[nagdu] mobility independence question

Tue Apr 15 00:40:41 UTC 2014

I'm sure if your goal is to get a guide and you let  the folks at the 
accelerated mobility program know that, they will help you with the specific 
skills you'll need.  I'm also confident that if you don't have the skills 
needed to work a guide dog, they'll identify specifically what you'd need to 
work on to qualify.  Of course they are going to be most familiar with 
Leader dogs and other guide dog programs might have different requirements. 
Still, I think it would be an excellent starting point.

I'm going to assume that if you go through the accelerated mobility program, 
that could count for an O&M reference, so you don't need to worry about your 
mobility instructor's recommendations.

A guide dog will generally go around a pot hole, treating it like an 
obstacle.  If you want to learn to navigate around broken up pavement with a 
cane, I'd suggest a lighter weight cane and a smaller cane tip.  They won't 
stick as bad in cracks and the like.

Julie

-----Original Message----- 
From: starmy22 at gmail.com
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 4:43 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] mobility independence question

Hi,
My mobility instructer didn't even recommend me to get a guide dog.
I have a question:  I've contacted leader dogs about the excellerated
mobility program.
Michigan streets are full of potwholes.
Do they teach you on how to avoid potwholes when crossing streets?
I'm thinking this is the ticket in order for me to get a guide dog.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
John Sanders

-----Original Message----- 
From: Becky
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 12:48 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] mobility independence question

Hi
I am on my fourth dog. When I went to training in Kalmazoo back in 2000 they
told me I would never work good with a guide dog.
Becky Sabo an Hakia

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 13, 2014, at 1:17 PM, Raven Tolliver <ravend729 at gmail.com> wrote:

The way it works here in Michigan is that in order to receive O&M
instruction, or anything from the Commission, there has to be a
justification. So the justification for O&M is often orientation to a
specific area (i.e., school, work, your neighborhood, a shopping
center). No one is going to just come out and work on street crossings
in some part of town without a justification. If it is a part of a
route, they will help you learn, but otherwise, you're better off
going to a training center, or Leader Dogs Accelerated Mobility
Program. Students are expected to receive basic O&M during their
public education here, but obviously, everyone doesn't receive the
same kind of training.

Your mobility instructor can help you with off-campus training as
well. Surely, there will be stores and businesses off-campus that you
will visit. Is there a bus system in your college's area that you will
need orientation to? These are some of the things that my O&M
instructor worked with me on.

Will a guide dog school except some one who is semi-independent?
Yes. If the right people say the right things about you.
But you don't want to get a guide dog if you can't independently cross
a traffic-light intersection. During your home interview and/or at
guide dog school, you will be expected to independently demonstrate
mid-block crossings and traffic-light intersection. While your guide
dog will be able to perform traffic checks, that is not a reliable way
of crossing a difficult or busier intersection. Even if you manage to
slip through everyone's fingers and do what seems to be the right
thing at the time like some people do, it is irresponsible to get a
guide dog when your O&M is lacking. It's irresponsible because now,
not only is your life at risk, but also your dog's life.

> On 4/13/14, Daryl Marie <crazymusician at shaw.ca> wrote:
> Agreed with Nicole.  When I moved to Alberta, I had a good - perhaps 
> great -
> base of O&M skills to fall back on, and my exposure to O&M here was almost
> always on an as-needed basis.  I have been shown the layouts of malls that
> don't have straight hallways, and shown how to navigate traffic circles
> (something unheard of where I grew up).  Without the basic skills,
> situational O&M is not nearly as useful.
>
> Daryl
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Nicole Torcolini <ntorcolini at wavecable.com>
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sun, 13 Apr 2014 12:14:20 -0600 (MDT)
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] mobility independence question
>
> I think that a mobility instructor should teach both. I have good mobility
> skills; however, if I go to a new place that I will be going often, such 
> as
> a new building at work, I might ask the mobility instructor to come help 
> me
> learn it as she may know what things will be helpful to a blind person 
> more
> so than someone else.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Michael Hingson
> Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 10:16 AM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] mobility independence question
>
> John,
>
> What your mobility instructor should be teaching you is how to travel
> independently rather than specific routes.  That is, if your instructor is
> really doing her job she would be teaching you techniques you can use
> anywhere to learn how to go from place to place.  Such techniques will
> include asking questions of others yourself until you know where you are
> and
> how you got there.  Others on this list will tell you of centers they
> attended such as the Colorado Center for the Blind, the Louisiana Center
> for
> the Blind, and Blind Inc. where students learn good travel techniques
> including how they learn to use their own observation skills to know where
> they are at all times.
>
>
> Best,
>
>
> Michael Hingson
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> starmy22 at gmail.com
> Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 10:06 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] mobility independence question
>
> Hi,
> My mobility instructer had read over my previous mobility report that she
> had wrote up for me.
> This was a year ago.
> I live out in Michigan, and the agency  that is working with me the
> Michigan
> Commission for the blind, the mobility instructer from what I understand
> from what my rehabilitation counselar has told me is that in order to get
> training from her, it needs to be in a certin area.
> I'm going to be going to college with in the next month.
> I'm going to need some training on how to get to the various buildings.
> That's what the mobility instructer is there for.
> I'm not able to get any mobility practice and getting myself prepared to
> get
> a guide dog unless I have a mobility instructer assisting me with the 
> steps
> that are required.
> I hope to hear from you soon.
> Sincerely,
> John Sanders
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael Hingson
> Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 12:33 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] mobility independence question
>
> Hi,
>
> Your mobility instructor read over what report?  Also, as someone else
> asked, what do you mean that lights are a problem?
>
> If your mobility instructor were doing her job she would be addressing, or
> have addressed issues of you working with traffic flow.  As far as going
> into buildings and needing assistance in getting to the right bus this is
> vague at best.
>
> It sounds to me as if your instructor needs to stop making up
> classifications like "semi independent" and begin teaching you real
> mobility
> skills.
>
>
> Best,
>
>
> Michael Hingson
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> starmy22 at gmail.com
> Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 07:41 AM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nagdu] mobility independence question
>
> Hi,
> I have a question:  My mobility instructer read over my report and she 
> said
> that I'm a semiindependent.
> The report said that I can successfully cross at stopsigns.
> Lights are a  problem for me.
> Will a guide dog school except some one who is semi-independent?> The
> report
> did say that I use a lot of assistance with getting in to buildings
> especially the bus stations and getting to the right bus numbers.
> I hope to hear from you soon.
> Sincerely,
> John Sanders
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-- 
Raven

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