[blindkid] To Sign or not To Sign

Steve Jacobson steve.jacobson at visi.com
Sun Feb 24 05:50:37 UTC 2013


Richard,

You raise some good points, but I really think there are counterpoints.  First, there are those of us who agree that the extra consideration in the law for 
persons carrying a white cane really buys us very little any more.  second, if you put up a sign, it is likely that a driver is going to look for someone who is 
blind.  If your child is out and about without a cane and doesn't look blind as you indicate, I truly question whether a sign is going to add any protection for 
her.  When my kids were young, we tried very hard to impress on them that crossing a street was always a serious business.  I think that is what we have 
to do whether our kids are blind or not.  I freely admit I have a bias against drivers who inflict injury and seem to get off without much more than a slap on 
the hand, but that goes for the way all pedestrians are treated.  

I remember as a young adult crossing where there was a "blind crossing" sign.  I thought of "deer crossing" or "Cattle crossing".  I also lived on a street 
where there was a sign that said "Slow children at play."  We think there was supposed to be a comma after slow, but who knows.  <smile>  I won't 
pretend that I know what is right in every situation.  Maybe there are cases where there are aspects I have not thought of.  However, as one who grew up 
as a blind person and who has now raised two kids with vision loss, I just think there are better solutions.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Sun, 24 Feb 2013 00:04:34 -0500, Richard Holloway wrote:

>I have thought about this issue for years. I have seen street signs near a few homes which say something on the order of "Blind Child at Play". There are 
a number of variations. I'm pretty certain there are some that say something simpler like "Blind Pedestrians", near our state school for the blind. We only go 
there a time or two a year for special events (90 miles from here) so I don't recall the exact wording.

>I think what might tip the scale is where you live. Are you at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac? If so, it probably makes less sense to have a sign posted. On 
the other hand, if you're close to a state highway, and your child has a reasonable chance of getting too close to 60 mph traffic, a sign makes a good deal 
of sense to me. 

>In between those extremes, the choice gets tougher. There are various pros and cons. Among the other factors-- what is the chance that your child 
might ever (even just once) walk out of the house without her cane? Does that sound absurd? A few times, our daughter has decided to go exploring 
without her cane. I recall once, her announcing she doesn't care to be blind and dropping her cane and walking off... We caught her before she got too 
far, and we DO live on a quiet cul-de-sac, but if we didn't, such a sign might have saved her life. In our case also, once in a while, I have seen our 
daughter get mad and sort of stomp off without regard to where the street may be. It only takes one such mistake to cause a tragedy. Maybe such a sign 
alerts the right driver at the right time, or locals are more aware, so they react more appropriately when something like that happens. This is not an exact 
science. 

>It is absolutely true that drivers should be careful, especially in neighborhoods where there are (any) children. But that sort of leads to the question of why 
there are laws that say people have to stop for a person with a white cane. Questioning that may sound silly, but stay with me for a moment...

>I have checked in a few locations, reading about laws that say drivers have to stop for a white cane. In each case where I checked, the same locations 
also had laws which require cars to stop for ALL pedestrians. So why the extra law for the blind? My guess is it makes sense to underscore the need for 
drivers to be extra cautious when they see a white cane. Now that's not about just kids, it is about adults too. Some may argue it makes blind people look 
less capable. Perhaps, but it may also keep at least some less able blind people safer. How far should one take this anyhow?-- Maybe someone could 
paint their cane blue or black to avoid drawing attention to it so they will be more likely to be treated like everyone else. I'm certainly not aware of any legal 
REQUIREMENT for a blind person to use a WHITE cane. That would be pretty absurd, right? I mean, canes are a choice in the first place. So by 
choosing a white cane, we are all using "signs" of a sort (and by choice) to begin with. The question is how much we want to alert drivers and by what 
means...

>Should our kids be able to know where the road is and to avoid traffic when they hear cars coming? Sure they should. But where's the harm in being 
extra careful? Maybe our kids all know what to listen for, except someone is approaching with a super-quiet electric vehicle, or flying down a hill pedaling 
on a bike. 

>Some have suggested posting a sign makes others aware there are kids to be preyed upon. Well, that may be true, but then a child walking down the 
same road with a white cane may do the same thing, right? We can't keep our kids in bubble wrap for life... Could the signs be an embarrassment for the 
child? Sure, I can see that after a certain age, so again, back to pros and cons.

>One final thought: My daughter is 10. I couldn't begin to count the number of people over the years, especially when she was a bit younger, who asked 
why she has a cane. It seems she doesn't "look" blind at all. These are all people who saw her standing or walking, and they were doing likewise. Maybe 
call each of these a "low speed encounter". Now replay that situation with someone in a car at 60 or 40 or even just 20 miles per hour. Assume the child 
always has a cane that can ALWAYS be seen... and how likely is that, for example... especially from behind? Will every single driver instantly think, "oh, 
that child has a cane and is blind, I must be careful and watch her". My guess is "no". Some, perhaps even MOST will, but it just takes one confused 
person trying to figure things out.

>I know I seem to have the minority opinion here, and I am speaking more in general terms as I don't know (or have overlooked) the particulars of this 
situation, but I say there are absolutely situations where such a sign makes sense.

>Sent from my iPad

>On Feb 22, 2013, at 9:58 PM, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:

>> Agreed, I can't possibly imagine what benefit such a sign could have
>> and it could potentially do a lot of harm to how she feels about
>> herself and how others feel about her and her blindness.
>> Drivers should be careful in neighborhoods where children might be out
>> and about, regardless of whether or not the kids have "special needs".
>> Perhaps a sign would make drivers be more careful, but then, using
>> that logic, maybe every family with young children who walk themselves
>> to school should get a "special needs" sign?
>> If she has appropriate O&M skills and age-appropriate supervision, she
>> shouldn't be in any more danger walking to school than any other
>> child.
>> Arielle
>> 
>> On 2/22/13, Carly B <barnesraiser at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hi Merry-Noel,
>>> 
>>> I've thought about this, too. There are a couple of signs on streets near
>>> our own. We have not pursued trying to get a sign for our neighborhood. I
>>> haven't really thought that through, I think it's just a gut feeling that I
>>> don't want to put more of a spotlight on my child than there already is.
>>> Know what I mean? I'm not really sure the benefits of having a sign...
>>> 
>>> Thanks for bringing it up. I look forward to hearing what others think!
>>> 
>>> :) Carolynn
>>> 
>>> On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 7:40 PM, Merry-Noel Chamberlain
>>> <owinm at yahoo.com>wrote:
>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Hi,
>>>> My daughter, Ashleah, is working on a girl scout project and would like
>>>> to
>>>> know your thoughts about the "Special Needs" sign.  She is blind and
>>>> walks
>>>> to and from school independently.  Do you think having a Special Needs
>>>> sign
>>>> by our house is a good thing?  Why or why not?
>>>> Thanks.
>>>> Merry-Noel
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