[nabs-l] What do you do when lost?

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

While we certainly can learn how to travel and figure directions out on
our own, sadly, not all of us learn from great, or even competent,
travel instructors. I think we have to take this into consideration when
dealing with each other, and understand that blindness education isn't
just for the sighted world. If you've never been instilled with
confidence to be independent, it can take time to develop it. We should
be respectful to one another and cognizant of the reasoning as to why
some may not be as comfortable and confident with independence,
demonstrating competent, capable skills.

That being said, it's not difficult to know if people are near by, and
if entering a room or building that is initially quiet, asking if anyone
is available will help you discover if anyone is present. No need to
shout, but simply say it out loud. There are also many ways in which to
figure out what to do when lost, but we all, even sighted people, get so
turned around to the point where we just can't figure out which way to
go. There's nothing wrong with asking for directions.

Ringing the police should never be done unless you're in danger or hurt.
Sorry, I fail to see why tax payers money should go to pay for police to
come help give directions to a person. They have better things to do,
and unless you're in danger or hurt, and being lost is neither, don't
ring the police.

I will also say this: I admit that travel isn't always my forte. When
sighted, I was horrible with directions, and when driving, I learned how
to get places by landmarks, not cardinal directions. So once losing my
sight, it was a real struggle at first to travel nonvisually in some
ways. It honestly took me some time to adjust to paying attention to
things without it being an effort. I now just naturally pay attention to
those nonvisual cues, but I didn't automatically have this as an
instinctive reaction in the beginning. However, the more I got out and
practiced, the better I became, and the more comfortable I grew with
using nonvisual cues. I'll never be like those of you, and my hubby, who
can travel anywhere with little issue, figuring it all out immediately,
and I was never like this sighted either, but I now am much more
confident even when unsure of where to go, and those nonvisual cues are
second nature though it took time. Usually, I don't encounter huge
problems when on my own because I just got out there and learned.
Practice is the best method.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 18
Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2011 10:44:38 -0500
From: <frandi.galindo at gmail.com>
To: "NFB" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [nabs-l] what do you do if you get lost
Message-ID: <D72B9DD088554628AB6B392779F98AAD at OwnerPC>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="UTF-8"

Ok, bare with me here for a moment, and excuse my language.
When you get lost do you
a: call the cops and ask them where you are, and waste money in the
process?
b: wave down a cop when you don?t know if one is near you?
c: wave your hands around and make other blind people look like jak
asses in the eyes of an already general populous who think blind people
are incapable of doing anything for themselves?
d: go in to a business and ask someone where you are, or just simply try
and ask someone on the street for directions
e: try to get your bearings together and find your own way.
I ask this because I know of someone who was tought to do what a, b, and
c say to do.  I was tought by two outstanding mobility instructors to do
what d says, and tought myself e.  I want to know what you all out their
think.  I personally think that making blind people look like helpless
jack asses and wasting money on unesesary calls is pointless.  I?m
almost sure most mobility instructors would teach their students to do
what choice d asks.