Re: What is wrong with the NFB?
Now, to respond a bit more to criticisms of the NFB. I'm not associated with any organization, BTW, so I have no horse in this race.
1. The reason there aren't a lot of really awful reviews...maybe that's because there aren't a lot of really awful experiences? I don't honestly know, it's a thought. I agree with you, however, that info is scanty and should be more easily available. I won't speculate as to why that is, but I like unbiased information, and it's one among many reasons that I didn't pursue this.
2. Sleep shades. Actually, the reason they call them sleep shades is because this is exactly what they are. Some people who have trouble sleeping during the day, or where there is a surfeit of natural light, wear these in order to block out light, thus the name. Functionally they're blindfolds, yes. And do you know why they use them? It's because a lot of people who have some vision, however slight it is, are using it, or misusing it. And a lot of those people do not have stable vision; it will desert them one day (maybe in a year, maybe twenty). There is no sense trying to teach students how to get around when half of them might be trying to eek out their own way using the vision they've got, especially if that vision is something they can't one day rely on. The sleep shades are for anyone with any usable vision, to put everyone on the same footing. Now, I'm not saying I agree with this 100% - I don't, actually - but this is their rationale, and I can at least -sort of understand it. Some people have stable low vision, and I feel they should be encouraged to use what they have; this might be harder to accomplish, however, vs. teaching a whole pile of people who are essentially learning a given skillset all the same way.
3. I actually have far more issue with the long cane than I do with the sleep shades. I have a right to walk as slowly or as quickly as I want to, safety first of course. If my slightly shorter cane means my stride length is shorter, but I still get everywhere I'm going on time, who is anyone to take that from me? A long cane just feels like it would undo like twenty-odd years of training with a standard cane...and this, again, is another reason why I wouldn't attend a center. I would feel doubly bad about this if I had a guide dog. But again, these are things people can and do look up and know ahead of time. The big things (sleep shades, long cane, guide dog unavailability)...well, if you don't know those facts goin in, you didn't do your homework.
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