[Nfbf-l] Iowa decision goes against dog users

[Jody W. Ianuzzi]

I have a real problem with this decision.  If a person makes the decision to 
use a guide dog then that decision should be respected.  The training 
program can enhance this training rather then rejecting it.

it strikes me that the training center is taking a 'we know best' attitude 
and this custodial attitude towards  approach of a training center is the 
very reason the NFB was established in the first place.

Good cane skills are a prerequisite to getting a guide dog in the first 
place and both cane travel and guide dog work can be improved at the same 
time.  many people are in a situation where they can't leave their dogs 
behind and a prolonged absence will greatly hurt the bond and training of 
the guide dog.

I think it is very wrong that a training center for blind people is so 
bluntly discriminatory against guide dogs.  Any place else would be 
accountable.

JODY


Jury finds Iowa Department for the Blind's Guide Dog Policy Does Not
Discriminate

             Des Moines.  A Polk County jury has rejected a Des Moines
woman's claim that the State of Iowa Department for the Blind
discriminated against her by refusing her request to use a guide dog
while she attended the Department's orientation and adjustment training
program.

             The Department for the Blind orientation and training
program is a comprehensive program that utilizes a totally non-visual
approach to teaching blindness skills.  Students with partial vision are
required to wear eyeshades to prevent reliance upon any visual cues
during training.  Department policies prohibit the use of any visual
aids within the orientation and training program, including guide dogs.
The Department has no objection to guide dogs in other situations.

             Stephanie Dohmen, who is legally blind, attended the
program for several months beginning in September 2000 and sought to
re-enter the program in June 2002 accompanied by her guide dog.

             Dohmen claimed in her lawsuit that the Department's policy
violated her rights under the Iowa Civil Rights Act and under federal
laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability.

             After a six-day trial, the eight-person jury rejected
Dohmen's claims in a verdict entered Wednesday.

             The Department for the Blind, which
was represented in the trial by the Iowa Attorney
General's Office, argued that a totally
non-visual approach - and training without
assistance of a guide-dog or other visual aids -
is the most effective approach for
visually-impaired persons who are learning skills
and techniques for dealing with blindness.

             The Department places no limitations
upon the use of guide dogs in other settings,
including in the Department for the Blind
building in downtown Des Moines.   For example,
Karen Keninger, the Director of the Department,
uses a guide dog, and the dog accompanied
Keninger during her testimony at the trial.

             The orientation program typically
includes about six months of full-time training
in various problem-solving skills, such as
cane-travel on public streets, using Braille,
using computers, and dealing with many other situations.

             The Department for the Blind's
orientation and adjustment program was
established in 1959 and is considered by many to
be one of the most effective in the country.

             During the trial, the State
Department for the Blind presented testimony from
Joanne Wilson and Frederic K. Schroeder, each a
former Commissioner of the U.S. Rehabilitation
Services Administration, which oversees programs
for the blind around the country.

             "Iowa's orientation program
profoundly changes lives," said Wilson, who also
is Executive Director of the National Federation
of the Blind.  "It works.  It's a cutting-edge
program and a model for other states."  Wilson is
a Webster City native and ISU graduate who went
through the Iowa Department for the Blind's orientation program herself.

             Schroeder said:  "To me the central
point is that individuals have a choice in the
type of training they take.  While programs must
and should make reasonable accommodations, they
cannot be required to alter the fundamentals of the program."


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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