Christina: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Taking the Lead podcast where we empower people to be unstoppable. I'm Christina Hepner with my co-host Leslie Hoskins and Timothy Kyo. So coming up very shortly, Timothy, we're gonna be on a, Leslie will also actually be on the stage. I don't know. I feel
Leslie: a little left out guys,
Christina: but Timothy.
And I are Coem seeing Dinner in the dark, our largest fundraiser.
Timothy: Oh man, I gotta work with you for a couple hours.
Christina: Wow.
Timothy: Yeah. I'm looking forward to it. It, it's gonna be fun,
Christina: Christine. Yeah, it's a totally different approach this year and I think it's going to be a lot of fun, um, and a new experience for everyone who has already been to Dinner in the Dark.
If you haven't been before, you're in for a treat.
Timothy: Well, I certainly hope so. I mean, uh, I hope everybody can understand my southern draw a little bit. I do say words a little bit different than y'all do, so hopefully everybody
Leslie: can follow. Oh man. I guess we'll manage. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's gonna be really exciting to have a client on stage almost the entire [00:01:00] time.
Right. And Timothy, you can share your story and your perspective and people know you already, so we already have that related piece. Um, I'm looking forward to watching you two and listening. I think it's gonna be great.
Christina: Yeah. As long as Timothy doesn't make fun of me, I, I,
Timothy: I try not to, but sometimes it comes easy.
I'm not gonna say that. Yeah. I'll, I'll be, I'll be on my good behavior. I'll practice my good etiquette at my plate at home for a couple of days before I come. Yes. And, uh, my wife would be very happy about that.
Christina: Well, we also have to sit at the same table for dinner, so we're gonna be together all night.
Timothy: And I had to put a suit on apparently. I was
Leslie: just gonna ask, have we decided the wardrobe? What are, what are
Christina: we wearing? Yeah. I want my. Think fancier.
Leslie: Fancier,
Christina: okay.
Timothy: How can you get fancy
Christina: suit? I mean, you'll be on the stage. So I, I think you pulled that suit, Timothy.
Timothy: I have to get a suit and tie on. Oh,
Christina: I mean, we actually haven't discussed this entirely yet, but
Timothy: Oh, okay.
Well,
Christina: but yeah, I think suit,
Leslie: I'm glad we're bringing it up.
Timothy: Good. Well glad you bring it up. Now I need to get that one suit I got cleaned.
Christina: Yes,
Leslie: please do. Alright.
Timothy: Yeah.
Leslie: So dinner in the dark is [00:02:00] happening? Yes. March 12th. What if, where can I go? I March 20th. March 20th.
Timothy: 20th. Oh man, they messed my airplane.
Everybody got my tickets already. Good. I got the wrong date.
Leslie: No, you don't march on my grandpa's
Timothy: birthday. It's the 20th.
Leslie: Yes, March 20th. Thank you. And you can find out more@leaderdog.org. Yes. Um, if you haven't already purchased a ticket, A ticket, please check that out. It is gonna be a really fun and exciting night.
I'm really looking forward to it.
Timothy: I challenge everybody to be there. Come on now. Come and see me and come see what Leader Dog does, and we'll have, it's gonna be fun. It is gonna be absolutely fun. So come on down.
Leslie: Yes. Yeah. And different than in the past, which I think will be really fun for. Yeah. And
Christina: if you physically aren't able to make it, you can always, you know,
Timothy: donate,
Christina: reach out in different ways and be an ambassador, volunteer, donate all those different things.
So
Leslie: absolutely.
Christina: If you can't be there in person and you'll still wanna be involved, there's multiple ways. So.
Leslie: All right, well we are looking forward to it and we'll, uh, we'll have to circle back on what anybody ends up wearing the wardrobe choices, because I won't wanna follow up with that. But today we're welcoming back a guest to give us an update on that [00:03:00] unmet needs survey that you, we talked about regularly throughout the last year and really what we've done with that information.
