Sent: Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 3:39 PM
From: Whitney <wmsb07@...>
To: [email protected]
Subject: [OandM] AR-AER's "Spooktacular" Conference

We are?in the final countdown to *AR- AER 's?"Spooktacular" Conference* , which will be held in Rogers, AR.

Pre-conference ( ) : October 25, 2023
Conference: October?26-27, 2023

Be sure and save your seat for the event and register by *October 6th* to receive a complimentary t-shirt!

Check out our conference website ( ) to find all the spooky details, including conference registration, schedule-at-a glance, hotel details, and vendor forms.

We hope to see you there...come if you dare!
AR- AER

On Sep 22, 2023, at 10:22 AM, Sheila Spencer <sheraspencer22@...> wrote:

?Thank you, Susan. I believe my client has a neighbor who is pretty handy and may be able to adapt her walker into a smart walker. I’d love to pass along any info you have.?

Sheila

On Sep 22, 2023, at 7:15 AM, Susan Langendonk <SUSANLANGENDONK@...> wrote:

?

Hi Sheila,? I took a look at this and didn't get the impression that it alerts to obstacles for someone with vision loss, but rather gives some visual information via a laser line that may help the user gauge their steps or possibly see a difference in the laser line that would alert them to an obstacle or step..? I was part of a prototype "smart walker" that engineering students at MSU built for a former student with vision loss that operated more like the laser cane with an audible alert when it detected drop-offs.? I had hoped that someone would take it on as a project to manufacture since it was actually pretty good at its job.? This didn't happen.? If you have someone that's handy, I would share the information (once I find it) since it wasn't all that expensive to build.

Susan

On Fri, Sep 22, 2023 at 9:58?AM Sheila Spencer <sheraspencer@...> wrote:

Good morning -

I have an elderly client who is legally blind and uses a rollator walker due to balance issues. She found a walker online that is supposed to alert her to obstacles.?

Has anyone in the group ever used one of these? I would love to hear feedback.

This client’s neighborhood has no sidewalks. She wants to stay as active as possible and is wondering if this walker would be an option for helping her with curb detection and managing uneven surfaces while walking in the street next to the curb.

Thanks in advance for any information about this device.

Sheila Spencer, COMS

On Sep 22, 2023, at 7:15 AM, Susan Langendonk <SUSANLANGENDONK@...> wrote:

?

Hi Sheila,? I took a look at this and didn't get the impression that it alerts to obstacles for someone with vision loss, but rather gives some visual information via a laser line that may help the user gauge their steps or possibly see a difference in the laser line that would alert them to an obstacle or step..? I was part of a prototype "smart walker" that engineering students at MSU built for a former student with vision loss that operated more like the laser cane with an audible alert when it detected drop-offs.? I had hoped that someone would take it on as a project to manufacture since it was actually pretty good at its job.? This didn't happen.? If you have someone that's handy, I would share the information (once I find it) since it wasn't all that expensive to build.

Susan

On Fri, Sep 22, 2023 at 9:58?AM Sheila Spencer <sheraspencer@...> wrote:

Good morning -

I have an elderly client who is legally blind and uses a rollator walker due to balance issues. She found a walker online that is supposed to alert her to obstacles.?

Has anyone in the group ever used one of these? I would love to hear feedback.

This client’s neighborhood has no sidewalks. She wants to stay as active as possible and is wondering if this walker would be an option for helping her with curb detection and managing uneven surfaces while walking in the street next to the curb.

Thanks in advance for any information about this device.

Sheila Spencer, COMS

On Aug 31, 2023, at 9:11 AM, HOLLINGER, KEVIN via groups.io <kevin.hollinger@...> wrote:

?

I’d be very cautious documenting that you/the team is “ensuring safety” – there is a ton of liability in those two words alone. I personally never say those two words b/c trips, bumps, falls, and wipeouts occur all the time – especially in preschool! You are wanting to promote the child’s safety and that of others – no one can guarantee it – whether for an individual with sight or without. I’d caution you in saying O&M will prevent injury.

