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

American Rehabilitation,  Autumn, 2004  by Sandy Tigges

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Most important, though, the center's success can be measured in the long-term positive effects the training has had on the lives of former students. Participation in the orientation center is a life-altering experience for most students. When they complete the program, they find that blindness is no longer the controlling factor in their lives. They have internalized the truth that "It is OK to be blind," and they know they are well equipped to slay any dragons they might encounter. One former student put it this way:

"I had decided to come to the Orientation Center after completing my high school education. I was led to understand that by attending this program, it would help me to raise my GPA [grade point average] in college. After being in orientation for a few weeks, however, I had discovered that my motives were in the wrong place. This program's purpose is not to prepare me for college, but to prepare me for life and how to live it as a confident blind person. This program works on the attitudes of blind people, helping them to become confident, capable people by letting them know there is life after blindness. Although I have been blind since birth due to cataracts, this program has helped me form a different attitude about my own blindness, as well as other blind people. I have learned that it is OK to be blind, because I know that it does not make me any less of a person. The classes in the orientation center are made up of Braille, home ec [economics], shop, technology and travel. All of these classes combined are not merely to teach the techniques of blindness, but to build confidence by the use of them. My stay at the center has not been an easy one, but it will be one I will take with me and use for the rest of my life." (2)

NOTES

(1.) This information is based on the author's understanding from years of experience touring orientation centers for blind adults and studying the subject; thus, no specific source is given.

(2.) For reasons of confidentiality, the author is unable to give the names of center students who are quoted in this article.

REFERENCES

Broun, H. (April 13, 1919). "The Fifty-First Dragon." New York Tribune.

Swindoll, C.R. (1982). Strengthening Your Grip. Waco, TX: Word Books.

Dr. Tigges is Program Administrator in the Adult Orientation and Adjustment Center, Iowa Department for the Blind, 524 4th St., Des Moines, Iowa 50309. Telephone: (512) 281-1313. E-mail: tigges.sandy@blind.state.ia.us.

COPYRIGHT 2004 U.S. Rehabilitation Services Administration
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