Yes. Janine
Christina: Penzone is a certified orientation and mobility specialist and a certified vision rehabilitation therapist at Leader Dogs for the Blind. And she's not. Unfamiliar to this podcast. She's been a guest on it in episodes like Beautiful Biscuit. If you wanna go back and listen and don't be a Zack.
Timothy: Janine, welcome back. I think that she's probably been on this podcast more than anybody, than us,
Leslie: honestly. The third time guest is pretty big. Other than obviously Melissa Weiss, I president, and CEO, but wow. All right, Janine. Welcome. Welcome.
Jeannine: Thank you
Timothy: very
Jeannine: much for having me back again. Yes, very excited. I know to talk about this new program.
You're officially
Christina: a team member now.
Jeannine: Yes. Last time I was entering. Yes. And that's crazy.
Timothy: Look at you. So we're gonna talk about the pilot class. So can you tell us how we come up with this? Why did we need to do it?
Jeannine: So, unmet needs survey was [00:04:00] done, um, a couple years ago and we've been working on it. And the biggest thing that we got was.
Feedback from the clients that our current programs effectively teach individuals how to travel safely from point A to point B to their destination, but then they struggle once they get to that destination. So, um, having this Adaptive Daily Living skills program is, um, a gap to meet for the clients. So not only are they traveling safely now, once they get there, they can do what they would like.
Leslie: This really came about, Timothy, you've been talking about this for years, right? Of like, yeah, it's great Leader dogs providing all this mobility training and you're, uh, traveling, like Janine said, from point A to point B, but it's that in-between, in all those activities of daily living where you've never really received any instruction.
So what does it mean to you to be a part of this pilot program?
Timothy: Well, I feel. I'm happy that I'm here.
Leslie: Mm-hmm.
Timothy: And, uh, it's like I've been telling everybody I've got my independence now [00:05:00] outside the house, but with my vision now I'm losing the independence inside my house.
Leslie: Mm.
Timothy: And when I'm traveling. So it, it, I have learned a lot this week and, uh.
Simple things because I'm thinking visually still.
Leslie: Mm-hmm.
Timothy: And I had that, I couldn't get past that barrier. And Janine helped me do it on some of these things. And, and it just mind blows me the things. It's simple things. And I just never thought about doing. So I, I, I think this is a great program. I think it's a needed program.
Mm-hmm. And yes, there are some people out there that may not need it, but there are people like me in my same situation. And I think it would be very helpful for 'em.
Leslie: Absolutely. So just to give us, let's, let's back up a little bit 'cause we're ready to dive into this. This is the final day of the pilot program, but Janine, can, can you give us like an a broad overview of what this pilot program is?
Jeannine: Yes. So we had to decide it. So as a vision rehab therapist, you. We break, [00:06:00] um, things into categories of reading and identification, communication, technology, personal management, home management, assistive technology, and self-advocacy. So we have all taken, um, pieces of that. We talk with our clients to see what they needed, and then we tailored a program to, you know, talk about dining etiquette or cooking.
Um. We also have done, you know, how to read labels or use a keypad to use your credit card. Um, labeling how to find items in your house. We. Talk about apps and how to use those effectively and, you know, home management. How do you clean, how do you know, make sure that your countertop was cleaned off correctly or right.
Timothy, how do you, Tyson
Timothy: and onion?
Jeannine: Ding an onion. Yes. Or um, getting some mustard on our hot dog properly. Right?
Timothy: Go catch up.
Jeannine: No catch up. Sorry.
Leslie: I know we're gonna get to history and hot dogs because I [00:07:00] definitely wanna talk about that as a, a key part of this week. Um, but I'm also curious, Janine, can you tell us who's here providing this program with you?
Because this is, you have a, an additional certification than most of our comms have, right? That certified vision rehabilitation therapist. So who is with you here providing this week?
Jeannine: So we have two other. Cv, rts with us. One is Ricky Lynn Lair and Chad Cini is here, um, for the week with us to do this pilot program and they'll be joining us, um, at our next.
