[nfbwatlk] tell me your thoughts, please.
Mary Ellen
gabias at telus.net
Thu Mar 20 16:46:44 CDT 2008
When I was in Nebraska, a young man whom everyone thought was destined for
life in an institution attended the Orientation Center. He had trouble with
processing ideas and a lot of trouble reasoning about how to get around and
his spatial skills were almost nonexistent. During his training, he got it
into his head that he could get where he wanted to go independently. He also
decided he could support himself. The last time I saw the man, he was living
on his own and working as a dishwasher in a restaurant. I still don't know
how he did it. His travel technique could best be described as "poke and
hope." Some also described him as using the "scythe technique." It was not a
thing of classic beauty, but it was real beauty.
I also know a woman with amazingly graceful movements. She was able to
detect obstacles in her path and moved with poise around them. Because her
ability to detect obstacles was so great, she usually didn't even need to
contact them with her cane. She regarded herself as extremely disabled by
her blindness. The last time I heard about her, she was living at home with
her mother and not doing much.
I don't believe attitude is everything. Without the intensive work of the
orientation center, the young man I mentioned would have been in an
institution, even with his strong desire to succeed. You do need at least
some level of skill. On the other hand, sheer determination can make up for
a lot of lack in skill. Our job is to help the determined get the chance to
acquire skills and to help those who doubt themselves acquire the necessary
determination to live to the fullest.
-----Original Message-----
From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: March 19, 2008 10:19 PM
To: NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] tell me your thoughts, please.
Amen Mike!
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 8:06 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] tell me your thoughts, please.
> Dan:
>
> I suspect that in our zeal to correct the bias toward lowered
> expectations among O&M professionals, we have at times tended to
> almost overemphasize full-on structured discovery and attempted to
> impart spatial awareness even when the blind subjects of our
> ministrations were incapable of it; we have too often seen the
> detrimental results of lowered expectations. On the other hand, O&M
> professionals have too often gone the other way, assuming that simply
> by virtue of their blindness, blind persons as a class are incapable
> of spatial awareness and reasoning out problems while traveling.
>
> Both extremes are, of course, not in accord with reality. Life is
> seldom that clear-cut. the trick is to recognize this truth and to
> apply it in particular instances while giving those whom we are
> attempting to help the chance to prove our expectations wrong.
>
> Mike Freeman
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Frye, Dan
> To: NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
> Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 8:23 AM
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] tell me your thoughts, please.
>
>
> Carl:
>
> I tend to agree with your ultimate but reluctantly accepted
> conclusion that some blind people, like everybody in general, may
> have fundamental deficits with direction, spacial orientation, or
> something else entirely. It is comforting, however, to know that you
> have come to this
> conclusion reluctantly because it suggests that you acknowledge that
> teaching a tough subject can be challenging and that you are loath to
> set low expectations for your students when they are faced with
> something difficult to master. I'd urge you to continue working on
> this
> assumption as you teach, not foreclosing the possibility that some
> students may simply be slower than others to grasp a skill set or may
> simply be late bloomers.
>
> Once you have exhausted reasonable efforts to teach spacial
> orientation techniques (a skill set that does serve to enhance
> independence and personal efficiency for blind people in particular
> if they have it), the
> next step, it seems to me, is to identify what teachable compensating
> techniques may exist that you can share with such a student. Perhaps
> simple route training from destination-to-destination would be
> helpful.
> This technique is not ideal, of course, for cultivating personal
> flexibility, but might nevertheless enable somebody to support
> themselves through employment. Perhaps developing a network of friends
> and acquaintances to help the student when they become disoriented may
> be another. I certainly can't begin to generate a complete list of
> alternatives to not having good spacial orientation, but identifying
> and
> teaching these compensatory skills seems the only thing to do where
> one
> is unable to master a skill that most accept as being an important
> ability for independent blind people to possess.
>
> I do not think that a weakness or deficit in an area of particular
> value for general independence necessarily will render a person
> unable to live
> an independent life; I do think, though, that it will make it more
> difficult for somebody to be as independent as others who have such a
> skill. But independence levels and used alternative techniques vary
> for
> everybody, even among the most independent of us. While the analogy is
> not exactly comparable, it can be fairly said that one with Dyslexia
> would be able to achieve greater independence and learning with more
> ease if they could read, but being absolutely unable to overcome this
> deficit, use of other generated compensatory techniques will allow
> them
> to function with some significant degree of independence.
>
> Mostly, I think the blind community can be incredibly judgmental of
> one another, and I believe that we should all work harder to
> recognize the individual efforts that most of us take to represent
> ourselves and our community in the best light that we can, given our
> individual skill sets
> and access to blindness training. I am not interested in debating the
> incidental question of whether or not we have an obligation to worry
> about representing our community well as blind people; I simply
> believe
> that we do have such an obligation and that most responsible and
> mature
> blind people know and accept this fact as true and inevitable. We all
> succeed or fail in this obligation from time-to-time depending on our
> mood, day, and a variety of factors, but most people that I respect
> understand that being a good ambassador for blindness is important for
> the promotion of a positive image for themselves and others in our
> community.
>
> Being one who has limited spacial orientation, I thought I'd write to
> generally concur with your view. As I emphasized at the first, though,
> I'd stick to your general reluctance to give up too quickly on
> teaching spacial orientation skills or other hard subjects. Accepting
> that somebody simply has a deficit that absolutely cannot be overcome
> without
> considerable effort to teach it or investigate what the problem is may
> lead you down the road of resignation, low expectations, or less than
> optimal alternatives before it is necessary to take such a path.
