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The Waiting
I must admit, Guide Dogs have been very good at keeping me updated whilst I wait for a suitable match to be found.
I have had a number of letters telling me they know I am still waiting, apologizing for the wait and letting me know what they are doing to try and speed up the process.
Just before Christmas I received a letter to say they are hoping to match 25% of the people on their list in the Spring / Summer time.
On Saturday I received another letter to say they still haven’t found a match, so the waiting continues.
The Guide Dog Assessment
On January 25th 2018 I had my Guide Dog Assessment and I was so nervous! I had put in so much work and time over the last 10 months but ultimately, it came down to today’s assessment.
The assessment included doing one of my routes with the assessor holding a harness, mimicking the actions of a guide dog. I had to give commands and respond to the movements of the harness. She would also imitate the movements of a dog being distracted or sniffing at the ground, which I had to respond to by saying ‘leave’ etc.
Doing a route with the harness also gives the assessor an idea of what my walking speed is – something which is taken into consideration when finding a match.
Back inside my flat we spoke a lot about the types of routes I do and the types of things I would like to do in the future plus a whole host of other questions. However, it was very relaxed and I felt at ease throughout the whole thing. Unlike other assessments this one didn’t feel like a test.
I wasn’t expecting to find out there and then but I suddenly found myself hearing that I had been successful and was being placed on the waiting list for a guide dog!
This meant a few more questions though. Dog or bitch? Breed? Any characteristics you do/don’t want? Questions like that, to which I had zero preference.
Night Training with the Long Cane
I did my initial long cane training in the summer and once I had completed it some evening sessions were booked in for after the hour change in the autumn.
By the time October had come round I had definitely got used to my cane and my confidence going out had grown hugely. However, I was definitely apprehensive about going out in the dark.
Initially, we did a very local route which I was already familiar with. It was a very new experience learning to find landmarks I could identify in the dark.
As the sessions progressed I learned a new route, initially starting from home and leaving with the instructor so we would do the whole journey together. Gradually building up to meeting her further away; one week I met her at the train station and we got the train together and completed the rest of the journey together, then I built up to getting the train independently meeting her at the destination train station. I finally built up the confidence to do the entire route on my own and met her at the final destination.
I remember feeling very supported and encouraged, my anxiety was always taken into consideration and I was never pressured to move forward until I was comfortable.
That was over a year ago. When the hour changed last year it was the first time I didn’t dread it because I am no longer restricted by the daylight. I am able to go out safely and confidently in all weather and light conditions which is such a freeing experience.
My Experience with the Long Cane
At the beginning of my long cane training I remember feeling quite self conscious, very clumsy and definitely wondered, ‘how on Earth is this supposed to help!?’
However, as I progressed through my training and got used to the motion and the footing – step forward with the left foot, swing cane to the right, right foot forward, swing to the left – it gradually began to feel more natural.
I started out with a regular ‘marshmallow tip’ on the end of the cane but after a number of jabs to the belly as a result of the cane snagging on uneven ground I was promptly switched to a much larger ‘roller ball tip’ which made things much easier and I was able to glide over much of the uneven ground and cobblestones on one of my routes.
Initially, my biggest sticking point was trying to remember to look up and ahead rather than down at the ground. My mobility instructor would periodically ask me, as she was walking behind me, ‘Are you looking forward?’ and I’d realise I was looking at the ground again. Old habits are hard to break!
As I am behind with these posts, I have now been using my cane for almost two years and I really wouldn’t be without now. It has given me so much confidence and independence, I am able to get about so much quicker than before but most importantly I am not restricted by the weather conditions – I can go out when the sun is very bright, it is grey and misty and thanks to some night training, I can go out in the dark too!
My Mobility Assessment (Part Two)
It was the morning of June 26th and I was eagerly awaiting Part 2 of my Mobility Assessment. I was really looking forward to this assessment as it was a really integral part of my Guide Dog application, I needed to ‘pass’ this stage in order to progress any further but if it was anything like the last session it would really help me with my mobility as well.
We spent the first part of the meeting in my flat, discussing how I had been getting on with the Guide Cane and my Instructor said it was really helpful that I had emailed her with my progress and as a result she had brought a Long Cane with her for me to try. We spent a bit of time talking about the Long Cane and how it differs from the Guide Cane, that instead of holding it in a fixed position you sweep it from side to side. I was then shown the correct motion to use, in my living room, and practised a few times whilst standing still. She explained that there was correct foot placement and other techniques, too, but that we would focus on these later on and in other sessions.
