Profiling guide dog handlers to support guide dog matching decisions.

CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm the importance of the Orientation and Mobility Outcomes tool as a sensitive, person-centred measure of the impact of Orientation and Mobility and guide dog training. In particular, the four mobility clusters provide a new perspective on matching guide dogs with clients, also suggesting the need for a more personalised look at the guide dog training process. Implications for Rehabilitation Orientation and Mobility Outcomes data seem 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. PMID: 30264598 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Disability and Rehabilitation - Category: Rehabilitation Authors: Tags: Disabil Rehabil Source Type: research