Her authoritative tone rang out and not for the first time, “Steven, turn back and do it again, the correct way!” I could see nothing but blackness in front of me as I thought, not for the first time; you have got to be kidding me this whole exercise is a waste of my time.
I grumpily turned my 5’6” frame 180 degrees and started back down the hallway. My right hand held my black support cane (complete with a flames decal near the tip) and my left hand tightly gripped the 5’6” white cane that thudded angrily against the wall tap- tap- tap.
I couldn’t understand their reasoning; for this. “Why am I being forced to act like I am totally blind’ using an unhelpful, unfoldable white cane that was much taller than I needed? They wanted me to use that cane in addition to the cane I use to support myself and wear a blindfold. How could these skills help me in college?”
I attended the state-run Division for Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBBVI) in Salt Lake City, Utah for a couple of months and from day-one had been shown how to live my life; because as I was constantly reminded, “you don’t know what you want.” I was shown how to, and forced to walk and talk like someone who could only rely on four of their senses.
The underlying problem with these centers is their narrow minded one size fits all approach. These centers ignore the abilities of the individual in their zeal to help everyone succeed. In addition these centers fail to recognize that their definition of success differs greatly from what the individual may see as success. An illustration of this difference can be seen clearly in their mission statement.
The philosophy of most of those staffing at this and many other centers nationwide is
“The use of sleep shades (blindfolds) is essential for any blind person, who has any residual vision, to learn effective, non-visual techniques for travel. It is most helpful in learning to use other environmental cues such as sound and tactile feedback to travel. Many people have vision that is progressively declining and it is important that they feel confident in their own travel skills without needing vision. There is commonly expressed idea that the more vision you have, the better off you are, this is false; vision is not a requirement for success!”-Mission Statement
While I can see their point that if anything happens to someone’s vision, this training would be beneficial to show you how to survive as a blind person; the way they go about practicing this ideal is not effective. They want the group of students being taught to be very homogeneous even though each person has various degrees of multiple handicaps and life goals.
The majority of the staff come from the NFB (i.e. the National Federation for the Blind). Those who disagree with the policies of the way the center is run are subject to constant ridicule by the staff and teachers. As a result many people with vision problems are unable to get the assistance that they are so desperately in need of.
The theories of the center are one-size-fits-all in a world of individual needs, goals, and abilities. One thing about a person with "special needs" is that from one handicapped person to the next, you will be hard pressed to find someone with the same hardships, limitations, and abilities. Therefore training needs to be "personalized”. They advertise that it is personalized training, but once you start... surprise.... you must do as you are told, because they know best as you are too dumb and inexperienced to know what you need and want out of your life. As I, a 20 year-old adult was reminded of on more than one occasion.
In addition to having to endure constant ridicule and reminders that you are “not a team player” and classes that were anything but beneficial for those with limited vision. Because of the teacher’s narrow minded one-size-fits-all approach, those at the center were required by their instructors to participate in “cane related activities”.
One of these activities involved going to the state capital. Employees and students were routinely carted up to the state capital during the most recent legislative session and were required to wear eye shields and use non-folding white blind canes to look as pitiful as possible even though many were partially sighted and could get along without these devices. All of this took place during scheduled class time. If you did not question these policies and decisions, it seemed as though you were given preferential treatment in receiving services. The individual seeking help should be able to be dealt with by professionals who will address their specific needs as they strive to become more independent.
There are a few organizations that realize that there are better ways to provide help and services to individuals who are visually impaired. Their philosophy is they want to help visually impaired people succeed in life by using the sight they have. Some of these solutions for individuals could be as simple as finding the right kind of reading lamp, reading glasses, other optical aids, or perhaps the use of a monocular for seeing objects at a distance. Those who staff these centers recognize that everyone is unique in their needs. They will work on a one-on-one basis with you to find what aids will assist you best.
If you want to learn how to travel without the hindrance of a blindfold and ridiculously tall white cane, there is hope! For those who want to learn mobility skills these centers will even come to your home and teach you the skills you need to be able to travel with complete confidence around your streets independently. Getting these services can be costly and sadly many cannot afford it. Thankfully, due to a generous heart I have enjoyed a few hours of this style of training and found it to be the most effective training a visually impaired person can receive.
I am not suggesting that these state rehabilitation centers be done away with, rather that these centers better understand what the patron’s needs are and do their best to address their specific issues rather than the one-size-fits-all, blindfold everyone approach.
I understand the reasoning for why these centers operate the way they do. I do see wisdom in the idea that if anything were to happen to one’s limited vision, these skills would be valuable, but again it is not right for these instructors to have the “do it my way or go to Hell” attitude when dealing with those who have vision problems and different needs who just want to live their lives the way they wish to.
