ADAPTIVE
Adaptive instructors with New York's Double H Ranch are creating a buzz -- literally -- with a tethering system that uses vibrational cues to help guide 11-year-old Noah Winchip, who is blind and hearing-impaired.
DON CRETEN
INNOVATIVE ELECTRONIC APPROACH GIVES DEAF AND BLIND SKIER MORE OPTIONS ON THE MOUNTAIN
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alk about good vibrations! Instructors with New York’s Double H Ranch Adaptive Winter Program have devised a system by which a boy who is blind and hearing- impaired can enjoy the exhilaration of a day on the slopes of Lake
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Luzerne, thanks to tethers and remote- controlled buzzers that help him know where and how to turn. It works so well that instructors sometimes forego the tethers and let 11-year-old Noah Winchip free ski, cued only by the buzzers and his own mental “mapping” of the area. Helping Noah get to this point was a three-
year team effort, and the lessons learned along the way may help other adaptive programs develop similar teaching strategies. Here are the highlights of Noah’s journey.
92 | 32 DEGREES • WINTER 2017
FIRST APPROACH RELIES ON TETHERS, EDGIE WEDGIE
Diagnosed with CHARGE Syndrome, which causes facial, soft palate, ear, and bone malformations, Noah is completely blind and is considered deaf even with a cochlear implant in one ear (which cannot be worn while skiing because the transmitter will not fit safely under the helmet). His actual degree of hearing impairment is unknown. When I and several colleagues at Double H Ranch started working with Noah in
2013, the first consideration was how to teach a student who is blind and unable to hear. We decided on a team approach based on kinesthetic awareness and repetition, and sent a pair of skis and boots home for him to feel, try on, and get comfortable wearing. One of the snowboard instructors, who often babysat for him, used hand-over-hand sign language to familiarize Noah with the elements of a “typical” ski day. Once on snow, it became evident that
when given support to stand or slide, Noah would “sink” into it or completely collapse. Various types of adaptive equipment – for example, a bamboo pole, teddy bar, and horse-and-buggy – were attempted, without success. His instructors – myself, Gwen
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