[nagdu] Leader's Accelerated mobility program

Wed May 25 18:40:43 UTC 2011

Brenda feel free to email me any time, Here is my email address.
I am Dar
dmgina at samobile.net
Original message:
> I found holding my 52 inch ultralight Ambutech cane with the metal glide
> tip a few inches from the top helped avoid catching so that is why I
> thought I'd try a shorter cane.  My cane comes up to where my arm and
> shoulder connect.  I really do not want anything longer.I had a
> telescoping NFB carbon fibor cane, but I got water where the sections
> joined, it locked and we broke it trying to unjam it.  I loved that
> cane, it was so light I could feel everything, but it tended to collapse
> when travelling.  My current cane is a little heavier but not as bad as
> an aluminum cane.  nonetheless it is heavy enough to be annoying.  At
> Leader they wanted me to keep my cane low to the ground in a sweeping
> motion.  This worked until there was the slightest bit of texture or
> uneven sidewalks which I encounter a lot.  I like to tap my cane to get
> sound input and determine depth.  Tapping is harder on my wrist except
> for when I used my NFB telescopic.I know the NFB has a rigid cane, but
> that is not convenient for when stopping to eat etc.Based on all the
> advice, I may keep my 52 inch and not go shorter.

> Well, cane travel is a prerequesite to getting a guide dog, but I don't
> want to annoy people by talking too much about it on this list.  I am
> learning a lot from all you nice people.

> Brenda


> On 5/25/2011 11:24 AM, Tracy Carcione wrote:
>> 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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