Data were gathered in the survey and interviews to explore recent trends impacting the way people who are blind or have low vision get around in their communities. These trends may impact people’s decisions to use or not to use a guide dog and may also impact the experiences of active guide dog users. The most commonly identified trends are described below.
Travel Technology
In our survey, about three-fourths of the guide dog users reported that they also use a smartphone to aid them during travel. Similarly, most interview and focus group participants stated they use a smartphone at least occasionally for travel-related tasks. The guide dog users described using two major categories of smartphone apps: wayfinding apps—both mainstream (Google Maps) and blindness-specific (e.g., Soundscapes)—and visual interpreting apps such as AIRA or Be My Eyes. The participants generally reported using wayfinding apps to help plan routes before traveling. Sometimes, they also used wayfinding apps during travel to check their location or to receive turn-by-turn directions. The participants who used visual interpreting services did not typically use them regularly but used them on occasions when they were disoriented to troubleshoot or to assist with finding specific destinations (e.g., a specific sign in an office building). For example, one participant explained,
“I use one app to track the buses…And then I use [a Maps app] to find places and get to places. And then I use AIRA if the route gets a little bit difficult and I’m not sure where I’m going.”
Teleworking and Walking Less
Interview and focus group participants frequently described walking and using public transit less often, or for shorter distances, than they have in the past. Some of this change was attributed to the pandemic and shifts from in-person to remote work or schooling. One participant said:
“My first guide defaulted into a suddenly retired state, just because there wasn’t anywhere to go. And when I was able to work in person…It wasn’t even Uber, I was just getting rides from my clients, parents, friends, to cut down exposure to other people.”
Another factor was the increased availability of door-to-door rideshare services over the last eight years which offer more convenience than using public transit. Participants who often used rideshare services like Uber and Lyft to travel between destinations reported having to walk less than they would if they used public transit for travel.
These changes are significant for guide dog use because guide dogs need consistent work to maintain their skills. Consequently, guide dog schools generally require applicants to demonstrate that they engage in regular foot travel, commonly three regularly traveled routes, to be matched with a guide dog. In fact, representatives from two different guide dog schools in the United States reported that the most common reason applicants are currently denied admission is because they have not demonstrated “sufficient travel” or a “purposeful need” for a guide dog.
As in-person activity resumes after the pandemic, foot travel and public transit use may resume to an extent, but trends like the availability of rideshare and continuing telework may lead to longer-term decreases in walking and public transit use for people who are blind or have low vision. Future research will be instrumental in determining the potential impacts on guide dog usage. While some individuals may choose not to start or continue using a guide dog due to reduced opportunities to walk, others may benefit from using a guide dog trained to accommodate a less active lifestyle. As one participant expressed,
“I still like having a dog, but I guess I just need a different kind of dog. I need a dog that’s a lot calmer, a lot more laid back that can handle not working a whole lot.”
Age and Multiple Disabilities
Survey respondents included not only a large proportion of longtime guide dog users, but also older adults who are guide dog users. In our sample of 284 current guide dog users surveyed, about half were over the age of 55. With the general aging of the population and increasing prevalence of age-related vision loss, the average age of guide dog users is likely to increase.
Additionally, among the guide dog users surveyed, over one-fourth (27.8%) reported that they have a chronic health condition, about 14% reported having a hearing impairment, about 10% reported having a physical disability, and about 9% reported having a mental health disability. We also conducted three focus groups specifically with guide dog users who self-identified as people with multiple disabilities. It is clear that having these disabilities does not preclude a person from using a guide dog effectively. In fact, some individuals reported that their guide dog offered support to help compensate for a hearing or physical disability in addition to guiding. One participant explained:
“When I walk, I tend to veer quite a bit because my left leg was injured bad[ly] in the accident…While working with a guide dog, it’s just so much smoother and easier.”
Other benefits of guide dogs specific to multiple disabilities included assistance with balance while walking, as well as increased safety in street crossing for those with a hearing disability.
While people with multiple disabilities can experience great benefit from using a guide dog, it is important to provide reasonable accommodations and supports during and after training to ensure a positive experience. Guide dog school staff described a variety of successful accommodations. Some commonly noted accommodations included training a guide dog to walk on a user’s right side instead of their left if they had limited use of their left hand; using an FM bone conduction headset to communicate with a client with a hearing disability during travel; or developing mnemonic strategies to aid a client with a cognitive disability in remembering routes or instructions.
