[Blindtlk] appearing competent/MAINTAINING control

[Steve Jacobson]

Diane,

In the end, you will have to evaluate the options you have and make the choice that you feel causes the least amount of difficulty.  I think that your analysis is right 
on.  In a perfect world, you do not want to be walking with someone.  While your supervisor is coming along anyway, walking with your supervisor is probably less of 
an issue than if you walked with one of the team for which you are acting as mediator.  The latter is really likely to cause problems at some point, and I didn't 
understand you to even say that was an option.

What I would recommend is to get some time to thoroughly explore the root to see if there might be landmarks or other helpful hints that may have been overlooked.  
Getting someone else to spend a little time with you might be helpful, but a clew that might be very helpful to you might not be at all apparent to someone else.  If 
there is a blind person in your area whom you feel is a particularly good traveler, see if they would be willing to check out the route with you.  Even if they are not a 
super traveler, two heads might find answers that one does not find.

Finally, think about whether there might be another route to follow that, while perhaps not the common route, is easier for you to follow.  Even if it is a little longer than 
would normally be walked, you are the boss in these cases and if you are questioned, just saying that this works best for you should be adequate.  Describing the 
route in more detail, particularly the trouble spots, might give us some ideas of things to suggest.

I don't want to come off saying that taking someone's arm would always be wrong.  Sometimes it might be fine depending upon the people involved.  However, you 
don't want to feel you have to take someone's arm, especially when your supervisor no longer accompanies you.  You deserve a pat on the back for anticipating the 
problems that could arise.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 11:13:42 -0400, Graves, Diane wrote:

>Message
>Message
>Good Morning To All,
>I am in desperate need of some input from my NFB family regarding a profession situation which I am at a loss for the most efficient and most independent
>way to deal with.  I will try to explain this in a way that makes sense.  I'm hoping that some of you may have had similar experiences and can advise me
>as to the best way to handle this one.  Okay, here we go.
>I am now in my 17th year of employment with my local Civil Rights Commission.F  For the vast majority of that time I have served the agency in a clerical/secretarial
>capacity.  However for about 1 year or a year and a half now, I have been working as a mediator for the commission.  For those of you who may not know,
>a mediator is someone whose job is to facilitate settlement in cases filed with the commission, eliminating the necessity of going through the lengthy
>investigative and/or legal processes.
>Anyway, sometimes these mediation agreements or settlements are achieved by phone, however more often than not, the mediation process involves an in-person
>conference which lasts several hours.
>At present, I am still conducting these under my supervisor's tutelage/ observation, however, the eventual goal is for me to be flying solo as a mediator.
> Okay, my dilemma is this.
>When an in-person mediation is conducted, it are scheduled in the State Conference Center, which is across the street from the building that my agency is
>in.  The parties first come to the office, then once everyone has arrived, we walk across the street to the conference center together.
>For quite a while, this transition to the Conference Center was being made by my walking sighted guide with my supervisor, he and I leading the participants
>across the street together.  Over time however, it became clear to me that this method was causing feelings of custodial and inferiority detracting from
>my confidence in myself, seeming to make me appear less competent and more dependent.  I viewed this as a real problem, since I was actually supposed to
>be the one in charge of the meeting.  My supervisor, is only there in an observational capacity.
>Eventually I spoke with my supervisor about these feelings, and we agreed that I would be better off and would gain more respect, by leading the party across
>the street myself independently.
>I'll just say here that, as a cane traveler, I considered myself to be somewhere in the middle.  I've met people who could run circles around me with their
>excellent travel skills. At the same time, I've also know many who are much less competent than I.  Overall, I believe my travel skills are average.
>The problem is this.  The route in making this trip across the plaza between the two buildings tends to vary slightly, and is not exactly direct.  There
>are flower pots, and often cars and people to navigate around, and some times there is trial and error and exploration involved. There is also a wide open
>area in this route, where there aren't many if nay landmarks, so it is easy to drift off course in one direction or the other.  Those of us who understand
>nonvisual travel know that it is typical easy enough to correct these slight deviations, however, I think this tend to make the sighted nervous and uncomfortable.
> of course, Of course, if you are able to see exactly what you are dealing with, the route is direct and obstacles are always negotiated smoothly, cleanly
>and go virtually unnoticed.
>During this process, there is a tendency on the part of the sighted to want to offer verbal directions, which of course, makes me nervous, and are sometimes
>distracting.
>There was one time when such well intentioned help got me hopelessly off course, causing great embarrassment to myself, and discomfort to others.  I can't
>acknowledge the dependent appearance of the sighted guide technique, without acknowledging that this latter scenario, made me look equally as incompetent,
>probably much more so.  In this particular instance my supervisor came to the rescue, and we ended up doing the sighted guide thing anyway. By the time
>we got to the conference room that day, I was so embarrassed by what had just occurred, that it was hard to focus on our reasons for meeting in the first
>place.
>I hope I am expressing myself somewhat coherently. (smile)  I'm hoping that I can get some feedback from some of you on how you have handled situations
>similar to this.  Do you think it looks more competent to use the sighted guide technique and walk directly across the plaza and to the conference room?
> Or, do you think it looks better if I am able to do this successfully myself?
>Of course, eventually I'll be doing these mediations on my own, so I don't think it would do at all to have to get a sighted guide from the office to walk
>over with me so that I could maximize directness and efficiency.  I'm at a loss for the best way, here. Any feedback I could get would be greatly appreciated.
>Thanks,
>Diane Graves
>Civil Rights Specialist
>Indiana Civil Rights Commission
>Alternative Dispute Resolutions Unit
>317-232-2647
> 
>"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."--Winston Churchill
> 
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> 
>Diane Graves
>Civil Rights Specialist
>Indiana Civil Rights Commission
>Alternative Dispute Resolutions Unit
>317-232-2647
> 
>"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."--Winston
>Churchill 
> 
>Confidentiality Notice: This E-mail transmission may contain confidential and/or legally privileged information intended only for the individual or entity(ies) named in 
the E-mail address. If you are not the intended recipient, be advised that any unauthorized disclosure, copying, distribution, or acting in reliance upon the contents of 
this E-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail transmission in error, please reply to sender to arrange for the return and proper delivery of the 
transmission. Subsequently, delete the message from your system immediately.
> 
>