My FIRST Blind Client

 

I’ve got to write this down before I forget it – and I know I will, at least a little.  Yesterday, I was part of my first O&M lesson with a blind adult!  ALL this studying and practice and practicum…and I FINALLY got to see it in action.  It was so cool.

Peter Porter is an O&M Specialist in Fresno, for the school district…for the blind babies (ages 0-3, a very specific population).  He does that more than full time…but he also contracts with the Department of Rehab with the state of California to do O&M for blind adults.  He is so busy that he doesn’t get to that as often as he’d like…but he squeezes it in evenings and weekends.  He doesn’t know of anyone else in the area that contracts with them (sad for the adults who need services!).  Anyway, I asked Peter to be my Master teacher for the 220 hours I have to do an Adult Internship…and he said he would.  He essentially wants to let me take his adult clients and he will oversee it! I’m hoping I like it because there is some great flexibility doing contract work and you can charge the department of rehab about $60 per hour for services.

 

So yesterday, Peter and I met with Nathan.  Nathan is a 40-something blind man – blind since birth from Retinopathy of Prematurity.  He has had a hard life in many ways…and lives alone at this point.  He uses a cane and knows how to get only extremely familiar places, like friend’s houses.  But he really does avoid much travel because he’s not that confident doing street crossings in busy areas – and he lives in a busy area (Blackstone in Fresno).  He is eager to learn, doesn’t get discouraged by little mistakes or contacting too many obstacles…and seems willing to listen to feedback.

 

I was so curious how the whole thing would feel.  I wondered if I would even know what to think/say or what I would do if I were the instructor had Peter not been there.  We spent nearly two hours together, traveled to a Starbucks for him to get a coffee…great incentive to do a lesson.  A point of interest!  A reason to get out!  Need that motivation.  I mostly observed.  Asked some questions.  Got to know him personally a little and even interjected some thoughts when it felt appropriate. 

 

I was most surprised and pleased by the fact that I felt comfortable.  I actually felt like I knew what I was doing.  Knew what to look for.  Knew how I would instruct/correct/suggest improvements.  It gave me an extra appreciation for the program I’ve gone through and the amazing teachers I’ve had.  Peter actually was taught by these same teachers, years ago…which is why he has such confidence in me.  He said “If Wendy was your teacher…then you know what you’re doing!”.  He wants to meet with me and Nathan two more times and then wants Nathan to continue to be my client through the summer!  Exciting and a little scary.  I mean, it is a HUGE responsibility to teach someone skills that their life can depend on!

 

When we crossed Blackstone the first time, we made it across with no seconds to spare.  Not because Nathan was slow…but because during rush hour, the busy street gets precedence and the cross street gets as short a time to cross as possible…so traffic doesn’t back up.  Called a traffic actuated signal.  And the pedestrian needs to know this so they can gauge their crossing accurately.  I asked Nathan if he had ever learned to stop at the median and wait for the next cycle to bring him a green light again.  He said no and wondered why he’d ever need that.  I explained that, on busy streets, sometimes it is safer to go halfway and wait on the median than to HOPE you get all the way across.  Well, on the way back, we were crossing Blackstone again and as he crossed over the median, his cane contacted an idling car and threw him off a bit.  He was just about to navigate around it and proceed on his way, but the light was showing the solid “don’t walk” sign and Peter decided to have him wait at the median – just as I had talked about.  So we taught him how to use that strategy and it was cool for him to actually see it in action and understand that it was even an option.  I gave him a ton of praise (which is so necessary) for how awesome he was traveling in such a crazy environment…and told him that he’s obviously not the only one who ever has to wait on the median because there is a pedestrian button ON the median just for that purpose!  It was so cool.

 

I’m looking forward to what else Nathan and I can learn from each other :-)  In two weeks, I get to meet a 90 year old blind woman who walks several miles a day and needs more cane skills!  So cute!!