What is it about?
Four clusters of guide dog users have emerged from our research: Intrepid Explorers, Social Navigators, Independent Roamers and Homebodies.
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Why is it important?
Guide dog requirements differ for each of these clusters and are likely to change for individual guide dog handlers as life conditions change.
Perspectives
• Orientation and Mobility Outcomes data seems precise enough to support and inform the process of matching guide dogs to handlers. • Uniform results cannot be expected from guide dog mobility in handlers – age, stage of life, health and spatial cognition impact the competence and travel style of guide dog handlers, whereas vision is less important. • Sharing the work of visual interpretation and decision making with a guide dog makes independent travel more possible. • Valuable dog characteristics that are specific to handler requirements might be bred or trained from puppy raising onwards, creating a more diverse pool of dogs to draw upon.
Denny Meyer
Swinburne University of Technology
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Profiling guide dog handlers to support guide dog matching decisions, Disability and Rehabilitation, September 2018, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2018.1494211.
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