Name: Michael Cohn
Occupation: Orientation and mobility specialist
Background: Cohn, 45, works for the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind, 1850 W. Roosevelt Rd., where he trains the blind to function in their homes and get around the city. Formerly a high school English teacher, he has a B.A. in English from Roosevelt University and an M.A. in Blind Rehabilitation from Western Michigan University. Cohn lives in Des Plaines with his wife and 2 children.
Years in present position: 11
As a high school English teacher, I had mainstream blind students in my classroom. I enjoyed teaching them because it was more of a challenge. And I kept getting more and more because I was recommended as a teacher who could make things more tangible for a blind student.
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I had one experience where I paired up a blind student with a sighted student to help each other make a tactual map of Scotland for the study of Macbeth. Then there was a tragedy; the sighted student went into a diabetic coma and died. At the funeral the blind student came over and touched his friend`s face. This drew the attention of the parents of the blind child, who said that to their knowledge, this was the only time their son, who was very shy, had ever helped someone. That made a tremendous impact on me, and I started thinking of what it would be like just to help blind people.
In the summer of 1977 I volunteered at the Illinois Visually Handicapped Institute, where I taught bowling. Then I started my studies at Western Michigan University. This is a one-year program where you not only learn how to teach blind people, but you also get a lot of necessary background education, such as diseases of the eye.
I had to be blindfolded and learn how to use a cane myself. I`d walk around inside, at first, using my hearing, trying to pick up clues such as where hallways are, which I never knew I could do. The most difficult thing was learning to walk downstairs with a blindfold on. There`s a little trick to everything. You learn how to find a doorknob, or how to protect yourself as you go through a revolving door, or how to use tactual clues, such as different pavement surfaces.
I learned that when you`re outside, you listen for traffic. Traffic is your guideline; you follow it all over the place. You learn to ride the bus blindfolded. You eat a meal blindfolded. You have to learn how to do all these things before you can teach it. It`s a perfect method of learning because you`re totally immersed. This part of the program was done for an hour a day for 4 1/2 months.
Working with the blindfold made me function with different senses. I once stopped my wife from crossing the street when a car was coming around the corner. I was listening for traffic rather than watching traffic. She hadn`t paid attention because she didn`t see the car at all, and I heard it screeching around. I don`t turn lights on in the house, either. I`m familiar with walking around in the dark because of the techniques I`ve learned.
It`s hard to describe a typical day on this job because not every day is the same. That`s one of the things I love about it. The other day someone came in from Brazil, and I showed him where to get sources for tactual maps around the United States. Another time I had a mobility expert from Japan visiting, and we looked at schools and hospitals.
As far as a typical day with clients, I might be showing one around the Lighthouse, where the cafeteria is, where the workshops are. They would be coming to take courses. Then I also go out to people`s homes to train them. My purpose is to show them how to achieve the maximum mobility that they can have. For instance, with elderly persons who might not be able to cross busy streets, I`ll show them how to walk around the block and maybe get to their friends` homes.
I also train parents in how to help their blind children. I`ll show them how to set up their back yard and how to play games. I`ve written three games for blind people. They`re in a book called ”Simon Says Is Not the Only Game” from the American Foundation for the Blind. I`ve worked with parents on helping them understand that they shouldn`t overprotect the child so the child doesn`t become defensive against falling into objects-tactually defensive, we call it. I teach them how to build up the confidence of the child and let him explore at a very early age. The key ages are 0 to 2.
What I like is the one-to-one relationship. You`re more of a coach; you build up someone`s confidence. You have a definite goal to reach, and you can tell if the person reaches that destination. Whether they`re able to take the ”L” or a bus or just get to a friend`s house in the neighborhood without having someone come and pick them up. So they can be totally independent within their own sphere. Mobility is the key to independence; it opens the door for all other things.
You get people who don`t travel and you build up their confidence and they start traveling. They get jobs, get married, have kids. I had a woman who was in an accident at around 19 years of age. At 20 she was traveling all the way from Round Lake to downtown, at 21 she had a job at a hospital and the next year she had twins. But without being able to travel and get a job, all the rest of her progress would have been blocked.
When I work with adults, I have to relax them. They might be tense; they might be in a grieving stage for having lost their sight. If they`re not relaxed, everything is exaggerated. Noises are exaggerated. It becomes more difficult to make judgments. I have to make them feel that this is something they`re going to benefit from and enjoy at the same time. They should get a great feeling of accomplishment from having taken a walk by themselves.
After a blind person learns to get around, using auditory and tactual landmarks-an ”L” train, a fountain that`s always on, a slope in the sidewalk-it becomes second nature to them. They can be thinking of other things. They`re just walking in a different way, using their other senses to get the same job done.
I also often go to employers who are hiring a blind person for the first time and I show a little film and give a speech on what to say when you meet a blind person. I tell them not to see the person as a blind person, but as a person, first, who just happens to be blind.
The most frustrating part of this job is to try and get everybody into my schedule. Some weeks I can work as much as 55 or 60 hours. I`ve probably worked with over a thousand people by now, and the toughest part is organizing my time because of the amount of travel time needed between clients. I need to give everybody a good specialized service where I`m gearing the lesson just for that person. It takes time to know the person.
It`s also a very physically demanding job. And the most difficult part is that you cannot fail. It has to be a success. So it`s a job where you can`t make a mistake. I can`t place anybody in jeopardy. I have to guarantee everybody`s safety.
This is a very unusual field. You have to be master of a lot of different techniques. And you have to be able to work with multiple-handicap people, such as people who are blind and deaf, which means knowing how to sign so you can communicate with them. You have to make it so it looks like there`s no technique at all. You have to make it look easy. If you call attention to yourself as an instructor all the time, then you`re a poor instructor.
You`re teaching mapping and routing processes. You`re making mental maps of where everybody`s going. And you have to know the city so well. Almost like a riverboat pilot who has to avoid all the sand bars and river currents and keep a mental picture of everything in his head. You have to love the city, and I do.
Does this work make me appreciate my vision? It makes me appreciate everything, including my sight. And it makes me appreciate the blind people I work with because they`re willing to go out there and really go for it-get the most out of what they`ve got, get a job and fight for themselves and their families. They stay with it. They have the perseverance to keep trying. I get very close with these people. I`ve made an enormous amount of friends, and people give me positive feedback about what they`re able to do. It`s a terrific feeling to be able to help people in this way.