Guide dog users, too, appreciated instructors who took the time to provide needed accommodations and supports. This sentiment was especially strong among guide dog users with mental health disabilities. Focus group participants with anxiety disorders, for example, emphasized the importance of having a trainer who was patient and gentle and who would preview routes and expectations with them ahead of time. More generally, intersections between mental health disabilities and the guide dog lifestyle are an area that participants felt should receive greater attention from guide dog schools. One participant explained:
“The biggest thing to me that I noticed that guide dog schools avoid like the plague is [to address] mental health throughout training. Some schools have a transition lecture at the very beginning where they talk about retirement of the guide and things like that. But being a guide dog handler, mental health is this constant thing that comes up…whatever it is, mental health is just such a big component of being a guide dog handler. And I’ve never really felt supported by the schools in that journey.”
Access Denials and the Proliferation of Fake Service Animals
From our study, it is apparent that being denied access to facilities and concerns about fake service dogs play a repeated, devastating role in the daily lives of guide dog users throughout the United States and Canada. In the interviews and focus groups, participants frequently described being denied access to rideshare and to businesses (particularly restaurants). Additionally, measures to block access for fake service dogs have resulted in inconvenience and threats of discrimination for legitimate guide dog users especially in air travel. The fear of access denials sometimes makes guide dog users hesitant to bring their dog with them while traveling, especially if they are in a hurry and need to use a rideshare quickly. Additionally, the publicity around guide dog access barriers contributes to some people’s reluctance to become guide dog users.
Representative quotes from participants on these issues include the following:
“You could hear a car pull up and the app would tell you your driver is there, and then all of a sudden, the car would pull away real fast and the app would say, ‘Assigning you to another driver.’ And you can’t help but think that the dog is the reason. And so, while it’s very convenient to travel with a dog, if having the dog makes travel a less convenient thing because of rideshare denials, or whatever it might be, then I don’t know if I want a dog anymore.”
“I am hearing from other dog users about the red tape you have to go through because of people who had to have an emotional support or companion animal. It used to be we could say we had a guide dog and there was no problem. Now you have to fill out forms. You have to get a vet certification and it really seems like a big hassle. I don’t think it is fair to us. I think we should be able to show IDs from the school we attended and that should suffice for the dog to travel with us.”
“It would worry me, too, [because] the main way I travel is rideshare. And if that’s tricky with a guide dog, as we know it can be, that would be a big downside from my perspective. I already get enough weirdness from people in the public, and the dog would just add one more layer to that.”
These data point to a need for greater public awareness and advocacy to defend guide dog users’ rights to access all facilities open to the public with their dogs. Some participants also expressed interest in receiving training and resources to aid them in self-advocating when they face access denials. One participant suggested:
“Maybe it would’ve been nice to help us or direct us to a place where we can find our local, not emergency, … resources that we can reach out to just in case if a business is trying to discriminate or things like that.”
Shortage of O&M Services
Before obtaining a guide dog, individuals must demonstrate mastery of critical O&M skills including spatial orientation, the ability to learn and navigate routes, and the fundamentals of using a white cane for travel. Availability of O&M services, especially for adults, can be limited as noted by Franck, Haneline, and Farrugia (2011) who stated that there appears to be “a deterioration in the independent travel skills and readiness for dog guide training of applicants to our respective dog guide schools.” (p. 741). This problem may be especially acute for individuals who are not receiving vocational rehabilitation (VR) services, like older adults and adults not looking for work.
In line with the above observation, multiple study participants emphasized the widespread deficiency of O&M services, particularly in the United States, leading to a pool of individuals who could benefit from a guide dog but who have not yet acquired the prerequisite O&M skills. For example, one participant shared,
“My O&M training with [agency] was probably 20 minutes on a high traffic street, and the instructor watched what I was doing with my cane and my walking and my sense of where things were and said, “Oh, you’re doing great. We’re done.” And that was it. And I did not think that was what I call training, that was observation by a trainer, but that trainer didn’t teach me anything.”
A guide dog school staff member added:
“I think there’s just huge swaths of the country where it seems like O&M services, rehab services, just aren’t that available and so that is certainly a barrier that seems like it’s not going away anytime soon.”
As a consequence of limited O&M services, there is a substantial subset of potential guide dog users who have not yet acquired the prerequisite O&M skills needed to qualify for a guide dog. Staff from two guide dog schools shared that the second most common reason for applicants to be denied within the last five years, after “insufficient travel,” was “insufficient O&M skills” based upon a pre-admission assessment. Initiatives to increase the availability of O&M services, particularly for adults, will likely expand the pool of qualified guide dog applicants. Some guide dog schools have developed specialized O&M training programs to meet this need. GDB’s O&M Immersion Program (OMI), for example, provides a weeklong intensive O&M training experience for both guide dog users and nonusers. While originally created to specifically meet the needs of guide dog applicants who require additional O&M training before receiving a guide dog, the OMI program has expanded to offer O&M services to individuals who already have a guide dog or who are not necessarily interested in a guide dog but who desire focused O&M instruction. The OMI program was evaluated positively by graduates who participated in the study and appears to hold promise in beginning to counteract the shortage of O&M instruction.
