Conducted by Denise Mackenstadt, NOMC
Orientation and Mobility Specialist
National Orientation and Mobility Certified instructor, Washington State, and active, longtime member of the National Federation of the Blind.
When: Saturday, May 7, 2011. 10 AM to 4 PM.
Where: Victoria, BC, venue to be confirmed.
Go anywhere you want to go, whenever you want to.
On your own with the long white cane.
Denise Mackenstadt will discuss the Structured Discovery method of travel training for blind people, which differs from the conventional, route based method of travel teaching. The Structured Discovery approach is the method taught at the three NFB training centres in the United States and the graduate degree program (national orientation and mobility certification, NOMC), offered through the Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness at Louisiana Tech University.
The “Find Your Freedom” workshop will include information about the
Structured Discovery technique, discussion, questions and answers and actual practice of this method.
If you do not already have one, long white canes will be available at the event.
With the support of a generous grant from Coast Capital Savings, the Canadian Federation of the Blind is hosting this event as part of its mentoring program.
Transportation grants to get to this event are available.
We welcome blind youth and adults of all ages to join us. We also encourage parents of blind children to come and learn.
Please RSVP.
Canadian Federation of the Blind
PHONE: (250) 598-7154, or TOLL-FREE: 1-800-619-8789
E-mail: info@cfb.ca
More about the Structured Discovery Method of Travel Teaching
Structured Discovery teaches routes Using Critical Thinking and Problem Solving and helps the student build transferable skills.
This approach gives the student the skills to become a confident and
independent traveler, without the need to rely on an instructor.
The student learns to use clues in the environment, such as the directional sounds of traffic, texture changes, landmarks, and other pieces of information to determine direction and routes independently.
Another aspect of the “structured-discovery” method involves the use of sleep shades, or (blindfolds).
There are several reasons for and benefits of using sleep shades while teaching and learning cane travel.
Because people with some residual vision tend to use that vision as their primary sense, the goal is for the student to learn techniques that are non-visual in nature. The student’s residual vision often becomes a strong deterrent to learning; it interferes-sometimes subconsciously-with the student’s ability to develop the knowledge and skills of non-visual travel. Relying on limited vision can also cause mental and physical fatigue. Thus learning nonvisual techniques to complement ones vision can help tremendously to increase a person’s independence.