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Slaying dragons: building self-confidence and raising expectations through orientation center training

American Rehabilitation, Autumn, 2004 by Sandy Tigges

In his 1919 fable, "The 51st Dragon," Heywood Broun describes the exploits of Gawaine, a young student in knight school who is so timid and fearful that he is in danger of being expelled. Instead, the school's headmaster decides to take Gawaine under his wing and train him to slay the countless dragons plaguing the countryside that year. In preparation, Gawaine studies all about dragons and their habits, and he practices beheading paper and wooden ones on the practice field.

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When the faculty feels he is ready to confront real dragons, Gawaine is given a diploma and a new battle-ax. The headmaster calls him to his office for a few words of advice: "Here you have learned the theories of life but, after all, life is not a matter of theories. Life is a matter of facts. It calls on the young and the old alike to face these facts, even though they are sometimes unpleasant. Your problem, for example, is to slay dragons." Unconvinced, the whimpering Gawaine asks for an enchanted cap to make himself invisible. The headmaster offers him something better: a magic word. All Gawaine has to do is say "rumplesnitz" and he can lop off the heads of dragons easily and fearlessly.

The magic word works, at least for the first 49 dragons. Gawaine grows so brave that he even slays one with his right hand tied behind his back. He becomes so confident that, at night, he engages in long drinking bouts at the village tavern. On the day he confronts his fiftieth dragon, his mind has become so sluggish that he cannot remember the magic word. As the beast charges, the word flashes into his mind, but he has no time to utter it before swinging his battle-ax and chopping off the dragon's head.

Puzzled, Gawaine goes to the headmaster's office for an explanation. The headmaster laughs, believing that Gawaine has finally figured out that his own bravery and not the word rumplesnitz is responsible for his success: "It wasn't magic in a literal sense, but it was much more wonderful than that. The word gave you confidence. It took away your fears. If I hadn't told you that, you might have been killed the very first time. It was your battle-ax that did the trick."

Convinced that Gawaine just needs to kill another couple of dragons to get his confidence back, the headmaster drags him out of bed and into the forest the next morning and shoves him into a thicket where a small dragon is hiding. But Gawaine never returns. All that is later found of him are his medals.

Like the knight school's headmaster, we at the Iowa Department for the Blind's Adult Orientation and Adjustment Center give students magic words by which to live: "It's OK to be blind." Unlike those of the knight school headmaster, however, these words do not disguise hollow confidence and insufficient preparation. Instead, we back them with effective blindness training based on an approach that will give students a solid foundation in the skills, positive attitude and self-confidence they need to slay the many dragons they will encounter as they strive to live independently and work competitively.

We use the words, "It's OK to be blind," to help students to progress through the three stages of adjustment to their blindness: dependence, rebellion and interdependence. Like Gawaine when he first began his knight school training, students enter the center with a great many insecurities, fears and low expectations, ranging from being afraid to cross the street alone to worrying about ever holding a job, having a family or being accepted socially. They will often accept more help than necessary and will avoid such "dragons" as going up and down stairs and crossing streets alone. Once they have overcome some of these fears and have slain a few dragons of their own, they begin to gain confidence and to realize that they can get about safely and efficiently and perform day-to-day living activities competently. Proud of their accomplishments, they often assert their independence by rebelliously swinging their battle-axes against any sighted person who might offer assistance. When students reach the end of their training, however, they see that the magic words take on the substance of truth, reinforced with the skills and self-confidence they need to slay any dragon they may ever encounter. They come to understand the natural interdependence that exists in society and begin to view an offer of help not as an insult but as an opportunity to educate.

The training we provide at the orientation center is based on a positive philosophy of blindness. In fact, this philosophy is the foundation for all of the Department for the Blind programs, including Vocational Rehabilitation, Independent Living, Transition, the Business Enterprises Program and the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. The department is committed to the belief that center training must be an integral part of the rehabilitation process, for rehabilitation can only be truly achieved when consumers have reached their fullest potential in personal independence, employment and integration into the community. This approach is powerful, because it gives blind people control over their own lives as well as responsibility for their own successes and failures. This philosophy further contends that the real problem of blindness is not the physical loss of eyesight but rather society's misconceptions about it.

Health Care Industry

Slaying dragons: building self-confidence and raising expectations through orientation center training

American Rehabilitation, Autumn, 2004 by Sandy Tigges

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