Using my Guide Cane we walked up the road for about five minutes past some shops, a couple crossings and a main road until we got to a bus stop. She then swapped my Guide Cane for a Long Cane and whilst walking behind me explained the correct movements again and asked me if I felt comfortable walking ahead independently back to my flat so she could see an initial idea of how I found it. I was happy to do this.
We got back to my flat and spoke a little more and booked in a number of sessions for long cane training as she thought it would be beneficial. I was left with the Guide Cane at this point as I was nowhere near competent enough to use the Long Cane as my primary mobility aid!
The best news though, was that she was happy with how the Mobility Assessment had gone after the two appointments and was happy for my application to move forward to the next stage. I would receive Long Cane training, which then meant I would have mobility training and once I had learned five regular routes, a few of which just needed to be witnessed and crossed off as I was already doing them, I would be put forward for the Guide Dog assessment.
My Experience with the Guide Cane
So, after receiving some training and pointers on how to correctly use a Guide Cane my mission was to try and use it before seeing my Mobility Instructor again in three weeks time.
As it’s been quite a while since then, I will show you part of an email which I sent to my Instructor letting her know how I was getting on with it:
“I’ve used the Guide Cane twice now on my journey to Gravesend and back (by train), numerous times during the day whilst walking to and from the local shops in the precinct and also attempted to go out once as evening was approaching.
I have found it really helpful when getting on and off trains, for working out how big of a step to take / judging the gap between train and platform and also people generally see the cane and give me more space which makes things easier. I have also found it really helpful in Gravesend High Street, which on a Saturday morning is often very busy, a lot of people see the cane and move out of my way – I really struggle with people walking towards me and in crowds so this definitely makes things easier. I have also found it helpful for avoiding lamp posts / sign posts etc which are usually very dull in colour and blend into the colour of the pavement, quite regularly the cane has alerted me to their presence which is great.
I have found it helpful for judging the depth of kerbs, when I know there is a kerb to look for – so on my more regular outings to the local shops I know from memory where the kerbs are and when to check for them with the cane. However, in Gravesend I am not so familiar with the area and I find I am often missing kerbs and either stumbling or my crutch accidentally finds them. The same goes for uneven ground; if I can recall from memory that there is uneven ground approaching it’s great having the cane to find it, step over / around it but if I don’t know it’s there I often miss it. Gravesend has a lot of cobbled areas, too, and changes in ground surface so it’s something I struggle with there.
And finally, when I used the cane as the daylight was deteriorating I really struggled. It just didn’t seem ‘enough’ as the contrast fades and everything kind of merges, had I have been anywhere but the road outside my flat I don’t think I would have managed and had it been completely dark it would have definitely been guess work and I wouldn’t have felt safe at all.”
So, it was definitely a positive experience and was helpful for confirming the whereabouts of things or checking the height / distance of things but I was still stumbling on kerbs and uneven ground. So, I was eager to hear if my Instructor had something else to suggest or if there was an alternative way to use the cane.
My Mobility Assessment (Part One)
Following the initial visit from Guide Dogs, in which I said I wanted to go ahead with the application I received an email from the Mobility Instructor with some dates she was available for the Mobility Assessment; a quick email back and it was booked for June 2nd.
As the date approached I was quite apprehensive and my anxiety played havoc at times but once she arrived and we started I really felt at ease!
The first half of the assessment involved answering lots of questions relating to how much I got out, if I ever went out alone, what I found difficult, what factors affected my eyesight (bright sun, poor light etc) and all sorts of questions like that. There was then a ‘functional sight test’ which included things like her holding up coloured sheets of paper and I had to tell her if I could identify the colour, her holding up a sheet similar to the one that you’d get at an opticians with letters on to see how much of it you could see, a test which looked at your peripheral vision and a few other simple tests.
She explained that from the information given it sounded like I could benefit from using a Guide or Long Cane as at present I only used a symbol cane when travelling through busy places.
The second half of the test involved actually going outside so she could see first hand what my mobility was like before she made any decisions regarding mobility or cane training. I retrieved my Symbol Cane, or what I had thought was a Symbol Cane but I was quickly informed it was actually a Guide Cane which I had been holding / using like a Symbol Cane! Oops.
