[nabs-l] The Importance Of Independent Travel

[Kaiti Shelton]

Hi all,

Admittedly I was surprised to see such an old thread come back, but
this topic never stops being important for us.

I'd recommend talking to one of the training center directors in
addition to graduates to see what they say about the program.  Arielle
is right that you don't have to have any certain level of skill to
attend; improving skills for everyone, regardless of their current
strengths and weaknesses is what the centers are for.  Ideally,
talking to graduates and directors from each of the centers would be
good if you are serious about going, so you can decide which program
might be the best fit for you.  I have not attended a center but do
know graduates from Louisiana, Colorado, and Blind Inc.  All are great
programs but have some slight differences.

Living away from home really does open up tons of doors for
independence not just in travel, but in home management, cooking, and
in learning self-advocacy skills.  I didn't learn to use a stove or
oven propperly until I was away from my family at college and had a
chance to teach myself without someone freaking out about possible
burns.  Same goes for travel; when you're forced to travel yourself
rather than take Mom or Dad's offers for rides all the time, you gain
more confidence in your abilities.  I forget who suggested it, but
traveling under sleep shades is a fantastic exercise you can do on
your own as well.  I have done it a few times myself just to keep my
skills up, and it really does help.  Once you gain the confidence with
doing this in familiar settings you can try it with less familiar
routes, and when you're able to do those confidently you'll just have
more options in travel.  I found that once I reached this point I was
also able to be more assertive with my family, and whereas before I
felt like I had to ask them if I could walk to somewhere close to my
house because they'd worry about me walking down a busy road I'd just
say, "Mom, I'm running to Walgreens, let me know if you want me to
grab anything," and leave.  I've found that the barriers we face with
concerned family members aren't as hard to overcome if you're
confident in your own skills and can show them that you can navigate
safely and effectively to where you want to go.

Hope this helps.