>
>> Like
>>
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>>
>> 3
>>
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>>
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>>
>> 0
>>
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>>
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>>
>> 2 Responses to Using the long white cane
>>
>> Lisa  says:
>>
>> April 14, 2011 at 4:13 pm
>>
>> Great sensual details make this piece clear and enlightening for a 
>> sighted
>> person.
>>
>> Reply
>>
>> Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
>>
>> says:
>>
>> April 14, 2011 at 4:23 pm
>>
>> For those who use a long white cane, we forget that not everyone
>> understands the
>>
>> technique. It becomes second nature when you use a tool like the cane
>> consistently,
>>
>> but obviously it is not always clear as to how the cane works to an
>> observer.
>>
>> I try to place readers behind my eyes, if you will, to not only explain
>> the cane,
>>
>> but to hopefully give you a sense of what it is like.
>>
>> Hey, it is that “show” versus the “tell” you guys always knock into our
>> heads! It
>>
>> really is effective!
>>
>> Reply
>>
>> Leave a Reply
>>
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