Maggie O'Reilly
Maggie O’Reilly’s bright smile brims with eagerness as she stands inside the west door of the Howe Building with her white cane in hand.
Her instructor, Mary Trainor, reminds Maggie of her goal to independently walk one day a week to her classes under staff supervision. “The waiting bench is your destination. Are you ready to go?”
Maggie, who four years ago was afraid to take one step into open space alone, nods enthusiastically and starts down the hallway. She travels at a pace Trainor proudly calls, “turbo turtle.”
Continued from Perkins Insight eNews ...
Mary Trainor walks several steps in front of Maggie O’Reilly through the hallways of Perkins Secondary Program. Using her white, Maggie makes her way through the large open space of the museum area towards the west corridor.
“Maggie has gained so much confidence,” says Trainor, an orientation and mobility specialist in Perkins Lower School and Secondary Program for the past 22 years. This is Trainor’s fourth year working with Maggie and her progress has surpassed Trainor’s expectations by miles.
Trainor asks: “In order to get to the stairs, we walk through which hallway?” Trainor stands by as Maggie makes a crisp 90 degree turn to the right. She comes to the stairs and feels for the first step with her cane, grips the railing and walks up one step at a time. Maggie is practicing the route to English class, located at the very end of the hallway to the right of the stairs.
Trailing the wall and counting classrooms as her cane swings into doorways, Maggie stops before the last room on her right. Trainor prods: “Are you there? How do you know?” Maggie pauses. English class, Trainor reminds her, is the only doorway that will be directly in front of her and not to the side. Maggie realizes her destination is still a few feet ahead.
Trainor uses sighted guide technique, allowing Maggie to hold onto her arm, and leads the way back to the top of the stairs where they started. This time Trainor stays behind not saying a word as Maggie advances down the hallway on her own. She passes the doors along the wall with a moment’s hesitation at the last classroom on the right before the end of the hallway. Trainor asks: “Is that door to your side or in front of you?” Maggie faces forward and takes a few more steps to the end of the hall. Her cane taps the inside corner of an open doorway directly in front of her. She’s made it to English class.
“Well done, Miss Maggie. I knew you could do it,” Trainor praises. “You always work to the best of your ability no matter what.”
Maggie turns and heads back down the hall. Trainor helps Maggie take note of a landmark where she can square off and take a line of direction. There is an emergency defibrillator box on the wall, just past a hallway door, directly across from the stairwell. Maggie puts her body against the box. She stops and listens – something Trainor taught her to always do before crossing from one side to the other in case someone is passing.
Going down the stairs, Trainor resurrects a teaching strategy she used often when she and Maggie first began working together. To the tune of a simple, catchy melody Trainor sings: “Foot over foot. Maggie O’Reilly. Foot over foot. Miss Maggie O’Reilly.”
Trainor begins singing only when Maggie lifts her front foot and ends the phrase only when she touches down on the next step. The lyrics, basic and repetitive, can be adapted to the day’s lesson. The music reinforces the tactual experience and movement, Trainor explains. Singing heightens cognitive awareness, alleviates fear, and creates a motivating learning experience. These days Maggie doesn’t need the music to get moving but sometimes the pair will sing just for the fun of it.
At the end of the lesson, Trainor walks with Maggie outside. Maggie is looking for the second opening along the waist high concrete wall on either side of the walkway between the student cottages. Maggie’s hand trails the wall and comes to a pillar as her cane sweeps into the first opening. She continues walking but pauses when she comes to the pillar on the other side of the entryway. Trainor explains each opening has a pillar on each side and even though Maggie has counted two pillars, she is still standing before the first opening.
“I see how this would be confusing,” Trainor acknowledges. Maggie goes back and tries to find the second entryway again. Then she tries a third time. Despite repeating the same mistake, Maggie’s positive attitude and persistence never waver. Not even for a moment.
Trainor congratulates Maggie, asking how she would evaluate her accomplishments for the day. “I would have to say that was a super class and that I did fantastically well,” she says beaming. Maggie said she enjoys practicing her cane skills in Perkins’ classroom buildings and cottages because her goal is to go for walks and gain more independence when she is home with family and friends.
“This environment is perfect for Maggie because it’s challenging but at the same time it’s protective,” says Trainor.
When Trainor describes Maggie’s progress, her genuine belief in Maggie’s abilities and sincere desire for her continued success comes across clearly in her affectionate tone. Working with Maggie, she insists, helped her improve her teaching strategies tremendously.
“Maggie has been a great teacher to me. She’s very open about her internal experience. If she gets stuck on something, I know there’s got to be a better way of driving the point across.”
In return, the lessons Maggie takes away from sessions with Trainor are sure to have an impact on her long term independence that goes beyond mobility. With practice and perseverance Maggie has summoned the strength and confidence to step out into dark open space and find her way. She has developed faith in her own abilities, laying a foundation for a lifetime of independent accomplishments large and small. All she needs to do is take one step at a time.
Read more stories on Orientation and Mobility in Perkins Insight.
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