[acbny-l] Re: Fw: National Staff Makes the News!
- From: "joe harcz kalamazoo adapt mcbvi" <michiganadapt@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <acbny-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2003 15:57:29 -0500
Thanks Frank. Hope this article goes on ACB's web site.
Best,
Joe
----- Original Message -----
From: "Frank Casey" <frcasey@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "acbny acbny" <acbny-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2003 3:47 PM
Subject: [acbny-l] Fw: National Staff Makes the News!
> Greetings,
>
> Below, please find an interesting article concerning our good friend,
Penny
> Reeder, from ACB's National Office in Washington, DC.
>
>
> Enjoy,
>
> Frank Casey
> frcasey@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>
>
> > The article below is posted on the Scripts Howard web site, where
> > journalists can access and distribute it without charge. The star of
this
> > story is Tess, which is appropriate! (Since Tess can't read, I'm giving
> > her a doggie treat right now!)
> >
> > Phil and I met with the reporter a few weeks ago; we hope you enjoy the
> story.
> >
> > Penny
> >
> >
> > Tess, the guide dog, helps woman navigate city streets
> > By Kemberly Gong
> > Scripps Howard Foundation Wire
> >
> > WASHINGTON -- It is a typical day for Penny Reeder. She readies herself
> for
> > work. When her taxi comes, her dog, Tess, comes to get her.
> >
> > But instead of giving Tess a quick pat on the head before heading out,
> > Reeder straps a harness on the 3 1/2-year-old German shepherd and lets
> Tess
> > guide her to the van that will take them to the rail station.
> >
> > Reeder is one of 3.6 million Americans who are visually impaired, less
> than
> > half of whom are employed, according to a 1997 study by the Survey of
> Income
> > and Program Participation, part of the U.S. Census Bureau.
> >
> > Reeder, 57, works at the American Council of the Blind in downtown
> > Washington, as the editor of the group's monthly magazine, Braille
Forum.
> > She's also a wife and a mother of six, ages 13 to 30.
> >
> > Born with low vision that gradually deteriorated, Reeder said she lost
> > nearly all of her vision about 26 years ago. She said she can see colors
> and
> > large shapes in some lighting conditions.
> >
> > With Tess, Reeder maneuvers through busy streets and stations in the
> > region's Metro subway system.
> >
> > "It's a symbiotic relationship," Reeder said. "I rely on her to keep me
> > safe, to find steps and stop at them . if I make a mistake in crossing
the
> > street, I rely on her not to go. And she relies on me to tell her where
> > we're going, and she relies on me for praise and positive feedback."
> >
> > In a study conducted by the Urban Institute, 29 percent of non-working
> > disabled people cited lack of accessible transportation as a
contributing
> > factor.
> >
> > Luckily for Reeder, Metro stations are outfitted with devices to help
> people
> > who are visually impaired or blind.
> >
> > Cheryl Johnson, a spokeswoman for Metro, said passengers can find their
> way
> > in Metro stations using Braille markings in elevators and on train
> > intercoms. Station floors closest to rails have bumpy tiles on them, she
> > said, and bars block easy access to doors at the ends of subway cars.
> > Station managers announce information about elevator and escalator
outages
> > and service interruptions, she said. Users may request a tour of the
Metro
> > system.
> >
> > For route information in the city and suburbs, passengers can call Metro
> or
> > use its Web site's Ride Guide. Johnson said the Ride Guide also has
> > information about the location of bus stops near Metro stations.
> >
> > Johnson said Metro is trying to make the stations more accessible and is
> > exploring making Metro's dim stations brighter, which would make it
easier
> > for people with low vision to see.
> >
> > Reeder said her commute is easier because of Metro's accessibility.
Reeder
> > and Tess make their exit at Farragut North, four blocks from Reeder's
> > building.
> >
> > When Reeder walks to her office from the Metro station, she listens for
a
> > rush of noise from traffic moving parallel to her to tell her when to
> cross
> > a street. She also relies on Tess not to cross against the light.
> >
> > "I think it's kind of scary to cross 17th [Street] because people seem
to
> be
> > crossing a lot sooner than when the traffic is moving so they're seeing
> > something that I don't have any information about," Reeder said.
> >
> > Reeder learned some of these tricks to crossing streets and orienting
> > herself from Dona Sauerburger, an orientation and management specialist.
> >
> > Sauerburger said she has trained people for 35 years to use tactile or
> > audible clues to orient themselves. Some of her students use white canes
> to
> > maneuver through streets.
> >
> > She said students learn to use "non-visual information," such as hearing
> or
> > touch -- or asking questions of other pedestrians -- to help them place
> > where they are and develop a mental map of their location. Their
training
> > also teaches students to maneuver confidently outside, crossing large,
> busy
> > streets, and in business areas.
> >
> > "I love it because it is such a joy to see people who are devastated -
> > they've just gone blind, they think they can't do anything and, as they
> > start to learn, they start to cry with happiness that they can do what
> they
> > never thought they could do," Sauerburger said.
> >
> > Reeder worked with Sauerburger when she went to work in the city after
> > living in the suburbs "because I was afraid of the Metro," she said. She
> was
> > unfamiliar with the system and was used to being driven by her children
> and
> > catching rides with other people.