Pilot week that we're doing
Leslie: So exciting. The energy on campus right now is like a buzz, right? Everybody's walking around talking about like, well, did you see what they're doing downstairs right now? Or have you gotten a hot dog? Or did you see that they went shopping or this and that? They partnered with the library.
I mean, like it is, the energy is so exciting and you're really feeling the impact. Timothy, what has been, I mean, it's probably gonna be hard to narrow down, but like some of the most [00:08:00] impactful things that you've learned this week.
Timothy: Well, the most impactful is that when I got into the kitchen, you know, I like to cook.
Mm-hmm. I've always cooked for Cheryl. When she used to work, she'd come home, suppers ready. I was a nice husband.
Leslie: Yeah.
Timothy: And, but for the past year or two, my eyesight has gotten so much worse. I couldn't, I couldn't even put mustard on the hot dog anymore.
Leslie: Mm-hmm.
Timothy: And I couldn't dice onions anymore. So she just said, yeah, the way I'll do it.
Well, I didn't like that feeling 'cause I felt like I was inadequate and I couldn't do it anymore. And then once you give up that stuff, you start losing yourself again. I don't want to go back to who I was.
Leslie: Mm-hmm.
Timothy: I didn't wanna be a lump on a couch again. I can do it outside with glacier, go anywhere, but in my kitchen I, I can't do nothing anymore.
And so. Just the simple fonts of, 'cause I was thinking visually, 'cause I used to have good sight.
Jeannine: Mm-hmm.
Timothy: And I could still see three or four years ago, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. I would miss the bun, I would do this. I, I mean, it was, it was, it was terrible.
Jeannine: Terrible.
Timothy: And so, [00:09:00] I. That, that just to be able to do something in the kitchen and now I know how to do things.
Just simple things like labeling your credit card so you know what sides of which, and where the magnetic strip is. Mm-hmm. And how to where the chip is. And you do the opposite corner of where the card is. And it just simple stuff that somebody like me couldn't figure it out and Janine did. Mm-hmm. And so she just showed me a better way to do it.
Leslie: It's been so fun to pop in and out. I'm total disruptive this week. Yes, you were everywhere. I know. But I was so excited about some of, and I learned so much just from popping in and out. So the other day you guys were working on, um, how to sign like a receipt at a restaurant.
Jeannine: Oh yes.
Leslie: Can you tell us a little bit about that strategy, Janine?
'cause honestly, it's so easy, but I never would've considered it.
Jeannine: So a lot of people don't necessarily take the signature guide with them. You know, I hear it. I don't wanna bring another device, I don't wanna bring something else to do. Um, so, you know, using your [00:10:00] self-advocacy and knowing you can ask your.
Cashier or a waitress or whatever, take that receipt and ask them to to bend it where you would sign your name and now you have a tactile feeling where you can put your name.
Christina: Oh,
Jeannine: now Timothy's like, I want to give a tip. What do I do about that? How do I know where to put the tip on there? 'cause I could just write it anywhere on the receipt.
Yeah. But you can also ask 'em to fold the receipt in half there where the tip is. So above the tip line, you would put the tip amount and below it would be the total. That you are charging your card, and then you can find that next line and sign your name.
Timothy: Well, I just wanna let know, Melissa, I, I wrote a thousand dollars tip on this's receipt and I hack it, so Melissa.
Oh, wow. A thousand tip police, you know?
Christina: Yeah. We'll have to get that approved by somebody. Yeah. Where is that receipt now have it.
Leslie: That's. Small [00:11:00] example again for the three minutes that I sat with you guys, you guys were also pouring water in and out of different devices using different devices and different strategies. But uh, we do have to talk about the hot dogs because Oh yes, the hotdog energy around this building yesterday
Christina: was insanity.
I know. I am so sad that I missed that I was enemy and I came back out and she was like, you have to check out the hot dogs. And I went down and you guys were done. And I was like, no.
