[nagdu] Leader's Accelerated mobility program

Wed May 25 15:24:40 UTC 2011

Hi Brenda.
Thanks for the info on the Leader program.  Glad it was useful.  You've
got the right idea--take what you can use and let the rest slide. Though
some of what you don't need now you might want later.
My husband has low vision, gradually getting worse.  But even when it was
better, he found a cane useful.  He could use it to check out things he
wasn't sure about, and the cane lets people know he can't see well. 
Sometimes they treat him like an idiot because he's blind, but on the
other hand they don't expect him to read signs and stuff.  They understand
better why he's asking for help.

I personally like a cane that comes up to about my nose.  It gives me
sufficient stopping time.  I have an NFB carbon fiber cane I like pretty
well.  It's light, and the tip is wide enough not to get caught on cracks
and such.  Some people like the even wider marshmallow tip.
My husband likes a heavy aluminum cane, with a skinny tip.  He tends to
bang his cane around a lot, and the heavy one he likes can stand up to it.
Anyway, if you can get access to a few kinds of canes, you can experiment
and see what you like best.
I'm glad to hear things are coming along for you.
Tracy

> Hi Tracy
>
> Yep, I'm the one that went to Leader for the AMP program because of the
> minimal mobility training my State provided.  now is a good time for me
> to get my mobility down solid.  I do feel it is very hard for me as I
> have some remaining vision. It was hard to ask for help because I often
> am treated like I don't need it even though I really do benefit from a
> cane and some day a guide dog.
>
> I learned a lot at leader.  I needed concentrated practice crossing busy
> streets, and I got that.  I still catch my cane a lot, and I felt they
> did not address that well - they just said it takes time.  I was told to
> pay more attention to what my cane was saying but that is hard when it
> catches all the time.  I'm going to purchase a slightly shorter cane and
> experiment with the different tips I have from the 2 canes I currently
> have.  My mobility instructor from my state was good, he just was not
> allotted funds/time to give me much training.  I am now combining all
> the tips from the state-supplied instructor and leader to travel safely
> and efficiently.  Kind of like a 12-step group - take what you want and
> leave the rest.
>
> At Leader we also did a guide dog experience.  it was okay.  I walked
> with a small dog and the trainer said right away the harness handle was
>      too short and the dog walked slower than my pace. I had issues with
> balance and I was trying so hard not to lead the dog which was hard with
> this slow-walking guide. I did not want them to think I had too much
> usuable vision for a dog.   It was a good experience and I will get a
> guide when my pet passes on.  I realize this was just a brief
> introduction to using a guide.  As I was the last person to go out (all
> the totally blind were taken out first) and the miss match, I did wonder
> if I was just an afterthought.
> There was a thread recently about letting someone else use your guide.
> If I had the opportunity, I would ask someone to allow me
> to have another guiding experience with them present of course.
>
> Besides the badly needed traffic training I got the Kapten.  This device
> would have been helpful for me all my life as a high partial.  I still
> have nightmares of being lost and wondering around trying to find my
> way.  My trips were always longer because i could not read street
> signs.  The main thing is I have the Kapten now.
>
> I sure hope the word about the kapten gets out to high partials who are
> often left out because they are expected to be able to see.  Growing up,
> all the attention, information etc went to blind students/campers, etc.,
> leaving high partials in the dark.  Wwe were never given the
> opportunities and struggled to live in the sighted world with very
> limited vision and no adaptive strategies - we could not accept who we
> were as high partials.
>
> I really needed and benefited from leader's Accelerated Mobility
> training (AMP).  I still do have usable vision to walk a straight line,
> but I think somehow it is because I use my cane.  When i was a high
> partial someone said I walked crooked lines but now that I use a cane I
> walk straighter.  I still feel like my vision puts me in limbo.  I know
> a cane and a guide dog will help me, but I don't think the instructors
> think I need the help.  Hopefully the guide dog school I choose will
> agree with me.
>
> I am glad to see the leader AMP program there for those of us that never
> got the chance of having mobility training which of course you need
> before you can get a guide dog.  I think many low partials could benefit
> from leader's AMP program.
>
> Brenda
>
>
> Brenda
>
>
>
> On 5/25/2011 8:26 AM, Tracy Carcione wrote:
>> Hi Brenda.
>> Are you the person who was having trouble getting cane training from
>> your
>> state, and so decided to go to Leader's cane program?  Did you get what
>> you needed from it?  I'd be interested to hear your impressions, and I'm
>> sure others would, too.  There are too many people who can't get the
>> assistance they should from their states, and it would be good to know
>> about other options.
>> Sorry if I'm confusing you with someone else.
>> Tracy
>>> I went to the accelarated mobility program at Leader this early spring
>>> and was given the Kapten.  I love it.  I like to put it in free
>>> navigation mode and find out all the streets I cross that I never knew
>>> the names of before.  They recommend you update it via the internet and
>>> the Kapten's website, but I have never done that.  I suppose if I was
>>> going somewhere new I would try to figure that out.  There is also an
>>> automobile mode which may be nice for bus travel.
>>>
>>> Brenda
>>
>>
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