>
> With Kind Regards,
>
>
> *******************
> Daniel B. Frye, JD.
> Manager of Affiliate Action--Advocacy and Training
> National Federation of the Blind
> Department of Affiliate Action
> 1800 Johnson Street
> Baltimore, Maryland 21230
> Telephone: (410) 659-9314 Ext. 2208
> Cell: (410) 241-7006
> Fax: (410) 659-6893
> Email: dfrye at nfb.org
> Website Address: www.nfb.org
> "Voice of the Nation's Blind"
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
> Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 10:05 AM
> To: nfbw
> Subject: [nfbwatlk] tell me your thoughts, please.
>
> Following is an article published in both the WCB Newsline and the
> Braille Forum. I post it here to ask for reactions...positive or
> negative...but honest. Thanks.
> Carl
> *****
>
> LOST IN SPACE
>
> by Carl Jarvis
>
> Have you ever wondered how it is that one blind person
> can be dropped off in the middle of a strange city and find his way
> home, while another blind person can't find his way out of a broom
> closet if he has both hands on the doorknob? For more than 32 years
> I have been working with blind people of all ages, shapes, sizes and
> abilities. During those years I have compiled a pile of mostly
> unscientific, useless information. But one most puzzling question
> keeps recurring. Why is it that some blind people get lost in their
> own shoes, while others seem to have a built-in sonar system?
>
> It appears to have nothing to do with when they became
> blind, their age or education or whether they are left-brain,
> right-brain or no-brain. So, for many years I concluded that it was a
> matter of developing the correct teaching technique. My early
> indoctrination was straightforward. The average blind person, with
> proper training and attitudes, could do just about anything.
>
> So, when I applied my magic to my students and nothing
> happened, I considered that it was my failure, not theirs. I just had
> not found the right combination of teaching tools to successfully
> complete the training. Remember the old saying, "A doctor buries
> his/her mistakes"? Not so for the rehab teacher. Our
> mistakes/failures keep bumping into us at meetings, conventions, and
> knocking at our doors
> requesting more training. Since many of us rehab teachers are
> rescuers
> by nature, we roll up our sleeves and try, try again, invariably
> ending
> up with the same results. People were coming to us, lost in space and
> seeking help. And our inability to resolve this problem began to
> impact
> all phases of their rehabilitation training. Instead of aiming them
> toward success, we were pointing them to the door marked,
> "Destination:
> Failure."
>
> Over the years I was absolutely certain that somewhere,
> somehow, there existed the right approach for teaching spatial
> awareness to blind people. My wife, and fellow rehab teacher, had
> never shared my
> belief. Despite discussing and debating this issue many times, my mind
> was made up. I simply could not accept that there are some skills that
> cannot be taught. Finally the light clicked on when Cathy, trying to
> illustrate her point, said, "You know, Carl, you have no sense of
> rhythm. And despite all these years of trying, you still can't follow
> the beat. You sing just fine but you're totally lost in the song,
> which
> is better, and safer, than turning you loose on the dance floor."
> This
> brought to mind my mother. She was tone-deaf. We always said that
> Mother
> sang the tune the old cow died on. She had about three notes, and yet
> she loved music. And I loved music, too. How was it that Mother and I
> could be serious music lovers but not be able to hum or dance to the
> tune?
>
> Of course the answer is that humming and dancing are not
> central to music appreciation. And then it hit me: I was focused on
> the wrong goal. Regardless of whether it could be taught, spatial
> awareness
> is not central to leading a successful, independent life. Not only was
> I
> busy trying to teach people to develop a skill which they did not
> possess, but worse yet, I was implying that without this skill they
> could not be successful, independent people. Just because a kangaroo
> can hop doesn't mean I can teach him to fly. Nor does he need to fly
> to
> reach his goal. And just because a blind person can get from point A
> to
> point B does not mean that I can teach him spatial awareness. Some of
> our brains are simply not set up to work that way.
>
> This was a hard concept for me to wrap my mind around.
> Over the years I watched many blind people travel about and arrive at
> their destination. Some did it with ease, while others did it by
> trial and error. I figured that the trial and error folks just needed
> to practice
> harder and pay closer attention to what they were doing. It never
> occurred to me that just getting there was a major success for the
> spatially challenged. The truth is I had no clue as to what these
> folks
> were struggling with. Think of trying to teach a blind man to see. We
> could put him through the same drills that we use for all sighted
> folks.
> Over and over we could force him to peer and strain, finally giving up
> in frustration. We might feel that we had not pushed him hard enough.
> He
> would be left with the feeling that he was incompetent. In the end,
> we
> had programmed him for a life of failure.
>
> But of course we know that a blind man cannot be taught
> to see. Even if his eyes move, and he blinks and sheds tears, he is
> missing something that cannot be taught. This absence must be
> accommodated if he
> is to function independently in life. This is exactly the same course
> of action needed for the spatially challenged. Trying to teach them
> techniques that work for the spatially aware will only frustrate them.
> What is needed is a set of alternative techniques that will assist
> them
> in accommodating their different approach to space.
>
> Whether we are blind or sighted, I believe that there are
> great differences in how our brains process spatial information.
> Sighted people accommodate this difference, unaware that it even
> exists. But without sight, this difference becomes a major problem
> for the spatially challenged. It is essential that we develop
> positive alternative techniques which will enable people to function
> successfully
> in their environment, allowing them to fulfill their goals to live
> productive, independent lives.
>
>
>
> *****
> _______________________________________________
> nfbwatlk mailing list
> nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbwatlk
>
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