Leslie: Tell us about the hot, hot dogs, Timothy.
Timothy: Well, I. We, we, I chopped up a bunch of onions that, that, 'cause I wanted to know how to cut, you know, a potato and carrot.
And then we did on the onions and she showed me all this, this the, the neat little devices we can use and I'm just blown away. So we diced those onions up and, and they perfectly ded. I kept go in the kitchen. Oh my gosh, it nice, nice. The kitchen here is
Leslie: incredible.
Timothy: Yes. Stainless steel everywhere I found red.
Beautiful. So we went over there and she got this little hot plate and, and a brand new pot. We started cooking some hot dogs and, and so then she goes, well, what kind of condiments you want? I said, ke mustard. I didn't mention ketchup, but she insisted, [00:12:00]
Leslie: well, because you have a hot dog without ketchup, Timothy,
Timothy: let's not be absurd here.
Yeah, okay, you're crazy. But, and then we did the, the relish and then we did the onions. And so, uh, we cooked them and. And everybody started showing up. I saw Garrett there. We saw Meredith was there. Yeah. We had, uh, Christie pleasure there. Everybody was showing up when they're hot dog. Yeah. I tried to get dunny to get one, but she wouldn't eat one.
Leslie: Yeah. Dunny was the one that set me down to
Timothy: see a hot dog. Yeah. She said, well get a hot dog. Yes. So, and you showed up too. I know you were last.
Leslie: I know, I know. I didn't get a hot dog.
Timothy: Everybody was just excited to eat the hot dog and, and I put the ketchup on some of them, but Which I used to take, which is kind.
Yeah, yeah. Which Janine taught me how to do and I did it. Yes. And that's just. Just simple stuff bothers me more than anything.
Christina: Mm-hmm.
Timothy: Yeah. And now I, Janine helped me figure it out and that, that helps me out a lot psychologically. 'cause I've been frustrated here past six, seven months. Mm-hmm. Just doing the simple stuff.
And I've had [00:13:00] apologize a couple times to Cheryl, and I don't mean to sound like this, but I'm getting frustrated again 'cause it's just getting so bad.
Leslie: Well, we certainly appreciate you always being so open and honest and vulnerable, and sharing your personal story and experience and really hearing from you throughout the years on this podcast has also really inspired this pilot program to get started.
And I'm so glad that you're here and get to be one of the first participants. And the history in hotdog was just fantastic, and I hope that kind of continues. We talked about this being such a historic moment in Leader Dog's history. We have always focused pretty much just on mobility. So to expand into this area and, and just explore it, who knows what will come of this, but what a historic moment.
And then you add hotdog and it, honestly, it's just a win-win history and hotdog here this week.
Timothy: But see, the thing I needed will be different than what somebody else needed. And that's what's great about it. It can be more specific for each individual client and you get one-on-one. There's not one-on three or whatever.
It is, a one-on-one. And I love that aspect of [00:14:00] it. It needs to be one-on-one. That way we can spend the two or three hours that we need, and I just love that part of it.
Leslie: I'm curious, Janine, on your perspective or excitement I guess, around this, you have been on the Leader dog team for officially how long now?
Just about a year. Just about a, that's crazy. It feels like so much longer. Um, but in that year, and you've gotten your certified, uh, vision rehabilitation therapist. And you've been kind of providing these skills here and there to clients mm-hmm. That your OM clients that you're working with, what has it been like to spend a whole week really diving into this
Jeannine: exciting?
Leslie: Yeah,
Jeannine: it was great to, to think like, I know when, you know, I take it to OM, clients come and they're like, oh, I just dunno how to cut my food. So you spend a little bit of time doing that. But to actually dive in this whole week and say these are the things that, you know, kind of make us whole, if you think about it.
Yeah. Like. Yes, you've gained your independence, but now you're living and how, how can I do this? So to be able to [00:15:00] take it and say, I have this whole entire week, what are these small things or what is the big thing that is stopping you from mm-hmm. Getting to the restaurant or going out with your friends or figuring out what you're gonna cook in the kitchen or how you're gonna cook it.
