Deaf-Blind Training, Interpreting & Professional Development
Online Professional Development Created by Susanne Morgan Morrow, MA, CI, CT Do not copy or distribute without permission.
Walk This Way: Appropriate Guiding Techniques with Deaf-Blind People Presenter Dr. Eugene Bourquin, COMS, CLVT, CI & CT
RID CEUs sponsored by Signs of Development, LLC.
Learner Objectives • Become familiar with best practices for safely and effectively guiding consumers who are deaf-blind • Have basic knowledge of the concepts underlying orientation and mobility • Have conversancy with the lexicon (meaning and form) related to travelers who are deafblind
“In sleep I almost never
grope. [In] a crowded street I am self-sufficient, and I enjoy an independence quite foreign to my physical life . . . my soul dons its winged sandal s. . .� -Helen Keller
The foundation of Orientation and Mobility is mastering two skill sets . . .
ORIENTATION Knowing where one is in space in relationship to other objects and persons.
MOBILITY The ability to move from point A to point B . . . safely, efficiently, and with some grace!
When an individual knows both skill sets they have the basic capacity for independent travel.
Deaf-Blind People and O&M • Ms. Victorine Morriseau (1789-1832) was the first known educated deaf-blind person. She received her education in Paris, France. • Julia Brace (1807-1884) lived at the Hartford Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb. • Ms. Laura Bridgman (1829) was admitted to the Perkins School for the Blind in Massachusetts in 1837. • The most famous individual, and the fourth deaf-blind person to be educated was Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968).
WHAT IS COMMON?
They were all women . . . . . . and none ever traveled independently . . . anywhere . . . ever.
A BRIEF LOOK BACK • Blind people have always found ways to travel. The first teachers of travel skills were blind people teaching other blind people. • The earliest formal services for deafblind travelers began at the Industrial Home for the Blind around 1917. • Contemporary O&M programs began in the 1940s for returning blinded veterans.
A BRIEF LOOK BACK • University programs for O&M began in the 1960s; certification followed • Deaf-Blind people first appeared in the O&M literature in 1979; serious research began in late 1980s. • The contemporary O&M curriculum does not address many of the challenges for travelers who are deafblind.
Mobility canes have three purposes: • detect hazards • conduct environmental information • identify the traveler’s visual status
Mobility canes have three purposes: • detect hazards • conduct environmental information • identify the traveler’s visual status
Less than 5% of blind travelers use guide dogs. • dogs perform object avoidance • stop at drop offs • you should not touch, make eye contact, or flirt - defer to the owner.
TRAVEL? HOW? Even people who work daily with deaf-blind people, may never actually see them travel in real environments.
Watch how this deaf-blind woman travels from work to home
Roll the Clip‌. How do those deaf-blind folks get around?
http://www.screenr.com/zFss
GUIDING When your role expands and you take on the added responsibilities when interpreting for a deaf-blind consumer, you will be called upon to perform human guide. Video clips are coming up - presenting some of the techniques for guiding.
GUIDING • You may notice the term “sighted guide”; the preferred and accurate term is human guide. • If you feel that you cannot keep the consumer and yourself safe, do not accept the responsibilities. • Negotiate your responsibility beforehand.
Roll the Clip‌. Intro and basics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY5FmlM0sOs
GUIDING • Deaf-Blind people may have learned human guide differently. • The most challenging subtasks of guiding are the techniques for passing through closed doors and dealing with steps. Be cautious, purposeful, and patient.
Roll the Clip‌. Open and narrow spaces, steps, and doors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZYoRQRYJb0
Roll the Clip‌. Escalators, chairs, vehicles, and more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVCaIK_1HRY
INTERPRETING Interpreting for O&M Instruction • There are approaches that can make the results better. • Collaboration is key. • Plan and preconference.
YOU MAY BE OUTSIDE - Clothing - Where will you stand? Not in the street. - Will you communicate while the student ambulates?
The traffic light dilemma Teacher to student:
“Can you see the traffic light?” Interpreter to student:
[points to traffic light]
Signs: “Can you see???”
MAKING IT WORK • Schedule the time to preconference and post-conference • It may be even more critical to understand the goals of the O&M specialist. • Be prepared to deal with spatial tasks and concepts, and take advantage of the aspects of ASL that lend to clear interpretations. • Approach the O&M specialist as a fellow professional.
ASYNCHRONOUS O&M presents complex ideas, that challenge a student’s intellect, physicality, and safety. Consider consecutive interpreting for many lessons, rather than simultaneous interpreting. Inform, education, and get the buy-in from the O&M specialist. Solicit the agreement of the deaf-blind consumer.
SOME USEFUL LEXICON
You may not recall the words, but you may remember the
CONCEPTS
Cane Techniques Two-point touch: the cane tip taps the ground to the left then to the right Constant contact: the cane tip remains on the ground as it sweeps left and right
O&M Behaviors Shoreline: outside, the traveler with a cane follows a building line or grassline.
Trailing: inside, the traveler with a cane or hand, follows a wall.
Crossing Streets Traffic surge: the forward movement of vehicles after they have stopped at a red light.
Crossing Streets Parallel traffic: the flow of vehicles moving in the same (or exact opposite) direction as the intended path of a traveler.
Key Points for Success To be an effective human guide, preview forward space, and communicate your movements to the follower
O&M
Working with an O&M specialist, be prepared for communicating spatial information and considered consecutives interpreting. Preconference with the O&M specialist, consider your placement during the lesson, and clarify lessons goals.
Thank You! RID Change of Knowledge Evaluation http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/S5VT6DC