Assessment drives instruction so yes, evaluate that kiddo and develop required accommodations or modifications as needed at this time. There are plenty of preschool O&M scales out there (Oregon Project, Oregon Project Preschool Readiness Checklist, New Mexico, etc.) which will help identify a need for instruction and/or consultation. There are a few articles out there about liability – I have them at home somewhere but you can use Google Scholar to search for them with key words of “orientation” and “mobility” and “liability” and you should get results – I used my AERBVI membership to access JVIB where most were published.

Kevin

?

Kevin J. Hollinger
CATIS, COMS, NBCT-ENSVI, TVI?
Francis Howell School District
Vision Program
636-851-6143 voice
636-851-4133 fax

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Schmid, Gina J
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2023 4:05 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [OandM] School Liability

?

Even though there is an assessment in process,? critical needs should be addressed immediately if there is a safety issue during the assessment time to cover everyone's liability I would think- the schools and the O&M assessor.? If the child is unsafe in general due to the visual impairment, then modifications should be in place to insure his/her safety until official assessment recommendations are made.??

?

Gina?

---

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of wmatheson via <wmatheson@...>
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2023 4:41 PM
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [OandM] School Liability

?

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

?

Hello all,

Do any of you have articles or a liability statement about whether a school is covered liability-wise if a young preschooler who is completely blind does not have O&M instruction and falls or gets hurt?? We are in the process of having the student assessed, but there is a question also about the need for O&M for a preschooler.

Whitney

This e-mail transmission from the Francis Howell School District including any accompanying data or files is confidential and is intended only for the use of the named recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, an addressee, or the person responsible for delivering this to an addressee, you are hereby notified that reading, using, copying, or distributing any part of this message is strictly prohibited. If you receive this message in error, or are not the named recipient(s), please notify the sender at the email address above, delete this email from your computer, and destroy any copies in any form immediately. Improper retention of this e-mail and any attachment(s) to this e-mail could subject you to legal action under pertinent federal and state statutes, and result in civil and criminal penalties.

On Aug 31, 2023, at 10:56 AM, Terrie Terlau <terrieter@...> wrote:

Hello everyone,

I am a blind 71-year-old who got two BA degrees, a Master’s degree, and a PH.D. This info is relevant only because it shows that I went through a lot of university cafeterias. I got my first Seeing Eye dog in January of my senior year in college. I had learned to carry a tray in my left hand when I used a cane. However, the first time I went to the cafeteria with my new dog was fairly disastrous. I tried to heel her and use my limited light perception to find a table. As I walked, her face went to the floor and picked up all sorts of crunchy things. I could not correct as I had to keep my tray balanced. I realized I had to do something else.

Over the next few months, I figured out a way to carry a tray and work my dog. I will try to describe what I do.

?

Of course, the tray is in my right arm. My right arm holds the tray on the side and my right hand comes around to the front of the tray and my hand wraps around the tray. I press the tray into my body so that my arm and chest help it stay balanced and take some of the weight. I also hold the tray totally in front of my body, ?not sticking out on the right at all. A dog? may not allow clearance for a few inches of tray sticking out to the right beyond my body. In this position, I can balance the left side of the tray with my left upper arm. Soa the tray is balanced on four sides, with my right and left upper arms, my chest, and my right lower arm and hand in the front. Nowadays I ask someone I’m with to put my drink on their tray or ask someone working there to carry liquid as I follow them to a table. However, back in the day, I often carried my own glass on the tray, grasping the front of the tray with my middle, ring, and little fingers and raising my thumb and index fingers to circle the glass or at least partly circle it. To do this, I always put my glass on the right side of the tray near the front edge.

?

I think it is very reasonable for your student to gain more independence. The bag idea is a good one. If you go this route, I would suggest a cloth bag with a bottom insert, the kind of bag that supermarkets sell for shopping. There needs to be something solid for the food to sit on. It would help if your student used a plate with a lid. This way, the sides of the bag would not interact with the food on the plate. I have a set of four Tupperware plates with lids. I love them because they are freezer, microwave, and dishwasher safe. I can freeze meals in them, pop them into the microwave, and then put them on the top rack of the dishwasher.

?

I hope this helps. Please let your student know ?as many options as you can think of for handling the cafeteria and encourage her to pick a way that gives her more independence. Also, let her know that other blind people have figured out ways to carry trays.

With huge respect to all you O&Mers and hugs to those of you who like hugs,

Terrie Terlau and Seeing Eye Dog Pauline

?