We have that one-on-one time just to do that the whole week, which is, it's been great.
Leslie: And how did you guys. Prep for this, right? Like, I know it was hard to navigate selecting clients for this program. I think you guys did a lot of phone calls kind of on the front end. 'cause like you talked about, this is so individualized, uh, one-on-one as are most of our programs.
But, um, I'm curious that whole process kind of leading up to this.
Timothy: Well, Janine called me Okay.
Leslie: About.
Timothy: Week and a half ago, I said, there's a strange person calling me on my phone. And she goes, that's Sina. Okay. And so, so we went through, she asked, what is, what are you looking for? What, what, what do we need to do to tailor for your needs?
So I told her about my difficulties and what I was having. And so she tailor made a specific [00:16:00] program and things that, and I think she probably added a couple things in there that she might, Hey. You know, you ever thought about this? Oh yeah. Oh, thank you for adding something to it. Maybe I didn't think about.
'cause like the magnetic strips on the back of a credit card and stuff. So she added a little, maybe this, you might wanna do this too. And it, she, she hit it dead on and she's pretty good at it. I, I, I congratulate her. Very Thank you. She's pretty daggum Good.
Leslie: She's earned that a thousand dollars tip.
Timothy: Yeah.
That's why I did
Jeannine: first
Timothy: was a hundred, but by the end of the class was a thousand. Yeah. So that's the one she's
Jeannine: earned at. Take that. It's really getting to know just to add on your clients. So yes, we have like these areas that we're gonna look at, but for it to be meaningful for Timothy, what is the biggest struggles you're having right now?
Why? Are you not? Maybe like going to that restaurant or whatever. So let's start talking about those things and figuring it out. Then I can start tailoring the program to say, oh, he doesn't like to use knives, or He's not [00:17:00] sure the proper way to use knives. So we can add that in there. Or, um, you know, just jumping like a coffee, how to pour coffee to the right measurement that we're not burning ourselves or over spilling it.
Mm-hmm. So there's.
Timothy: Sweeping the floor.
Jeannine: Yeah.
Timothy: Properly. Mm-hmm. Vacuuming, just stuff like that that I wanna, I wanna help out. I don't wanna be a person on the sideline all the time. Yeah. I wanna say, Hey, I can do it. I don't want to have somebody have to go behind me and clean up what I missed. I don't wanna miss nothing.
Leslie: Yes.
Timothy: And I don't have to sit there and scrub for 40 minutes either. So I want to get her done when I, it's time to get her done.
Leslie: Right. Absolutely. And there are two other clients here who, like you mentioned, are working with Chad and Ricky Lynn this week. Have they been doing different things that you haven't been doing or.
Jeannine: Yes, they have. Um, I know our, one of our other clients, she was not familiar with meta glasses at all. Okay. Actually, both of them were, one had [00:18:00] brought, bought a pair, brought them with them, never used them before. And then we did have a pair here for our other client to use. And um, you know, Timothy jumped right in and did some lessons with that.
I love it having some peer support like that to do so. Yes. Um. Another does not know how to use voiceover. So they were learning how to do voiceover. Um, one of the other clients did not know how to, you know, ask for assistance to get help into a store when they want it to go, uh, to purchase something. So it just depends on where they're at.
And yeah,
Timothy: everybody has different needs and that's what's beautiful about it. I may have strengths and I may have weaknesses, but it might be us somebody else's strength and weakness. Yeah. So we feed while there's downtime, like, like she said, during the times that, uh, everybody went home out the, I sat there and had a a a two hour.
Session [00:19:00] with medical access with everybody.
Leslie: Mm-hmm.
Timothy: And there was some times that the, even the instructor couldn't figure something out. I said, try this. Oh my gosh. You are right. Yeah. So I was having a blast. I had a smile on my face when I got Tuesday morning because I, we were about technology and yeah, I was having a blast.
