Ramblind thoughts on rehab

Frank, Alice and  All Other Blind Dissidents and Trouble Makers, 

 

For most of our nations history, Blind people received services from the government under the Medical Model.  The blind patient received appropriate services as determined by the Professional staff.  These folks were titled, Therapists and were almost always sighted, and most usually White. 

In 1965, I attended the Northwest Regional Rehabilitation and Training Center in Seattle.  This was the same program we later called the Orientation and Training Center. 

All of my training except for one section was conducted by sighted Therapists.  The exception was the Braille Teacher.  She was also the only blind person on staff. 

However, my VRC was blind. 

He's the one who told me not to worry about Braille because we now had the tape recorder. 

It took hard work and a great commitment on the part of the blind organization before we left that Medical Model behind.  Despite the fact that we've not had a blind director since 1982, we have put enough pressure on the agency administration to continue building toward a full partnership between staff and client.  While I was there we changed from serving clients to working with participants.  I liked the term because it suggested that we were all participating in each persons rehabilitation. 

In more recent times we have moved to calling folks Customers.  To an old Radical like me, the term leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  But nonetheless, the agency does do a pretty decent job of involving the customer in the process, and does at least claim that the customer is in the driver's seat. 

 

Such a cooperative arrangement calls for great diligence on the part of the consumer organizations.  As one of my great mentors, Al Fisher told me, "Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom". 

Forgetting to adhere to this Great Commandment will cost us our partnerships with our agencies.  Look at the downward slide of the once great labor unions.  The workers failed to keep involved in their union activities and bit by bit they gave away the authority and control. 

 

Curious Carl