Guide Dogs and the Orientation and Mobility Instructor Gap

Guide dogs (also referred to as “dog guides”) are a highly recognizable orientation and mobility (O&M) system. Guide dogs facilitate independence while providing companionship to their handler (Lloyd et al., 2021). The use of a guide dog may facilitate greater speed of travel, in addition to changing the style of travel to include fewer points of contact with obstacles along the path. One of the most recent studies into the intersection of O&M and guide dog use suggested an evaluation tool to determine the type of traveler for better matching decisions, suggesting mental orientation was more significant than level of vision for travelers’ needs (Meyer et al., 2020).

O&M instructors recognize guide dog partnerships as a method that can be used to provide safe preview of drop-offs when vision alone is not sufficient for safe surface preview (Wiener et al., 2010). Historically, in 2001, there were 1556 guide dog teams trained, and 2 years earlier there were approximately 9000 active working teams (Eames et al., 2001). Recent shifts with ride-share and pandemic effects created a dip in new teams trained in 2020 (International Guide Dog Foundation [IGDF], 2022). In 2023, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) estimates there are just under 8,000 working teams in the United States, from both IGDF and non-member schools.

Because of the low usage rates of guide dogs, many O&M specialists may have long stretches of time between their personnel preparation program and their next interaction with clients who use guide dogs. Of the total population who are blind or have low vision, just under one in 1,000 people uses a guide dog. Individuals with mild low vision might reasonably be expected to have the lowest rates of primary mobility aid use overall, and the lowest use of O&M services, as well. According to National Health Interview Survey data, there are nearly four million people who have a lot of trouble seeing, even with glasses, of which approximately 418,000 cannot see at all (Blewett et al., 2022). This statistic puts guide dog use at 1:500 for people with significant low vision or blindness, and just under 1:54 (or 1.8%) of blind people who report they cannot see at all. This current estimate of prevalence is useful in understanding what effort O&M specialists will need to make to stay current on issues related to this stakeholder group.

Personnel preparation programs for O&M instructors commonly use the Foundations of Orientation and Mobility textbook, which covers key historical contexts for O&M. This information includes when long cane techniques were first standardized and information about The Seeing Eye guide dog school first training dogs in the United States in 1929 (Blasch and Stuckey, 1995; Wiener et al., 2010). By 1990, collaborations between O&M specialists and guide dog center instructional staff members were becoming more frequent and productive (Lambert, 1990). As more applicants over time applied to guide dog schools without sufficient O&M skills to be successful, O&M readiness checklists and O&M immersion programs have been developed by schools to help screen candidates (Franck et al., 2011). Showing how essential O&M training is prior to guide dog training, a study of nine guide dog schools reported that 91%–100% of guide dog school graduates had O&M services prior to beginning their guide dog training (Milligan, 1990).

Because O&M skills are important to successful guide dog handling, and because guide dog schools now recommend at least a certain level of O&M proficiency before entry, it is important that O&M specialists understand guide dog use and the skills their clients would need to be ready to begin training with a guide dog. The three most important factors for every O&M specialist to recognize about guide dogs were: (1) the work of a guide dog can be influenced by the presence of an O&M specialist during training; (2) the traveler must be able to demonstrate straight-line travel; and (3) competence in skills such as guiding, directional cues, and landmarks are necessary (Joyce, 2008).

An older article suggested that “Educational programs for orientation and mobility specialists should give increasing attention to the benefits of guide dog use and the needs of guide dog users” (Lambert, 1990). An O&M specialist's role has been described as to

help the traveler put his dog's abilities and tendencies to work on his behalf. The specialist has two goals: (1) make sure the traveler has an overall orientation to the environment; and (2) if necessary, help the traveler teach his dog new goals and intermediate destinations. (Franck et al., 2010, p. 527)

With these objectives in mind, disseminating the O&M specialists’ perspectives on how they are trained in relation to guide dogs during their personnel preparation programs can illuminate the ongoing educational needs of O&M professionals.

Method

Orientation and Mobility Specialist Focus Group

AFB conducted research related to guide dog use in collaboration with Guide Dogs for the Blind in 2021. In compliance with the Helsinki Declaration, the focus group study was approved by AFB's human participants institutional review board, and participants gave informed consent (IRB00001619). Data were collected in the spring and summer of 2021 through a focus group that included four practicing O&M instructors and individual interviews with two additional O&M instructors. The participants were recruited through outreach to electronic discussion groups for practicing O&M professionals. Three of the participants held the Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) credentials, while the other three participants held the National Orientation and Mobility Certification (NOMC) credentials. The participants had been teaching O&M for 3–21 years, and all resided in the United States.

The focus group and interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. The participants were asked about their exposure to guide dog users and concepts related to guide dog travel during their professional preparation. Then, they were asked about any experiences assessing or preparing clients for guide dog ownership and any experiences they had supporting clients after they were successfully matched with guide dogs. Finally, the participants were invited to share feedback on how guide dog schools can better support both preservice and working O&M professionals.

