Annual Seminar Trip to The Seeing Eye, Inc.
Each year UALR O&M students who have completed their first summer institute in Little Rock visit The Seeing Eye, Inc., and other agencies for the blind in the New York City area as part of their Introduction to Methods of Mobility course (RHBL 7317). The one-week trip is partially funded by the Seeing Eye and takes place the first full week in May of each year.
The Seeing Eye, Inc., is a privately funded dog guide training school in Morristown, New Jersey, and is the oldest dog guide school in the country. Students will observe dog guides being trained and have the unique opportunity to walk while wearing an occluder with a dog guide. The banner above shows one of our students walking with a dog guide while wearing a blindfold during one of our recent seminar trips to The Seeing Eye.
The Seeing Eye provides transportation and lodging costs in Morristown and some lodging costs in New York City; students are required to pay intra-city transportation costs, most meals and their share of two-days lodging in New York City, and other incidental expenses. Other visited sites may include the American Foundation for the Blind, Lighthouse International, and the Helen Keller Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults. More detailed information can be obtained from the O&M program coordinator.
Students learn about and experience under occlusion large city travel, subway and train travel, and are strongly urged, therefore, to take part in this seminal experience, which is an integral portion of their education into the profession of O&M.