[blindkid] Joli and her cane

Richard Holloway rholloway at gopbc.org
Sun Oct 18 15:53:06 UTC 2009


Let me try that one part again-- my late night posts are making me  
look foolish (sorry, a little double-negative issue there), LOL!

I was trying to say that our daughter may indeed occasionally use her  
cane IN a classroom too, especially if she's exploring a new room or,  
in theory, getting familiar with some new aspect of a place she  
already knows, etc. Trying to think-- that has never really come up  
after an initial exploration of a room as far as I can recall.  I  
would think she could just pick it up from next to the door and use  
it ; it is there and available. I would not be pleased if someone  
tried to stop her, but it is not likely to come up.

Once she leaves the room though, she's in a dynamic and changing  
environment and her cane is no longer optional. Even if she's just  
walking to the next room down the hall, she may have to encounter  
dozens of obstacles (generally moving people). The fastest solution  
would no doubt be to have someone walk her there sighted guide.  
Unfortunately, that would not be the most appropriate choice.

The most age appropriate thing for a first grader (in our case) to do  
is to walk to her destination unassisted. She should travel with her  
classmates and if she falls behind, an adult will assist her as needed  
and appropriate, first by offering verbal cues and reminding her to  
use proper cane technique-- things like that. No doubt there is  
sometimes some sighted guide used as well, but that should be kept to  
a minimum with the GOAL being absolutely minimal sighted guide travel.  
There should be a compelling reason to deviate from what is typical  
for a sighted child and our child has no such reason.

There was a young fellow in her class a couple of years ago who was a  
wheelchair traveler. He used a manual wheel chair. His upper body was  
big and strong and he often moved all over classrooms and up and down  
halls on his own. I'll bet it would have been easier to push him  
around at times as well but much of the time he pushed the chair  
himself.

We need to do all we can to get our teachers and school staff thinking  
about what is most appropriate for the long-term success and  
independence of our children, both blind AND sighted; it is NOT about  
what is easiest for them or makes them most comfortable. It IS about  
keeping our children age appropriate and on a path to independence.

Richard



On Oct 18, 2009, at 2:50 AM, Richard Holloway wrote:

> Albert makes a number of good points. Unfortunately, the collapsible  
> cane introduces some potentially undesirable features. A telescoping  
> cane can telescope in without warning, especially if not properly  
> and fully extended (hard for some younger kids to master). The ones  
> with the shock cord inside that work like folding tent poles have  
> their vibro-tactile feedback dampened quite a bit. (The last thing I  
> want to do is reduce the amount of information my daughter gets from  
> her cane.) Further, all non-rigid canes have the added issue of both  
> being heavier and adding extra fumbling to get the canes out and to  
> put them away.
>
> Some adults who travel a lot seem to prefer being able to stow a  
> cane in an overhead bin or to drop it into a bag or briefcase, but  
> full length canes are generally not that hard to accommodate. I'm  
> pretty certain we'll be keeping our daughter with the standard NFB  
> cane unless and until she herself requests otherwise at a later  
> time. The exceptions to that guideline strike me as being things  
> like keeping a backup cane in luggage for a trip or maybe using one  
> to carry on a bike or something like that where suddenly it does  
> become impractical to transport a full length cane and get where  
> you're going with the cane still in one piece.
>
> I think it may have been Joe Cutter who first made me realize that  
> there is a message sent to a blind child with a folding cane-- (or  
> an adult for that matter). It says they need to make every effort to  
> get the cane out of others way. I come back to the wheel chair  
> discussion-- It might be handy for teachers, etc. if we put kids  
> from wheelchairs into a regular chair and got that big chair out of  
> the way at times, but it would hardly be appropriate.
>
> I don't want my daughter to feel like she needs to apologize for  
> having or using a cane. All of her classrooms have made a point of  
> having a space for her to park her cane by the door, sometimes  
> sticking a small plastic hook up for her where she puts the loop as  
> NFB canes with the slick metal tip do love to slide down when you  
> stand them up on a smooth floor. A cane by a door takes up maybe one  
> or two square inches of floor space and plastic stick-up hook costs  
> less than a dollar so we are talking about some really simple and  
> inexpensive solutions here.
>
> One other cane comment-- Kendra generally parks her cane when she  
> comes into a classroom because that works well for her. Once she  
> knows the room, it is easier for her to move about and do things  
> without a cane in hand. That doesn't mean she doesn't explore a new  
> room without a cane and it doesn't mean that I think all blind kids  
> should always park canes at the door. It is case by case, whatever  
> works for the cane traveler.
>
> Richard
>
>
>
> On Oct 17, 2009, at 12:55 PM, Albert J Rizzi wrote:
>
>> I agree with Richard, the sighted guide technique does nothing for  
>> promoting
>> independence  in our students or in our adults transitioning into a  
>> blind
>> life.  It is an important quick learn for Joli to take with her if  
>> and when
>> she travels  alone  she would then be able to advise and teach  
>> others on how
>> best to guide her in an empowering and independent manner.  I do  
>> not agree
>> with any one persons position that academics or technologies  
>> opening the
>> door to cognitive development should take a back seat to a cane.i  
>> do agree
>> that it is an odd goal to have in an iep and would suggest you  
>> immediately
>> insist that Joli be aloud to independently determine if and when she
>> considers setting the cane aside and let her choose to take an arm  
>> if and
>> when she feels the need. If her mode of mobility were a wheel chair  
>> Do you
>> think the  the teachers or administration expect her to get up out  
>> of awheel
>> chair and be carried from one class to another? I think not.  
>> Perhaps if Joli
>> had a collapsible cane that would alleviate any concern about how  
>> clumsey
>> carrying it might appear to teachers. Or perhaps, we could invite the
>> teachers and administrators at your aschool to tracel with a cane and
>> without a cane, and oh yeah perhaps they should try doing so with a
>> simulation of vision similar to that with which Joli travels on a  
>> daily
>> basis. I have found that simple empathy and "walking a mile in my  
>> shoes"
>> goes a long way to change perspectives on mobility for the sighted.
>>
>> Albert J. Rizzi
>> CEO/Founder
>> My Blind Spot, Inc.
>> 90 Broad Street - 18th Fl.
>> New York, New York  10004
>> www.myblindspot.org <http://www.myblindspot/>
>> PH: 917-553-0347
>> Fax: 212-858-5759
>> "The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one  
>> who is
>> doing it."
>>
>>
>>
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