Christina: Well, and I think that really ties to, we were trying to meet clients where they were and why that unmet needs survey was done. I think. The all of that is a testament to that, that everyone is at a different space. And Timothy, for you sitting down with the clients on your own time, I mean, you guys are probably bouncing ideas off each other and just learning outside of the learning sessions that you're having.
Timothy: Yeah, it's just, I think I'm a little bit ahead of some people, which technology, which I love technology. Everybody knows that. Yeah. So if I can help them out. I'm all for it. Mm-hmm. I love technology and uh, what I learned last November when I was here from my o and m advance, I can tell people, Hey, this is what I did and one day you'll be able to do it.
Yeah. You gotta start where you are, but [00:20:00] eventually you're gonna be able to do anything you want to and it will blow you away what's coming down your pipeline. Be patient and learn them baby steps, but eventually you'll get there.
Christina: Yeah. And what is, 'cause we're at the end of the week of the pilot program.
What is the. Confidence, like from that first day to now on the different skills you learned?
Timothy: Well, Janine did a great guitar, like I said, and now I know what I need to do when I get home.
Christina: Yeah.
Timothy: We've got goals that I'm going to, she's gonna call back and check on me.
Christina: I'm make sure you're,
Timothy: yeah. So she said, what are you gonna do when you get home?
I said, I'm gonna cook me a big dinner.
Christina: Yeah.
Timothy: And I'm gonna use those, those techniques. So it's, you know what you, you can teach me everything you can. And if I don't go home and do it. Mm-hmm. I wasted your time and my time. And so that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna take these skills that I've just learned and use 'em.
Christina: Yeah.
Jeannine: I'm also gonna check in on some confidence of, you know, we had identified your, your credit cards Yeah. Or your health insurance card. Yeah. [00:21:00] And how confident are you gonna be when you go to the store and use that?
Timothy: Oh yeah. I mean, I, I hate giving somebody a card and it's upside down. I wanna look like I know what I'm doing.
Jeannine: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Timothy: I want, I wanna fool people. And I'll learn this guy's, every time he gives me this card, it's always in the right. I wanna be pro. I hate it. I hate it. I wanna make sure that I look like I'm confident. I, I'd be think looking confident, even though in my blindness it says something about me.
Leslie: Yes,
Timothy: and that's what I want to give that appearance of.
Leslie: Absolutely. I love that. And I feel that so strongly in all the things. Right. O and m and all these VRT skills too. Jane, I'm curious because it has been a really successful week, and again, the energy is buzzing. Are there things though that you've been like, Hmm, I would do that differently, or Next time I wanna add that or take away that?
Jeannine: That is a good question. So yes, I have been thinking of things. Um, I would love to put some more, um, you know, in the [00:22:00] self-advocacy, just putting people in maybe a situation that is a little uncomfortable, um, for them to find their. Words to say, you know, instead of saying, I'm sorry, or I'm in the way, or, you know, confidently say something and move on with what they're doing.
Leslie: I think it's, it'll be so interesting, Janine and, and Timothy too, to reflect on the week and get kind of the client perspective and what you would maybe change or would've wanted to see more of or or what you were really surprised. By, and same with you, Janine and Rickie, Lynn and Chad to hear, okay, this was really great, but, oh, or I wanna follow up in this area, or next time, let's do this.
Um, I am curious, so we talked about, this is one version of the pilot program, right? Where you guys have really focused on activities of daily living, but we do have another week of pilot program. Coming up here, can you tell us what is the difference between this week and what that next week's gonna be?
Jeannine: Yes. So the next program that we're doing, we're gonna do like hybrid. We're gonna do some o and [00:23:00] m training and, um, daily living skills.
Leslie: Very cool.
Jeannine: So if there's something that you're needing help with o and m, we're gonna do a brush up with that. Mm-hmm. But then also teach, um. Some daily living skills or you know, how can we combine them together to get you out into the community, whether that's navigating a store and purchasing something.
