Low Vision "Treasure Hunt"

Thursday March 23rd – Our guest lecturer today was Lil Deverell who works in the children’s mobility department. She spent the morning lecturing on the history of O&M in Australia, talking about case studies and the questions you need to ask in regards to the clients, and the O&M framework which includes things like problem solving skills, communication, mapping, safety, etc. The first guide dog user, Mr. Arnold Cook, came to Australia in the 1950s, but O&M here in Australia only really took off in the 1970s. Guide Dogs Victoria was the first mobility center to be built in Australia in 1962. In all of Australia there are only about 200 O&M instructors and GDV employs 20 of them! Obviously being so spread out in such a large country effects an O&M’s professional development and ability to share information and problem solve together. Lil was a dynamic and passionate speaker and will be joining us periodically during our course.

In the afternoon we had a chance to practice teaching our new skills to a group of GDV volunteers (pictured here). Much like at GDB, volunteers can have contact with our clients and need some basic education on sighted guide techniques. We each worked with a volunteer, first with them under blindfold then with them guiding us. Later in the afternoon we drove to an area similar to Chestnut Street in San Francisco (but busier) and did a sort of ‘treasure hunt’ while wearing the low vision simulators. We did several different hunts to experience a variety of eye conditions.

Dinner was fun (as always) with everyone sharing funny expressions. I’ve begun keeping a list which I call “Ron’s Aussie of the Day” for example; if something is “daggy” it means it’s terrible. I’ll try to share some each day (if they are a PG rating). Later that evening we saw our first 'Hudsen spider'. It was on the wall in the dorm and it was HUGE! Susan and I were a little freaked out but Carrie and Ron assured us they were harmless and eat other insects, especially mosquitoes. We ended the day with a good workout at the gym, mostly because the dessert was irresistible again!