Category: Daily Living
Has anyone been to any independence-gaining camps for the blind, such as the one offered by Blind Inc. in Minnesota? What were your experiences? Would you recommend it for the skills you learn? Have any of you been to any camps at the Perkins School for the blind, for independent living? I'm thinking of going to one and would like to know what you think.
Thanks for any info.
All I'm going to say is, places like blind inc are great for people who don't have any skills or would like to better improve upon their skills...
AggotRain, Thanks for the info.
I'm curious as to whether you call it a camp yourself, or if you heard someone else refer to these training centers, agency centers, or schools for the blind as camps. The only programs I have heard referred to as camps usually take place during the summer and are generally shorter in timespan than the time it takes to complete a training center's program.
I went to the Louisiana Center for the Blind in 2011-2012. I couldn't tell you every single thing Igot out of the center because more than likely I would leave something out. A few things I got out of the training include the importance and significance of using non-visual techniques, a more positive philosophy about my blindness and my potential, an understanding of the socially constructed misconceptions about blindness, and the importance and significance of the long white cane and Braille as they pertain to blindness.
Along with Blind Inc in Minnesota, the Louisiana Center for the Blind and the Colorado Center for the Blind are organizations that are supported by the NFB. To put it simply, these centers, along with a few other state agencies believe in an alternative model of rehabilitation called the Consumer Based Model of Rehabilitation, which puts serious emphasis on consumer (student) involvement in all activities and the rehabilitation process itself. This is different from many rehabilitation programs which follow what is the conventional model, where the counselor is assumed to know what is best for the client and takes an authoritative approach over the client.
I mentioned the use of non-visual techniques, and this is enhanced in the training programs using the alternative method by the use of sleepshades. This topic can be very controversial, as opinions of the use of sleepshades are very mixed. However, this is an essential aspect, in that it emphasizes the importance of non-visual techniques, takes away the need to depend on vision that might be more harmful than helpful, emphasizes the importance of proper cane technique, and perhaps most importantly proves that blindness is not a characteristic that holds you back.
I hope this answers some of your questions. Let me know if there's more.
I completely agree with everything the previous poster said. This is not always
an easy program to go through, but worth it if you gain a lot more confidence
from it. I graduated from BLIND, Inc. in 2012.
Ok, let me put something out here just food for thought.
This is 9 months of your life you're giving up, and out of it you have no certificate that means anything to the world at large.
Now if you are actually helpless, or if you are vision-amphibious, either on the way to being blind, or just have some and it's not reliable, you may want to use one of these.
But consider this while you take stock of your situation: *MOST* kids don't leave home with all the so-called "skills" they'll need. Remember, this is an industry, and any industry in the free market has to tell you that you need what they have to offer you. Maybe you do, maybe you don't, so long as it's you and not them that decides.
It's like these kids that want to go to Teen Mania or some other religious program for 9 months, when they should be getting their education and work experience.
What are you going to tell an employer when they ask what you did with those 9 months?
Remember, except those inb the "blindness training" business, either as a provider or a consumer or a consumer's paying sponsor, nobody knows what is being talked about.
Any industry worth its salt on the free market is going to tell you that you need what they've got. That's the only way it gets done on the open market.
The only difference here, is these have the sanction of the Sate and your schools to pose as some sort of authority ... which they are on how their own business runs and their own evaluation of the situation. I gave the same song and dance to my daughter when she thought she wanted to go to some religious unaccredited "school" (I put school in quotes, for speech users). They're not the ones who, when you're 30, have to answer for the time spent, and are on the job market. You are. And, we parents are too, naturally, as it falls to us to pick up the slack.
I'm pretty rational objectivist in my thinking, pretty nonstatist, so I'll admit my bias.
If you want to go to one of these, so long as you understand before you go what it's going to cost you, then go. But go because of one reason only: You know for sure what it is they have to offer, that you wish to acquire. Don't do it unless you find it to be of equitable trade for your situation.
Again, just to be a bit realistic, all this laundry list of so-called "skills"? I know a lot of kids leaving high school headed for college who don't have a quarter of this stuff.
It's not what you know coming out of the gate that matters, it's how you deal with what you don't know. When I used to interview people for technical positions, my way to separate the competent from the slack was to ask them how they're going to manage a situation they don't know anything about.
Just remember, your interest and theirs may or may not intersect. If it does, and the cost is what you are willing to shell out in time and loss of credentials, then prepare to make an equitable exchange in trade. And if you're still under age, prepare to deliver a rational explanation to your father for why you want to lose 9 months for something you will get no college credit for.
