Glider Spotlight: Meet Ellie Carlson, The "Mobile" Orientation and Mobility Specialist.

In this monthly series, we’re putting the spotlight on our Gliders community to celebrate individuals who inspire us. This month, we’re highlighting Ellie Carlson, Founder of Canines and Canes, where she offers a mobile solution for field-based orientation and mobility services, as well as guide dog mobility services, from her Winnebago, Solis. The Glidance team has met Ellie a few times now - most recently at CSUN, and always love having a chance to sit down and chat with her!

Where do you live, Ellie? How did you get there?

If I could, I would live wherever my Campervan is parked - but that’s not entirely practical at this point in my life. My home is in Fort Collins, Colorado. I grew up in Boulder and came north to attend Colorado State University, have lived in several states since but chose to settle back in Fort Collins because it has great parks, schools, and grandparent support for my kids.

‍

What do you do for work, or what is a big passion / hobby of yours?

I am a certified orientation and mobility specialist (COMS) as well as a guide dog mobility instructor (GDMI). After working for several fantastic agencies full-time, I launched my own private practice Canines and Canes, LLC in 2014. As an independent contractor, I can serve many more individuals in need of orientation mobility training in wide range of age, etiology geography, and socioeconomic status. The majority of my clients have both vision and hearing loss and qualify as deafblind. I have a campervan that I use for outreach to clients in rural areas and communities where there is not an O&M instructor. I love road trips and have also used the campervan to transport guide dogs being retired, surrendered, or puppies going out to their volunteer raiser home.

‍

What first got you interested in working with the blind, low vision, and deafblind communities?

Growing up during the rise of inclusive education and recreation, I volunteered as a Special Olympics buddy, tandem bike captain, adaptive snowboard instructor, and puppy raiser. I worked at the resources for disabled students office at university where I created tactile maps of campus and helped students who were BLV get to and from their classes. They taught me to translate print materials into Braille and encouraged me to pursue a career in Orientation and mobility/guide dog mobility.

‍

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

To say or do the right thing in the moment for the greater good.

‍

What's one accomplishment or thing in life that you are most proud of?

Bringing four beautiful souls into this world; my own two children and two others I carried as a gestational surrogate.

‍

What are a few lessons you've learned in life that you'd like to share?

1. Say “YES” to opportunities whenever possible!

2. Put on your own oxygen mask first before assisting others.

3. If the knob doesn’t turn, it’s not your door.

‍

What is something you hope to witness or see happen in your lifetime?

On a broad profound level, world peace of course. On a personal level, I wish to get barreled in a wave while surfing 🌊 🤙

‍

What's got you most interested in Glide?

There are tens of thousands of people out there living with vision loss that are afraid to go out independently, waiting for a human guide to become available or on a year+ long waitlist for O&M training or a  guide dog. I’m a huge advocate for learning proper white cane skills, however with 1 COMS per 175,000 people who are blind or low vision in the US, I warmly welcome Glide as an alternative solution to the personnel shortages in orientation and mobility and backlog in guide dog mobility services.

‍

Anything else you'd like to share with the Gliders community?

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming an orientation and mobility instructor, reach out anytime! I am always open for a job shadow, informational interview, or to mentor interns in this fantastic field. Imagine getting paid to go on walks with great people, watching their travel skills & confidence grow stronger through your coaching. Tell them to get in touch with me at info@caninesabdcabes.com!

To learn more about Ellie's work, go to https://caninesandcanes.com/!