Ian Observation
Ian Observation Transcript
Sara:
Sara: During this observation, Ian goes with his Orientation and Mobility instructor to a grocery store that he has not previously been to. Competing stimuli include the music piped into the store, the person videoing him -there's a little red light on the camera- and the general novelty of the environment. It is a motivating trip because Ian will get to buy his favorite gum. We will mark our results for this in the section of the data sheet called "Observation Information."
During clip one, Ian maneuvers himself into the van. He reaches for the door handle twice. The first time, it's not clear exactly where his gaze falls while reaching, but the second time, it is quite clear. Let's watch.
[video clip 1]
>Teacher: Now you see that curb down there, right?
>Ian: Yeah.
>Teacher. Ok. Thank you. Oh, alright! First time going off campus for O&M! Yeehaw!
Sara:
So we made a note of that second reach in the tenth row, "Visually guided Reach," since Ian looked and reached simultaneously.
Lynne:
In clip 2, we see Ian and his O&M instructor enter the store. She asks him to identify some things on the shelf from about eight feet. He identifies the cooler, saying, "Drinks" and the items on the shelf, saying, "Fruit." Let's watch.
[video clip 2]
>Teacher: Go all the way to the far wall. What do you see there without touching anything.
>Ian: Drinks.
>Teacher: Drinks and...
>Ian: Fruit.
>Teacher: Fruit? Cool! What kind of fruit?
>Ian: Oranges...
Lynne:
We marked that observation down on the data sheet on the fifth row, "Complexity," since the environment was so complex, and in the seventh row, "Distance," since he identified items from a little ways away.
In the third clip, his instructor has asked him if he wants to feel some of the items on the shelf. He moves toward the red peppers and she asks him if he can pick it up and identify it. She then shows him an apple, which is not as deep a red as the pepper, and he identifies it as an orange visually, then after he touches it, he identifies it as an apple. Let's watch clip 3.
[video clip 3]
>Teacher: You want to feel one? See what that red thing is: what's that? Ok you can pick that up. What is that? Is it a fruit or a vegetable?
>Ian: Vegetable.
>Teacher: It's a vegetable. Here, let's compare. So from a distance that might have looked like that. What's that?
>Ian: An orange.
>Teacher: It's an orange? Here, feel.
>Ian: Apple.
>Teacher: Apple, sure enough.
Lynne:
We marked the information from this clip in the first row, "Color," because he was drawn to the red peppers and in "Complexity," because of Ian's misidentifying the apple in a visually complex situation.
Sara:
The fourth clip involves his instructor asking him about the number of shelves, then whether the fruit is a lemon or lime. Ian leans in very close to try to take in the specific visual information.
[video clip 4]
>Teacher: How many shelves do you see? Yeah? Yeah. Wanna count? What are those?
>Ian: Um...I don't know.
>Teacher: Is it a lemon or a lime?
>Ian: Lemon.
>Teacher: Lemon? Which one's a lemon?
Sara:
We marked the information from that clip in "Complexity," since Ian moved so close, perhaps to reduce the visual complexity, since moving close allows one to see fewer items.
The fifth clip is one of those that is very telling. Ian is asked to identify a fruit he is holding against a complex background and has a hard time telling what color it really is. It is suggested to him to move it so that the background is the plain, tile floor. After that, Ian readily identifies that the fruit is "kinda greenish." Let's watch clip five.
[video clip 5]
>Teacher 1: What color do you see there?
>Ian: It's hard to tell the color.
>Teacher 2: Maybe where you're holding it.
>Ian: It's kind of a, I guess a [inaudible].
>Teacher 2: Hmm? Why don't you turn and not hold it over everything else?
>Teacher 1: Here, come bring it over here so you have just like the floor underneath it, so not all that clutter. There you go. Can you stand over by me? Can you see what color it is there?
>Ian: Kinda greenish.
>Teacher 1: Kinda greenish! Cool! There you go.
Sara:
We marked that information in "Complexity."
Lynne:
Clip six is a repeat of the same kind of example. Ian is asked to identify an orange over the non-complex tile of the floor, and is able to immediately identify it.
[video clip 6]
>Ian: Orange.
>Teacher: That's an orange. Cool.
Lynne:
We marked that in "Color," because he seemed to have trouble before with the red/orange spectrum in not knowing which was which, and "Complexity," because of how well the strategy worked.
In clip seven, Ian is asked to go find a vegetable from a different part of the shelf. Out of the green, orange, purple, and yellow array, Ian goes immediately for the yellow squash. Let's watch.
[video clip 7]
>Teacher 1: Alright. Alright. Thank you!
>Teacher 2: Cool. Alright.
We marked that one down in "Color" as yellow is a color that Ian is more drawn to.
Sara:
In clip 8, Ian is being asked to identify what is on the top shelf. The grocery store soundtrack seems to have gotten louder, the area is cold, the array is cluttered, and Ian is tired. Ian seems to need extra time to identify the item that is there. Let's watch clip 8.
[video clip 8]
>Teacher: Milk, uh huh. And how about the top shelf?
>Ian: Fruit juice?
>Teacher: Ok. Where's the top shelf?
>Ian: Over here? Top shelf?
>Teacher: Yeah, what's on the top shelf?
>Ian: Here?
>Teacher: No, right here. What's that? Yeah.
>Ian: Eggs.
>Teacher: Eggs, sure enough. So what department would these be?
Sara:
We marked that one in the third row, "Visual Latency," because of Ian's fatigue and him taking longer to look, and in "Complexity" because all the competing sensory information made this a more difficult task.
Clip 9 is similar to clip 8, but Ian is less successful. He is even more fatigued, the item being searched for is small and probably more complex. Ian tries to look at the shelf with the candy and gum and he can barely do it.
[video clip 9]
>Teacher: How many shelves do they have with gum on it?
>Ian: Right there.
>Teacher: And where else? Ok, yeah. Any other shelves with gum on it right here in front of us here?
>Ian: There?
>Teacher: Uh-huh, there you go. Now you were telling me what gum you liked. You said Trident. Do you see Trident on there?
Sara:
We marked that one in "Visual Latency," because of the fatigue noticeably decreasing looking behaviors, as well as in "Complexity," because the visual target is extremely complex and Ian tries and tries to make sense of it, but doesn't seem to be able to.
Lynne:
In clip 10, we see Ian paying for his purchase. He does not look at the cashier at all.
[video clip 10]
>Cashier: 2.15.
>Ian: Is this good?
>Cashier: Can I get 15 more cents?
Lynne:
We marked that information in "Visual Latency" as well as "Complexity." Ian does not look at the unfamiliar face of the cashier. It should be noted that during this observation, Ian glanced toward his instructor's familiar face infrequently. We see him do that briefly during this clip. It might also be noted that she was talking to him a great deal of the time during this observation.
In clip 11, Ian seems happy to be leaving that store, and begins heading toward the van as soon as they round the corner. He wants to go straight for it, but his instructor cautions him to stay near the wall.
[video clip 11]
Teacher: You're coming out the door on the left. Man! Hey Ian, you want to stay on the sidewalk until you get in front of the van, because you don't want to just cruise through the parking lot, ok? There you go. Staying close to the van. I don't think I locked it. There you go.
Lynne:
We marked that one in the seventh row, "Distance Viewing," since Ian is able to identify the van from 20 feet away, possibly a stingy estimate: It may be further than that.