> >
> > "It was a lot to learn," Reeder said. "But it . expanded my horizons,
> which
> > was good. It's good to have challenges."
> >
> > Some barriers can threaten her safe arrival at work -- the construction
> > around Reeder's building, for example, that has been going on for many
> > months. Noisy machinery hinders Reeder's ability to hear traffic and
gauge
> > when to cross the street.
> >
> > Other perils, such as flimsy caution tape, also create problems, she
said.
> > They don't help her avoid potholes or dangerous equipment. She said
> > construction sites can be stressful for Tess.
> >
> > When they get to work, Tess is rewarded with a dog biscuit, and a long
day
> > of napping unless Reeder must go to meetings in other buildings or
commute
> > to Capitol Hill.
> >
> > Their commute is the same on the way home, a product of repetition.
Reeder
> > said she worked with Tess for a couple of days on Metro when they were
> first
> > starting to get the commute right.
> >
> > After work when Reeder's husband picks her up at the Metro station near
> > their home in Gaithersburg in suburban Maryland, Tess "knows the minute
> that
> > she sees him that she's off duty, and she's so excited," Reeder said.
> >
> > Though Tess works hard, she is, in many ways, like any pet: She likes to
> > play, is afraid of vacuum cleaners, gets "wiggly" as Reeder said, when
she
> > sees other dogs or children, or when they pass dog biscuits in the
grocery
> > store.
> >
> > Although Reeder has learned to get around well in Washington, others
don't
> > think it's as accessible. The latest Livable Communities Study, done by
> the
> > American Foundation for the Blind, didn't rank Washington among the top
15
> > cities.
> >
> > The non-scientific study included votes by 200 visually impaired people
> who
> > took online surveys or got them through organizations for the blind,
said
> > Kevin Coughlin, who helped tabulate the data. Cities were ranked by
> > accessible transportation, safe and walkable streets, good access to
> > community events and other aspects, he said.
> >
> > He said he hoped the study would urge other cities to improve
> accessibility.
> >
> >
> > "By singling out cities that are doing good, we hope to spur other
cities
> to
> > make them more livable," he said.
> >
> > Charlotte, N.C., took first place, followed by Berkeley, Calif.;
> Kalamazoo,
> > Mich.; and New York. La Crosse, Wis., and Louisville, Ky., tied for
fifth
> > place.
> >
> > Coughlin, who lives in Manhattan, said he lived in Washington before he
> lost
> > his vision six years ago. He said it is easier to get around in New York
> > because of the simple grid pattern of streets. Washington includes many
> > diagonal streets and roundabouts.
> >
> > Tess is trained to respond to commands to find elevators, escalators,
> > stairs, outside and inside, and others that help Reeder find her way.
She
> > also said their commute is based on repetition.
> >
> > Dogs, in their three months of training, should be trained to do well in
> all
> > circumstances, but some are more suited to specific conditions, such as
> > subways or crowded areas, said Michael Devlin, a trainer at the Guide
Dog
> > Foundation for the Blind, a non-profit training center in upstate New
> York.
> >
> > Devlin, who has worked with dogs for 22 years, watches for stress in
each
> > dog, such as licking their lips or tucking their tails between their
legs,
> > to avoid matching them with people who work in conditions too stressful
> for
> > the dog. He said dogs usually work for 10 to 12 years.
> >
> > Tess has worked with Reeder for a year and acclimated well to her
> > environment.
> >
> > "We have a much stronger bond than we had even six months ago," Reeder
> said.
> > "We're more in tune with one another. I know how to read her body
> language,
> > and she knows how to read mine. She's more in tune with what I want, and
I
> > with her."
> >
> > Phil Strong works on pedestrian safety at the American Council of the
> Blind,
> > in an office next to Reeder's. His job is to make transportation safer
for
> > people with visual impairments.
> >
> > He said Washington could make many changes, including making roundabouts
> > like Dupont circle safer for pedestrians. He also said there should
> > accessible pedestrian signals, which beep or speak when a street is safe
> to
> > cross, at the most dangerous or complicated intersections.
> >
> > Strong said he's working with the District of Columbia Department of
> > Transportation.
> >
> > Bill Rice, a D.C. transportation spokesman, said improvements are being
> > made.
> >
> > He said about 10 stoplights in the city are outfitted with buzzers that
> > alert visually impaired or blind people when it is safe to cross the
> street.
> > He said there are not more buzzers because of a lack of requests.
> >
> > He also said strips of raised bumps on the gentle slopes of some
> wheelchair
> > curb cuts warn visually impaired people that the sidewalk is ending. As
> > sidewalks are replaced, he said, they department adds the bumps.
> >
> > Strong said these "tactile warning strips" increase the safety of people
> who
> > are visually impaired. Without them, Strong said, "you don't have a curb
> > there anymore to indicate that you're at the edge of the road."
> >
> > Strong said crossing signals should be as accessible for blind and
> visually
> > impaired people as for sighted people.
> >
> > "A pedestrian who is visually impaired or blind should have the right to
> > that same information," he said. "It's been put in there for a reason -
to
> > help pedestrians. So why are you not giving other pedestrians that same
> > access?"
> >
> >
> > ************************************************************
> > * ACB-L is maintained and brought to you as a service *
> > * of the American Council of the Blind. *
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