I went to a summer program as a teenager throught the carroll center for the blind in Newton Mas. I did computing for college, and youth in transition. The computer part was 2 weeks, and built on skills I already had, working with excell, power point, current scanning software and the like along with basics on hardware. Youth in transition was 4 weeks of the summer right afterword. It was helpful to me. They had us working on daily living skills, cooking londry including teaching ironing, some finance skills, some organizational skills showing us what was available, and some craft work. It was a minny form of what they offer to adults in a much longer form. So maybe this is what is meant by camp. It had that sort of atmosphere and included field trips, and different activities in the evenings. I was sixteen, and really enjoyed and appreciated what I learned. Sleep shades were not required at the carroll center, but they seperated us in small groups or sometimes as indeviduals to work on our skill level.
Most kids aren't in the unique position of being blind or visually impaired, so
these centers and other in-state summer camps are available to help blind and
V I people obtain or expand on the alternative techniques they probably weren't
taught or given enough instruction in during the academic year. In a way, this is
education, but people come out of the centers with a new way of coping with
the vision loss and the tools to handle daily life no matter how poor their
eyesight. I went in without any usable vision, but damn was my confidence in
using the white cane shot to hell because I had had the dog for years at that
point. In general, my confidence in myself was almost nonexistent. If it wasn't
for the training center in Minnesota, I would not be on my own and going back
to school at the present time. they pushed me out of my comfort zone and I'm
glad for it. each program or summer camp is going to have its strengths and
weaknesses; it's up to you what you want out of the kind of instruction you're
looking for. Research, research, research, and don't be afraid to ask questions.
Post four summed it up quite nicely.
I agree with Leo. Not everyone has perfect skills, but that doesn't necessarily mean you need these programs. All I'm trying to say is it's not the be all and end all.
However, if you really think it would benefit you then you should definitely do your research. What approach do the different centers use? How long are the programs? Are they flexible to your needs? These are all things you should probably consider.
Are your state rehab services good enough to meet your needs? For some people this is a big no, and so they do go out of state.
I'm not trying to say these programs aren't valuable, just different people need different things. Some will benefit from some in state training in specific areas, others need the lengthier, live-in programs.
Yes, just so happen, I am starting college where LCB is located, and I still have three more months left of rehab training to complete. All I really need is more confidence in O&m, so will work with probably next month on this. Structured discovery has it's cons, but I think it works in this situation. Although I just said all that, I am still not an NFB fanatic.
I will also like to point out, they will try to pressure you into doing it all their way, but like others said, you know what you need and don't. I know I only need help with o&m, so just so happens the way I wanted things to go worked out. Cooking and that sort of thing can be done if you just learn the basics, and you can learn that stuff at a local center, that places like LCB would be against, but...anyways...
Thanks to everyone for all the replies. When I said Camps in my original post, I meant summer programs. Thanks to everyone for all of the input.
Leo has some valid points -- especially for those who ask their VR agency for funding/sponsorship to attend an orientation center and are refused, it is very costly. It also requires time that is spent out of school and away from family. It is important to consider the cost, and it is also essential to consider how you will benefit in the long run. It is important to take some time to think about where you want to improve, and to research what the training center has to offer as well as to become familiar with that center's philosophy. As the saying goes, one size does not fit all. I personally am a supporter of the NFB philosophy because of my experiences at LCB. Many VR agencies are apprehensive about sending their clients to NFB orientation centers based on differences in philosophical beliefs as well as historical feuds that the American Foundation for the Blind and rehabilitation agencies had with the Organized Blind. Many blind people also refuse to attend an NFB center based on bad experiences they have had with members of the NFB. I think that most people (including myself) begin training with apprehension because of socially constructed misconceptions about blindness, as well as the attitudes that rehabilitation professionals and other "blindness professionals" have about blindness. Another difference between agencies for the blind and NFB training centers is that the NFB training centers devote time (often referred to as seminars) to discussing the attitudes of people and society about blindness. Prior to attending LCB, I never had such discussions with any VR counselor or rehabilitation professional, nor did I talk about it at summer camps or programs for the blind.
My thoughts were somewhat scattered throughout this post, so I apologize if some points I made didn't flow well.
Here's the crux.
If one group really outpaced the other, feuds would not matter. Not to your rational sponsor of a father or government agency or the like. I don't mean experiences or testimonials. Experiences matter when it comes to your own personal decisions, when you're operating autonomously. That means when you're paying for it. But the actual data, not "stowies," has to match the cost.
So at something like 30 grand, there'd better be some return that is tangible and relevant.
Don't believe me? Look at all these people getting worthless degrees and then ending up upside down in student debt, with no job prospects except maybe at an obscure activist bookstore in their own echo chamber.
That's life on the free market.