[blindkid] To Sign or not To Sign

Arielle Silverman arielle71 at gmail.com
Sun Feb 24 06:07:31 UTC 2013


Richard and all,
I have asked the same question about why the white cane law mandates
special protections for pedestrians using white canes above and beyond
the safety precautions for pedestrians in general. I have to say I
don't agree with the extra protection for blind pedestrians, in most
cases. There might be exceptional situations, such as those involving
ultra-quiet hybrids or blind pedestrians out and about by themselves
with very poor skills, where the extra protection for blind
pedestrians does make sense, so perhaps the law should stand. But I
disagree with the principle of that kind of policy for the same reason
I disagree with the signs. The fact is, there are many inattentive
sighted pedestrians (and not just children). My sighted fiancee
regularly complains about pedestrians cutting in front of him or
darting out in the middle of the street while he is driving. I don't
think a blind pedestrian, on average, requires any more protection or
consideration from drivers than does the average sighted pedestrian.
As others have pointed out, inattention is far more dangerous than
blindness. And honestly, if black canes were more popular and stylish,
I would consider getting one. I don't use my cane as a tool for
signaling other people to watch out for me; my cane is, first and
foremost, a tool for me to tactually perceive what is around me. I
frankly don't care much if other people can see my cane.
Getting back to the sign topic, for me the embarrassment issue is a
huge one and trumps any advantage the signs could possibly have. Blind
children absorb society's perceptions of them from an early age and it
can have a profound impact on how they feel about themselves and where
they stand in the world. Knowing there is a sign about you to alert
others that you need special help or protection is something that, in
my opinion, can do a good bit of psychological damage. I know for me,
I was pretty depressed when I found out that my parents grieved upon
learning of my blindness. It took many years for me to accept the fact
that my parents initially viewed my blindness as a negative aspect of
me. I can't even imagine how depressed and mortified I would have felt
if I had learned that my parents had a sign posted about my blindness
to alert others that they needed to be more careful with me than with
my sighted sister or friends. It is worth noting that although my
parents were quite over-protective in many respects and didn't allow
me to do a lot of independent travel at all, they never even
considered posting a sign.
Arielle

On 2/23/13, Richard Holloway <rholloway at gopbc.org> 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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