[blindkid] Wii Device Teaches Visually Impaired to WalkwithCanes

[Richard Holloway]

Your point is well taken Mike, but I suggest that any tool that may  
offer a chance to isolate even one particular aspect of an activity  
that some find challenging or frustrating (such a can travel) and  
offer a chance to improve that area may be useful and helpful for  
some. My daughter, and I suspect many of our kids who are cane  
travelers, could certainly stand to improve her straight-line travel,  
just like she needs to learn to swim in a straight line.

What about just walking on a treadmill? Could we not make similar  
arguments against using those? Where is the skill and challenge and  
delightful experience of going for a walk on a treadmill? My daughter  
loves to use a treadmill, but she doesn't use a cane for that (for  
what I suspect are obvious reasons). That doesn't make that a bad  
thing for her. In fact what it does is allows her to walk and build  
muscle strength and stamina far faster than when walking (at a much  
slower pace) with her cane.

For my daughter, I say whatever helps any piece of her mobility  
advance is a good thing-- I know over time all these components will  
mesh together and all serve to help her become more independent and  
successful.

Richard




On Jun 7, 2010, at 10:40 PM, Mike Freeman wrote:

> I think part of the problem here is that those of us who oppose the  
> WII device are not making the reasons for our opposition clear -- at  
> least this applies to me. Use of a cane implies active determination  
> of terrain; ups and downs and textures tell us quite a bit about  
> what's around us and where we are with respect to our surroundings.  
> The WII device would give no such information so is, in our view,  
> almost worse than useless, however "fun" the device may be. One is  
> certainly practicing a skill when using the device but it surely  
> isn't cane travel.
>
> Mike