[Blindtlk] appearing competent/MAINTAINING control

[Graves, Diane]

You Guys Are Great.  I knew I could count on you for some good
suggestions.

I do have a Dr.'s appointment this morning, but as soon as I get back,
I'm going to go out and explore some of these subtleties that I haven't
previously thought to check out.

I'll let you know what I discover.  Thanks so much again.

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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-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Steve Jacobson
Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2006 5:24 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] appearing competent/MAINTAINING control


Diane,

Is there an edge to this area at all?  For example, could you walk to
the end of the building, follow an edge, grass, a curb, or something to
the other building and then 
walk along that building back to the door?  This next is probably not a
good suggestion, but is there anything on the flower pots that would
help?  If they have a 
square base or legs, possibly something would help you maintain a
straight path.

Are you able to hear your cane echo off the other building enough to
hear the building and walk toward it?  Would a particular cane generate
a louder sound such 
that you might use a different cane only when you are making that trip?
This is one of those problems where it just seems as though there must
be an answer.

On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 16:25:58 -0400, Graves, Diane wrote:

>Hi Steve,

>Thank you so much for your input.  It is very much appreciated.

>You are right.  I wouldn't' deem walking with one of the parties 
>involved in a given case to be acceptable at all.

>I'm trying to think how best to explain the route.  You go out a set of

>revolving doors in my building, and then someone looking at the setup
visually, would say it
was pretty much straight across.  The thing is that if you are traveling
as a blind person you are cognizant of the fact that there are a couple
of large flower urns 
directly in your path, so you have to circle around those, and then
there are a couple of large cement pillars that you have to negotiate
around too, so if you're not 
careful, it's not hard to become slightly  disoriented or off base just
a touch.

>There is a door in the middle of the other building that gets you in 
>closer  the rooms that we typically schedule, but I find that there are
more land marks which
enable me to find the door on the far end of the buildingh, because
there is a wall there that can be used to orient oneself.  Anyway, a
sighted person viewing the 
situation would say that it was  straight across, but in actuality, it
slightly more complicated that then. Youa know!

>Anyway, I do appreciate your thoughts.
>Thanks!
>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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>-----Original Message-----
>From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
>On Behalf Of Steve Jacobson
>Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2006 1:13 PM
>To: NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List
>Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] appearing competent/MAINTAINING control


>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
>> 
>>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.
>> 
>>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.
>> 
>> 




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