Yeah, so taking the o and m and then how to find the things in the store and then use money or a credit card or whatever, checking out.
Timothy: There was some actual clients that went out this week with their metta ray bands and mm-hmm. They were able to shop, they were able to pick the product off the shelf.
Christina: Yeah.
Timothy: That's Use an ira or be My Eyes.
Christina: Yeah. Yeah.
Timothy: And they were, I'm, they were crying. When they were doing this stuff, because I
Christina: love that
Timothy: it opens the world.
Christina: Mm-hmm.
Timothy: And I know people with vision can't understand, but when something you can't do and haven't been able to do and all of a sudden you can read a letter, you can find something on the shelf.
That's huge. It is. And you [00:24:00] did it yourself. I, I, I love the idea that they went out and let them go to the shopping center. In Targe or, or what? Myers or,
Jeannine: yeah. My
Timothy: Or what? How's your son say it
Jeannine: mejore
Timothy: me. Jores. Marere. Oh,
Leslie: Zach.
Timothy: Yes. And uh, they're able to do that 'cause that's what they're gonna do when they go home.
Leslie: Yeah.
Timothy: And I love that they let 'em do that.
Leslie: That's so exciting. What a great week. Again, we cannot capture the energy well enough of how this place is just beaming right now. It's exci exciting to go kind of down these paths and explore different opportunities and we don't know what will come of it, but um, I'm certainly glad that we've done this and it's had a huge impact on you, Timothy, and I know the other two clients that are here as well.
What, um, Timothy, we asked Janine kind of, uh, what she would maybe do differently or thoughts for or the next time. Do you have any ideas or suggestions or thoughts?
Timothy: You know, you always say about advocacy.
Jeannine: Yes.
Timothy: And I know you, you know, leader dog's good about having those little, little puppy dogs. There's always distractions, you know that?[00:25:00]
Mm-hmm. So why, why they're out shopping. You could have somebody out there who's gonna accidentally run into 'em or something and see how they. React to that.
Jeannine: Exactly.
Timothy: And they don't know what's going to, oh, I said it on the podcast.
Jeannine: Well, they still dunno
Timothy: it, but so have them do it and see how they respond.
Yeah. And then you say, okay, what did you do Right, or what did you do wrong there? And, and that would be a good test.
Leslie: Right. 'cause we've kind of done some of that here. We have the, uh, mock, like TSA area where we're practicing kind of going. 'cause that's a really stressful environment. We hear that all the time, right?
People leave here and their first solo kind of experience is at the airport and what a challenging experience or environment. And so we've kind of created this mock TSA area. And I, I think as instructors, that's where we can kind of toe the line there too. You might get a really nice TSA agent or you might.
Not get a nice TSA agent and so we can kind of play and advocate there. But I think right, taking that same idea into different environments and situations, I think that's really cool. [00:26:00]
Jeannine: Yeah. I think also a fun one would be to have dining, you know, set up a whole like eating experience where we have, um.
You have to read the menu. You have to order. Yeah, and just how you would navigate through that with our cafeterias, you know, our dining staff or make that happen here.
Timothy: Craig dressed up in a big, nice suit and had that thing draped over his arm. Can I help you? You know,
Leslie: Craig's fantastic, Craig. I don't think he could be be mean if he really tried.
I think honestly, he just exudes hospitality and kindness. I think that would be a little torturous on his end if he had to try to be rude. Urban in any way, shape or form.
Timothy: Yeah, that'd be cool if you did a dining setting like that and just challenged everybody a little bit.
Leslie: Mm-hmm.
Timothy: Yeah,
Leslie: we can do that.
There's so much opportunity here for where this will go and what it'll turn into. And honestly, like you mentioned, Janine, it's so individualized, so maybe some people do wanna go down that advocacy road and have some of these and maybe other people don't. They feel okay. They [00:27:00] feel good with that, so. It's so wonderful that we can have these pre-conversations when you're calling the clients, get to know them, what are their needs, and then you kind of tweak the week according to them.