We walked down to the train station, which is a route I am familiar with and it was evident that I was using my crutch to help me identify curbs (I hadn’t realised I was doing this, it had just become a helpful habit I must have formed) and so I was shown how to correctly use and hold the Guide Cane. We continued down to the station and I was given advice on crossing a staggered junction that I struggle with. When we got to the station it was pointed out to me that I was crossing at a very dangerous point and cutting through a car park where there were lots of obstacles I wasn’t aware of so it turned out to be a very worthwhile journey.
The final part of the Mobility Assessment was something I wasn’t really looking forward to; it involved the Instructor holding a guide dog harness and me having to be led by her, as if she was my guide dog! I was sure I was going to feel self conscious and utterly embarrassed but there was no avoiding it as she had to get an initial idea of how I would do being guided by a harness.
The time had come and she explained some of the footing and commands and explained we would go up and down alongside the station car park and then continue up the road towards my flat. I took hold of the handle and told her to go ‘forward!’ and all those anxious feelings completely disappeared and I just felt free. It was amazing, I could just walk ahead knowing that the path ahead was clear! It was definitely over too quickly but she assured me that I did well and was receptive to the movement of the handle / harness.
It was decided that she wanted to come out again after I’d been using the Guide Cane regularly on my usual journeys, regardless of how busy it was. We made another appointment for in three weeks time for Mobility Assessment 2.0!
Time to Catch Up Again
A lot of time has passed since my last update and a lot has happened; I just haven’t had ample time to keep the blog updated so here is a list of upcoming posts I will now be working through as I have more time on my hands.
– My Mobility Assessment (Part One)
– My Experience with the Guide Cane
– My Mobility Assessment (Part Two)
– My Experience with the Long Cane
– Night Training with the Long Cane
These five points have been taking place over the last six months and have been very time consuming and are, in part, why I haven’t had sufficient time to keep this blog updated.
I will work my way through each point, chronologically, and hopefully will soon be at a point where I can write up to date posts!
My Visit from the MyGuide Ambassador
During the initial visit, the mobility instructor came with one of her colleagues – an ambassador from one of Guide Dogs other services ‘MyGuide’.
I was really surprised to find out that Guide Dogs offer more services than, well, just guide dogs! Amongst the services they offer, MyGuide is one of them. The idea of MyGuide is you get matched up with a trained volunteer who knows the local area and you meet up regularly, say once every one or two weeks, and go out together learning new routes. Going out with a trained, sighted guide to places you would like to learn to go independently not only is a great way to increase confidence, get you out more but also prepare you for later stages of the guide dog application as prior to getting a guide dog you have to be going out independently to various places to ensure the dog gets enough work – they recommend an outing of at least 40-45 minutes per day. Otherwise, the dogs decide a life of leisure is far preferable to working and who can blame them!
About a week after my visit from the MyGuide Ambassador I received a very friendly email from her saying she had a volunteer she would like to introduce me to. We agreed on a date later that week for them to both come to my flat and I eagerly / anxiously awaited.
They arrived, on the scheduled day, and the meeting went really well. I found the volunteer easy to talk to. She had worked with one lady previously and had been waiting for another person to work with, has lived in my area for a long time and had every confidence that we would have great fun going out together.
I was told a little more about MyGuide – there are only two main rules; you have to go out (no sitting in the flat drinking coffee!) and you can’t use the volunteer’s car.
The main purpose is to go out and learn journeys that will become regular journeys – the route to the doctors surgery or a friends house, for example and you can do the journeys together as many times as you need until you feel confident doing them alone – you could then progress and agree to meet the volunteer at the destination, in the safe knowledge they are close by should you need help. However, I was also told one off day outs are allowed, too – if the sun is shining and you fancy an ice cream at the beach, then go for it. The idea of MyGuide is to get you out and about and confident in doing so.
We spoke about some prospective ideas and places I would like to go and although my list was a little short, this was not a problem as the Ambassador suggested my inspiration would probably grow as my confidence grew and I would get more ideas as time went on.
I was very relieved to be told it was a relaxed commitment and after the first meeting, if we were both happy we would exchange contact numbers, if something cropped up or my anxiety was out of control I would be able to contact my volunteer and easily rearrange. Similarly, if they needed to, they could.
As I am behind in these posts I can report that the first outing was a success and I have subsequently been on a total of four outings now to various places, by foot, by bus and by train.
I will elaborate on individual outings later on, if I get the chance.
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Mid-Application Stage
My Guide Dog Journey 