Orientation and Mobility
On Thursday Diane Brauner will talk to us about orientation and mobility for people who are blind. Check out this short introduction to O&M before then.
10 Responses to “Orientation and Mobility”
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September 4th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
The article about O&M was very interesting. I knew about some of the aids (guide dog and cane) but I never realized how advanced some things were. The aids with laser beams seemed to be a good thing, they just cost so much. There are probably even more things that we have not even thought of yet.
September 5th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
The Orientation and Mobility Training program is very interesting. This is a wonderful way to help those who need help seeing. I really liked how the article was broken down into different skills. The program has a straight forward plan that enables the blind to be able to accomplish the movement I am blessed with everyday. I found it very interesting that they started the program after WWII for the injured vetrans. I also like that the electronic aids are listed, described, and priced. The idea of the Orientation and Mobility Training is a wonderful tool for those who need a little more encouragment when it comes to seeing.
September 5th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
I believe that The Orientation and Mobility Training program is wonderful. I personally know a visually impaired boy, and I often wonder how he manages daily tasks on his own. I was surprised by all the advanced technology available to visually impaired individuals, and even more surprised by the cost. Can you believe that Wheelchair Pathfinder is $4500?!!?! It was also interesting to find out that this program was initially developed to help WWII veterans who went blind. This program is great because it can help many different groups of people. Not only can it help veterans, and adults, it can help children too. If visually impaired children are exposed to this program early on, it would help them tremendously in future life.
September 5th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
This O and M training is truly a “life in another person’s shoes” situation. I really never realized that a blind person may not be able to associate a honk with a car because they don’t have a visual element; their world is completely different than that of those who do not have visual impairments.
I also have an interesting story to add: I was watching a documentary on a boy who lost both of his eyes to a disease in his retina, and they were replaced with glass. While he was a small boy, his mom was driving him home from school and he said, “Mom, do you see that building?” All of a sudden, his mom started talking to him about the building until she remembered that her son was blind. It turns out that the boy had developed a kind of echolocation; he would click his tongue and could perceive objects based on how fast the sound returned to his ears. He could even make out different kinds of objects, such as coffee mugs, pencils, and cars. He could even roller-blade around objects! If only more research could be made in this field, a new kind of mobility could be put into place where sound waves could be understood based on how fast they return. It sounds far fetched, but doctors say when one sense goes, another is made stronger.
September 6th, 2007 at 12:11 am
The O&M article was very interesting and I learned alot about the senses and how they help us in our everyday life. I also found the technology to be interesting with all the laser devices that were available. After reading this article I know it is definitely going to be interesting trying to find my way around with only a blind fold and cane!!
September 6th, 2007 at 8:15 am
I think the most interesting thing besides why the program was initially created was the fact that advance warning of objects is soooo important. Being able to see, I never thought about how my brain processes ahead of time objects I see in front of me and how far they are before I get to them, all because of my eyes. At first, I was reading the article and was confused as to why all of the technology said something about giving people in need of a sight aid advance warning. Then, I realized, especially on Carolina’s campus where there are loose bricks everywhere and roots and… squirrels, that one can’t just barrel through and walk everywhere without knowing about the bricks that aren’t in the right place or aren’t there at all, or the roots going across the sidewalk. If someone is going to walk anywhere with confidence, they have to know in advance and be able to prepare for the obstacles ahead.
September 6th, 2007 at 9:36 am
First off…I can’t imagine being blind or deaf… I love to see and I definatley like to listen to people! Because of this I had never thought of the devices they would need or the difficulties they overcome everyday. It was a very interesting article to read… it opened my eyes to see other people’s difficulties.
September 7th, 2007 at 11:30 am
As everyone else has said I thought this was a very interesting article. The Orientation and mobility training really sounds like an essential part of a visually impaired person’s life. I thought it was very interesting how it was invented for veterans of wwII. I like how the author of this article suggests activities for non-visually impaired people to experinence the obstacles that visually impaired people face 24 hours a day. It is great empathy training to try to be blindfolded for an entire day and live life normally. By the way the link to the video Chase is talking about is http://youtube.com/watch?v=gkDI_spL0HQ
September 7th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Actually that link didn’t work. Just go to youtube and type in blind and echolocation. That video is awesome.
September 7th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Thanks for the link Walt. I fixed it so it works now. That period on the end got included by the little editor in wordpress.