Jeannine: Yes, that's the best way to do it. And then if we need a group lesson to kind of, you know, tie some things in together just for them to have some peer, like, what are you doing? How did you do this? Mm-hmm. It's very nice to have that going on during the week too.
Timothy: And see, I've always told you guys, you're never gonna get me up there with snow.
And there's snow everywhere up here, I'll tell you. Oh, it's never stopping. Oh
Leslie: my. It's never stopping. One of the things, the last things, 'cause I know we need to wrap up here, but one of my favorite things this week has been walking into the instructor's office and seeing all the things. There are so many, there's so many things down
Christina: there.
Leslie: Can you
Christina: tell us about some of the things that we had to purchase to make this week happen?
Jeannine: And Timothy has to well know. 'cause I was taking things and I'm like, oh, I forgot things. Let me go back and grab this. She got her steps in one day. Yeah. There's
Christina: so many things
Jeannine: to bringing. So we had, oh my gosh. You [00:28:00] know, liquid level indicators we purchased.
We have,
Christina: wait, what is that?
Jeannine: Liquid level indicators. Oh yeah. I love it. So we have only one of them. You love two of things? Yeah. One of them I love. So there's three different kinds. There's one that tweets, there's one that. Buzzes and there's one that is allowed like peering sound. Now I hear that at four in a morning.
So they have prongs. They have prongs on the one side, a battery on the other, and you stick it on the side of your glass and as the liquid gets to the top, it will make whichever one you have, it will make, um, one of those noises. So, um, greet for coffee.
Leslie: Mm-hmm.
Jeannine: Uh, definitely don't have to burn yourself now.
We got it measured so you know exactly where to put it. Yep. Um, we had purchased some, um, measuring spoons and cups that are different colors. We have puffy paint to label things, bump dots,
Leslie: air fryers.
Jeannine: Yes. Air
Leslie: toaster ovens.
Jeannine: Yeah, we got a hot plate. Hot plate,
Leslie: yeah.
Timothy: Infection. Hot plate.
Jeannine: [00:29:00] We have our, um, onion guide.
Timothy: Mm-hmm.
Jeannine: Um, that helps slice things nicer. Ceramic
Timothy: knives.
Jeannine: Yeah. Ceramic knives. Some sharp knives. Uh, I don't know. There's so much
Leslie: down there everywhere
Jeannine: to start.
Leslie: Like, gosh,
Jeannine: everything is like,
Leslie: and every time I go in there, somebody was taking something different to go. I also love, we had like an old credit card machine kind of, that didn't work anymore.
So you could practice either tapping or inserting or swiping. And then the creativity of this team this week, you guys has been so fun. Um, Chad was looking, he wanted like a number pad, right? To practice, like inputting a pin number or something like that. Uh, and we tried the phone, but then we were dialing all sorts of numbers, so we didn't wanna do that, but.
Uh, we went to the finance team and they had an old calculator. Yeah. So we were kind of like, I just, it was so much fun and honestly everybody was on board. I went to two different offices before I got to the calculator to ask for these things and everybody is just rifling through. Trying to get creative on was crazy what we could use.
So all, all team, everybody hands on deck. What a [00:30:00] fantastic week. Congratulations to both of you for being a part of history and hotdog. This has just been so much fun and thank you for joining us today and sharing about it.
Jeannine: Thank you for having me. It was great.
Christina: Yes,
Leslie: and thank you so much to our listeners for listening to the Taking the Lead podcast.
I'm Leslie Hoskins with host Timothy Kyo and Christina Hoeppner. We hope you enjoyed learning about this first very exciting pilot program, and please join us next time as we continue to dive into the world of blindness.
Christina: And if you'd like to learn more about applying it to our free services at Leader Dog, you can head to leader dog.org or call us at (888) 777-5332.
Don't forget, you can reach us at taking the lead@leisuredog.org with any questions or ideas. If you like today's podcast, make sure to hit subscribe and check us out wherever podcast Stream.