The focus group and interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Two researchers reviewed and coded the transcripts using the constant comparison method (Stern, 2008) to identify common themes across transcripts. The two researchers then met to integrate their codes through discussion until all codes were agreed upon.

Review of University Training Objectives

To further contextualize the feedback from O&M specialists, several universities were contacted to review their program-wide learning objectives related to guide dogs. There was a high level of concordance among the objectives, due to the Higher Education Accreditation Council standards. These objectives paint a clear and consistent picture of what information universities are delivering to preservice O&M personnel during their education. The standard language from the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) will be used (AER, 2020), although some universities that responded put these objectives into other phrasing.

Results

Concerns of O&M Specialists

The O&M specialists’ focus groups revealed to us that O&M specialists feel they had limited training on guide dogs in their college programs. One participant shared:

[As part of my O&M preparation program] we went to The Seeing Eye. When asked if [we] had any questions, a classmate said, “I don’t think we know enough to have any questions yet.” They tried so hard to educate us, but until we worked with real people, [we] didn’t know anything.

During the focus groups, participants concurred that they had insufficient contact with guide dog users, limited awareness about how to incorporate guide dogs into instruction, and a lack of clarity on the O&M needs of travelers who use guide dogs. This discovery motivated us to further explore what the university personnel preparation programs are teaching about guide dogs.

University Standards

In reviewing the O&M program accreditation standards, it is clear that a foundation is laid to meet the appropriate knowledge and skills needs of beginning O&M specialists. Standards for guide dog knowledge appear in three categories of education: systems of O&M, history and philosophy of O&M, and clinical practice competencies. The important role of guide dogs is included throughout the history of O&M. Ongoing developments in guide dog use are part of the curriculum. Core knowledge is the methods of travel with a guide dog and the relative advantages and disadvantages. Letters in the following extracts indicate the reference position in the full list of standards.

Systems of Orientation and Mobility

e. the dog guide as a mobility system, the methods and strategies for providing orientation assistance to a dog guide user, and the process for making referrals to dog guide training centers.

i. the relative advantages and disadvantages of the various mobility systems, aids, and devices (e.g., long cane, dog guides, human guides, ETAs [electronic travel aids], EOAs [electronic orientation aids], optical and non-optical devices).

History and Philosophy of Orientation and Mobility

a. the history of the profession of O&M as well as ongoing and new developments in the following areas: long cane and adaptive mobility devices, dog guide programs, low vision services, ETAs, electronic orientation aids, university personnel preparation programs, recruitment, personnel development and the implementation and preparation of blind O&M Specialists.

k. ongoing and new developments in dog guide programs.

Clinical Practice Competencies

ll. assisting learners to choose the most appropriate mobility system (e.g., long cane, dog guide, ETA, EOA) to meet the student's needs at a particular time.

mm. planning, implementing, and/or adapting lessons that incorporate the use of a dog guide, ETA, EOA) to meet the learner’s needs at a particular time.

nn. planning, implementing and/or adapting lessons that incorporate the use of a dog guide, ETAs and EOAs.

Discussion

There is a clear disconnect between the robust learning objectives at the universities’ personnel preparation programs and the sense of unfamiliarity experienced by professionals in the focus group. Objectives align with essential skills, but professionals report a limited benefit from that content, which is presented before they have a deep framework of practical experience. Although ongoing developments in guide dog use are part of the curriculum, this instruction would only capture a snapshot at the time of professionals’ college program.

Given that less than 2% of people who are blind use guide dogs, it may take several years of practice for O&M specialists to gain the practical experience they need in working with guide dog users and guide dog candidates. Professionals are also unlikely to know when they will first encounter travelers who are interested in guide dogs. Professionals will need to take intentional steps to constantly develop their knowledge in this domain so that they are ready to serve those clients, and they will need the support of guide dog schools providing this information.

Limitations

The perspectives of the O&M professionals presented in this report comes from a small focus group. The authors do not propose that the concerns they shared are held by all O&M specialists. However, since the concerns were shared by the specialists in the focus group, including those from both national certification systems, they are likely to present among other professionals in the field. This means there is at least some population of certified professionals who will be supported by the recommendations that follow.

A second limitation is that only the university programs preparing COMS share the unified external program standards related to guide dogs. However, within the focus group, concerns were shared by professionals from each national certification system, implying the knowledge gap occurs across the board.

Conclusion

Continuing education opportunities connecting O&M specialists with guide dog schools are essential to ensure such specialists are well prepared to support guide dog handlers or those who are interested in obtaining guide dogs. Participation in conference workshops about ongoing developments in guide dog travel would help seasoned professionals obtain current information and provide information to new professionals as they begin to encounter guide dog handlers. Guide dog schools can prepare continuing education opportunities for O&M audiences. Public-facing websites of guide dog schools can maintain pages for O&M specialists with information about what travelers are well suited to a guide dog lifestyle, skills needed before applying, and considerations for O&M specialists supporting an established guide dog pair. Enhanced communication between guide dog schools and O&M specialists is essential to meet all travelers’ needs.