Today, we’re celebrating a new face at our Bunbury Office! Helen the Guide Dog has recently partnered with our talented Assistive Technology Mentor, Nicki Muir, and will be joining her at our VisAbility branch in Lotteries House.
Some of you might recognise Nicki’s name from one of our recent social media posts. If you did, you might know a little bit about her fantastic work. If not, don’t worry; we’re more than happy to tell you about it again!
Nicki & Assistive Technology
Nicki has been working as an Assistive Technology (AT) Mentor with VisAbility for over four years. In that time, she’s brought her extensive knowledge and hands-on experience to our clients based in the South-West. Nicki works with her clients to understand their unique needs and helps them find the right tools to help them live a happy and independent life.
What form those tools take varies from person to person. They can be incredibly simple, like a white cane or a glass magnifier, or increasingly complex, like computer software or AI-powered smart glasses. Assistive technology is never a one-size-fits-all situation, and many factors beyond simple function need to be considered.
An Evolution in Independence
Part of the reason Nicki is so good at her job is that she’s been on both sides of the Assistive Technology process. While Nicki has been working with VisAbility for quite a while, her journey with the organisation stretches much further. Since her early childhood, Nicki has been a VisAbility client. When she was 12, she started using a white cane, which has been a core part of her Assistive Technology arsenal ever since.
But over the years, Nicki began to recognise that, for her, a white cane wasn’t a perfect fit. Eventually, this realisation brought Nicki to Guide Dogs WA.
Partnering with a Guide Dog can be a slow process, but it’s an important process to get right. After all, the average Guide Dog career lasts eight years! That’s a long time to work with someone, so it’s critical the team works well together (and gets along!)
A Partnership is Born
After some time on a waiting list, Nicki was soon invited to undertake a matching session at our Perth HQ. It was there that she first met Helen, and their journey together tentatively began.
The purpose of the matching sessions is to assess how compatible a Guide Dog Team is and to identify any issues that might arise during their partnership. This is a normal part of the process, and not every matching session ends in a successful team. The goal is to find out as early as possible if there is any sort of mismatch, so we can find the best partners for both parties.
This can be quite the nuanced process! For example, something the Guide Dog Trainers look at is the speed at which a pair walks. If a Guide Dog walks too fast – or too slow – for their partner, it can cause them problems. This is something that varies from person to person and dog to dog, and is just one of many things that can cause friction in a partnership if neither party can adjust.
Happily, no such mismatch occurred for Nicki and Helen! After their initial pairing, Nicki worked closely with a Guide Dogs WA Guide Dog Mobility Instructor to learn how to get the most out of her new partner. Soon enough, it was time to take their training to the next level. Nicki and Helen, along with their instructor, headed off to Bunbury, where they put all they’d learned into practice.
This final step in the Team’s training is an opportunity to see how they settle into a practical environment together. It’s a tailored training regimen that covers Nicki’s daily routine, such as navigating around her home and workplace, as well as covering her common commutes and other journeys.
With a final tick of success from their instructor, the partnership was sealed. Now, after all that training, Nicki and Helen are ready to set off on the next step of their new adventure – together.
Assistive Technology Appointments with Nicki or our Perth Team
If you or someone you know could benefit from an Assistive Technology Mentor appointment, Nicki (and Helen!) has times available at our Bunbury Office. If you are Perth-based, we have four AT Mentors available at our Victoria Park location, but sadly no Helen.
For all enquiries, please contact our Client Experience Team on 9311 8202 or send an email to CETenquiries@visability.com.au.