My newest student is learning how to use a cane so today I showed her how to stay in step. This is my first time teaching someone cane techniques from scratch, so I'm anxious to do it right and keep my student from developing any bad habits. So far seems to be going well.
Steve was out today so I took on one of his students who also happens to have Usher Syndrome. She has a low vision evaluation next week (I'm going with her to the appointment), so I took the opportunity to talk with her about that. I shared that I was a fellow Usher so we also talked about hearing aids, life with RP, driving, how to cross streets when you can't hear the traffic that well, etc. It will be interesting to see how Steve addresses street crossings with this student.
Another one of my students happens to have a hearing loss on her right side but she is in denial about it. I brought it up in her progress report today, and she asked me to remove that information because she doesn't want anyone to know about it. She had a hearing aid when she was younger but she didn't like wearing it. I talked to her about my own hearing loss and how hearing aids have helped me, in the hopes that it would sway this student's thinking. She was pretty adamant though and doesn't want to have another hearing test or anything to do with hearing aids. My concern is that she can't hear traffic very well on her right side, so I really have to get her to understand to pay attention to that side.
Yesterday I taught two of my students how to travel on the stairs using a cane. Both were very nervous about it, but we took our time and by the end I could tell they were feeling more confident. They both had the technique down pretty well too. Hooray!
Last night I went to Walmart with the dorm group and worked with my student who is a good cane traveler. I haven't been able to go on this Walmart trip for several weeks (it's every Wednesday), so I was glad to be able to go last night. This student likes having a lot of information about his surroundings and is good at developing mental maps. I told him about the cardinal directions of the store, where the different sections of the store were, what the different textures on the floor meant, and how the main pathways were laid out in the store.
While this student is pretty smart, he definitely needs to work on self-advocacy and giving appropriate directions/guidance to whomever is assisting him. I'll just say that shopping with him was interesting: "what exactly are you looking for? Do you want the toothbrush with the rubbery things on the side, soft bristles, medium? Does your face wash come in a blue bottle? No, multivitamins aren't one brand." Oy vey.
Several weeks ago, this student told me that if someone came up to him and grabbed his arm to "help him", he'd just go along for the ride because that's the nice thing to do. So of course I taught him the Hines Break and threatened some kind of retaliation if I saw him "going along for the ride" again. Ok, not really, but I think he got the point.
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