The following essay was written as part of
a “Point/Counter-point” column on the question “Can Persons Who Are Blind or
Have Other Disabilities Safely and Effectively Teach Orientation and Mobility?” The column included two authors on each side
of the debate. This essay responds to
arguments in opposing essays that 1) blind O&M specialists would not be
able to handle clients who, because of emotional problems, try to run away from
the O&M instructor, and 2) the instructional program would require fundamental
alteration because of the necessity of blind O&M specialists to teach only
certain parts of the curriculum.
Until relatively recently, I thought that
the only way by which students could learn to travel independently is to teach
them the way I was taught 25 years ago.
This includes a stage in which the instructor is at an intermediate
distance (about 6-10 feet) from the student.
At this distance, the sighted instructor can still monitor and intervene
quickly if needed while the student experiences pseudo-independence. I also thought that O&M specialists must
be able to teach all visually impaired students in all situations. Because I thought that a blind person could
not monitor and provide for safety from an intermediate distance in all situations
(for example where noises made it impossible to hear the student), I thought
that blind people could not teach O&M.
I think that everyone, even those of us
who teach blind people to use alternative techniques, has difficulty accepting
that things can be accomplished effectively in ways other than those to which
we are accustomed. During the last
several years, however, I have slowly opened my mind, and most recently my
thinking was rechanneled by working with a panel of three O&M specialists
who have disabilities: Pam Matheson, who uses a wheelchair (see "Teaching O&M from a Wheelchair"), Harold Snider, who
is blind, and Ray Van Zleer, who has a hearing disability.
We discovered that O&M specialists
with various disabilities share certain strategies for teaching O&M. However, most of these strategies are really
variations of what all effective O&M specialists do. These strategies are that they:
1) carefully investigate the area where they are going to teach. In addition to environmental features that are needed for teaching, Pam looks for wheelchair accessibility, and Harold looks for hazards so that he can anticipate where a person who is at his student's level of competence could be endangered. The areas and conditions that I require in order to teach O&M may be different from those required by O&M specialists with disabilities, but we all have the same need to find and familiarize ourselves with areas where our students can learn safely and where we can teach effectively.
2)
change or abandon their lessons in conditions where they are unable to teach
and provide for safety appropriately.
When loud noises from lawnmowers or construction begin while Harold is
teaching sidewalk travel to students who still require monitoring for safety,
he monitors them from a closer position or moves the lesson to another
place. When the sidewalk where Pam
planned to teach specific cane skills is made inaccessible to her because of
temporary construction, she comes back at another time or finds another area to
teach those skills. I have also had to
change or abandon lessons in which I wanted to teach a particular skill because
temporary conditions, such as construction, traffic, or weather, made it
impossible for me to do so.
3)
teach in conditions where they can monitor and intervene as needed to provide
for the student's safety, until they judge that the student can be relied on to
handle hazardous situations independently.
Thus, until they judge that their students have reached this stage,
Harold stays close to his students and Pam teaches where accessibility allows
her to reach her students quickly, or she uses an assistant who can reach her
student under Pam's direction.
We all must judge when our students can
handle hazardous situations independently so that we no longer need to intervene
for their safety. When I judge that my
students have reached this stage and I observe them from a distance, I cannot
intervene if they suddenly do something unexpected, and after they turn the
corner, I have no way of knowing what temporary hazards (such as open manholes)
they may be approaching. If our student
has an accident, it will not be because of the condition of our vision,
hearing, or mobility, it will be because we misjudged that we could allow that
student to travel in situations where we could not monitor and intervene. And, even though blind O&M specialists
may stay close to their students in order to provide for their safety in
situations where I could do so from an intermediate distance, their students
can nevertheless learn to be independent.
4)
function skillfully with their disability and whatever adaptive equipment they
use. For example, blind O&M
specialists need to have excellent travel skills so that at the same time that
they pay attention to what the student is doing, they know whether it is a safe
time to cross the street and whether they and their student are veering. The O&M specialist who uses a wheelchair
must be able to maneuver it skillfully while still concentrating on the
movement and progress of the student. O&M specialists with hearing impairments need to be able to
position themselves to simultaneously observe their student and the environment
(including traffic), communicate effectively, and skillfully use any adaptive
equipment, such as hearing aids.
5) find
out from their students what they see or hear in order to teach them how to use
that vision or hearing. I also rely on
my students' telling me what they can see or hear in order to teach them to use
it. Ray anticipates which sounds his
students are likely to hear and use (such as traffic or other environmental
sounds, and sources of echolocation) and then asks them what they hear; blind
O&M specialists can use the same strategy to teach people to use their
vision.
6)
use an assistant when needed. These
assistants are neither O&M specialists nor certified "O&M
Assistants"; their role, function, and training are specific to the needs
of the instructor and student. Pam uses
assistants in situations where she is unable to accompany her students closely
or ride the bus with them, and where they are learning to use stairs. She trains the assistants, and during the
lessons directs them using hands-free communication equipment. Harold uses an assistant when he wants to
monitor a student from a distance or expedite his familiarization of the
area. Ray occasionally uses assistance
to determine the nature of sounds that he is not able to fully assess himself.
We all have weaknesses, as well as
strengths and specialized skills and knowledge. None of us can be effective instructors for all students in all
situations. Competent O&M
specialists know their limitations, and when the student or situation presents
special needs beyond their capabilities or expertise, they get assistance or
consultation, or they refer the student to another specialist. For example, if my responsibilities included
preventing clients from running away during our lessons, I would require
assistance because I'm not physically capable of catching and restraining
them. I also need more expertise to be
an effective instructor for children who have multiple disabilities, and some
O&M specialists refer or consult with me about their deaf-blind clients.
I am now convinced that, even though
their teaching strategies and techniques may differ from mine, people with
disabilities can effectively teach their students to become independent
travelers while providing for their safety.
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