9.5 Training

316 9 Electronic Travel Aids: An Assessment

must learn to make effective use of their chosen mobility and/or navigation aids. They must also acquire confidence in their ability to travel as a blind or visually impaired person. Effective orientation and mobility training must address all of these issues and more.

Orientation and mobility training for blind and visually impaired people began in the middle of the twentieth century at rehabilitation centres for war-blinded veterans in the US. Orientation instructors taught the veterans concepts and skills such as spatial awareness and echolocation. Dissatisfaction with these techniques led to the development of the long cane and the two-point touch technique. For a discussion of the beginnings of formal orientation and mobility training see Bledsoe (1980). These techniques are still the basis for orientation and mobility today, although they have been refined and adapted. The long cane was introduced into the UK in the 1960s but at first it was not well received (Dodds 1996). Today, most orientation and mobility training is deeply rooted in these practical and skills-based beginnings. Most orientation and mobility training focuses on the teaching of spatial and orientation concepts, the use of environmental cues, the use of residual senses and refinements of the early techniques for safe travel such as protective techniques and the use of the long cane.

What training, then, is available for electronic travel aids? Most, if not all, electronic travel aids come with user instruction manuals. These tell the user how to operate the device. Not all are easily understood by novices who may be confused by technical jargon. More importantly, however, though they deal with the functions and operation of the device, few provide training exercises. One exception is the BAT “K” Sonar Cane, which comes with a series of training exercises to guide the user through learning the concepts involved with using it. Suppliers of the two navigation aids discussed in this chapter, the BrailleNote GPS and the Victor Trekker, can provide training in the use of these devices but again this training focuses on operating the aid and largely ignores other aspects of learning to travel independently.

Yet even when training exercises are provided, the user must transfer what they have learned into the real world if they are to use the device with maximum efficiency. Even if a user succeeds in learning to use a mobility or navigation aid from written material or from a training session this is of limited benefit if they lack the other skills and attributes needed for independent travel. User instructions or a training manual will suffice for some users but many would benefit from training from a suitably qualified trainer, who can address the full range of skills needed for independent travel.

Most orientation and mobility instructors (rehabilitation workers) have only limited knowledge of and experience with electronic travel aids. Furthermore, a substantial number of orientation and mobility instructors are not in favour of electronic travel aids. For some this is because they believe that the more established tools of long cane and guide dog are all that is needed for blind and visually impaired people to travel independently. For others, it is a political issue, the basis for which is beyond the scope of this chapter. The consequence, however, is that few blind or visually impaired people can obtained training in the use of electronic travel