General Information
Guide Dogs for the Blind
350 Los Ranchitos Road
San Rafael,
CA 94903
(415) 499 4000
[email protected]
http://www.guidedogs.com
Brief Description
Guide Dogs for the Blind also has special programs for children who are blind (Camp GDB, Lifestyles Workshops, K9 Buddy Program).
Services Offered
- Counseling
- Provides support services after graduation to alumni via phone or home visits.
- Professional Training
- Offers orientation and mobility seminars for continuing education units to O&M professionals. Trains own instructors.
Offers seminars in communities around the US and Canada to assist O&M specialists in their work with people who are visually impaired.
Offer a free resource library of videos on our website for O&M professionals to learn more about guide dog travel.
O&M Professional Services webpage
- Dog Guide Training
- Creates partnerships between skilled mobility dogs and people who are blind to improve quality of life.
- Advocacy
- Provides guidance to alumni addressing issues surrounding blindness and guide dog use.
- Travel/Orientation and Mobility
- Orientation & Mobility Immersion Program: Our week long program is designed to develop those O&M skills most relevant to guide dog mobility. Students will work with specially trained O&M specialists at one of our partner organizations and will be instructed on various techniques such as:
-Increasing awareness of the environmental information available to a guide dog traveler.
-Developing an understanding of how to use auditory information like traffic sounds to remain oriented and to achieve correct alignment during general travel and street crossings.
-Using auditory information to analyze different types of intersections and determine the best time to initiate street crossings.
-Developing the ability to estimate the distance walked relative to the time taken (time-distance estimation).
Students will also participate in exercises to help simulate travel with a guide dog (Juno exercises) and learn to apply their sensory awareness and travel skills in a practical way. First time students will get to participate in Juno exercises with a guide dog instructor followed by an experience walk with a guide dog on the same route.
O&M Immersion Program webpage
- Community Outreach Programs
- Guide Dog Lifestyle Workshops introduce you to the unique benefits and responsibilities of working and living with a guide dog. You will gain information through discussion and hands-on experiences. You will leave with the ability to make an informed decision as to whether or not a guide dog is a viable mobility choice for you. These workshops are hosted on our California and Oregon campuses throughout the year.