[Blindtlk] To Cane or Not To Cane?

Mon Feb 28 01:42:45 UTC 2011

Hello,
Do partially sighted (legally blind) individuals use a cane?

I am legally blind/visually impaired/ partially sighted. I can see pretty
well to get around even cross a 4 way stop without needing to use my cane.
Most people when they first meet me don't realize I have a visual
impairment. Not until I need to read something or write something down do
they find out. I have to use a magnifier or a CCTV to see the print. It
makes life a bit easier and/or complicated.

Is anyone on this list in this situation?

Thank you,
Mari Hunziker
On Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 7:36 PM, Bonnie Lucas <lucas.bonnie at gmail.com>wrote:

> Hi Jessica,
> I'd like to echo what most have said regarding your dilemma. I was single
> until age 29. Of course, I used my cane when alone but when with anyone
> else, I "folded it up" because that was the kind of cane I had back then.
> Then I started dating and married my sighted husband. I totally got out of
> the habit of having my cane with me. Sad thing. Eventually, after having a
> blind daughter and realizing that I needed to join NFB, I changed my ways.
> I
> got an NFB cane and started taking it everywhere. At first, my husband
> complained bitterly. We talked about it, and talked about it. Now, when I
> occasionally leave it somewhere, he is amazed and so am I. I take it with
> me
> 99.9% of the time and and my 14 year old blind daughter takes hers as well.
> That's not to say that we both don't go sighted guide (or something of the
> sort) with him quite regularly. However, we both use our canes as we go and
> sometimes we all occasionally laugh about our staffs if they are just being
> held as we walk.
>
> I wish you the very best as you work out what really will work for you!
> Bonnie
> One last thing: I feel that my husband really has gotten past what people
> are thinking. When it is a good idea to give directions, he does without
> hesitation. If you would like to talk more about how to explain anything,
> please feel free to email me off line.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Jessica Kostiw
> Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2011 12:41 PM
> To: 'Blind Talk Mailing List'; 'Pamela Allen'
> Subject: [Blindtlk] To Cane or Not To Cane?
>
> Hello List,
>        This is Jessica Kostiw.  I have been on this list for quite a while,
> but do not post very often.  I am hoping to get some good advice on an
> issue
> that I am sure we have all faced.
>
> I am a Louisiana Center for the Blind graduate, and well appreciate the
> important of the travel skills I acquired there.
> If you are like me though, the significant majority of your time is spent
> with other sighted people.  My longtime boyfriend Jon is sighted.  He has
> actually purchased a cane from the NFB and wants to go under sleep shades
> to
> see what it is like.  The thing is on the one hand he is very supportive,
> but more and more when we are together in a store or something would very
> much rather that I just take his hand.  He says it's quicker and makes more
> sense, but I want to be able to be independent.  I don't see why he can't
> just walk by me and give me directions or something.  When we do that
> though, he says he feels like he is just calling a dog.  He may as well
> ring
> a cowbell.  He can't keep up chatter all the time and becomes harder for me
> to follow.  People give dirty looks like "why isn't that guy helping that
> blind lady?"  Part of me understands what he is saying, I have heard the
> same arguments from my mom.  My sister is so impatient and always just
> insists that I take her elbow.  I live in Virginia.  There is no public
> transportation where I live, and I am concerned that always being around
> sighted people with this attitude will eventually cause me to lose my
> skills.  This Email is focusing on the situation with Jon only because I am
> concerned about our future.  We are definitely working towards marriage and
> children and all that and I don't want to feel like I am completely
> dependent on my husband and can't equally contribute when we take any
> future
> children out in public.  We have already agreed that we will live in an
> area
> with good public transportation so I won't feel dependent and can do things
> on my own, but again what about when we are together?   Do I have to
> sacrifice my independence to make it easier on him?
>
> Any incite would be greatly appreciated!!
> Jessica
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Chris Judd
> Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2011 2:31 AM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] [PM] Facebook with jaws
>
> I tried accessing the facebook lite site, and it worked.
> http://lite.facebook.com
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bonnie Lucas" <lucas.bonnie at gmail.com>
> To: "'Blind Talk Mailing List'" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2011 12:47 AM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] [PM] Facebook with jaws
>
>
> Not sure what has happened but we discovered the same thing today as well.
> Perhaps it is something that will be fixed soon. My daughter and I tried
> everything to get it to let us click on things but it would not. Not sure
> what's up!
> Bonnie
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of humberto
> Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2011 7:35 PM
> To: gui-talk at nfbnet.org; nfbcs at nfbnet.org
> Cc: blindTlk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [Blindtlk] [PM] Facebook with jaws
>
> ---- Original Message ------
> From: Michelle Abadia <michelle.abadia at verizon.net
> Subject: [PM] Facebook with jaws
> Date sent: Wed, 09 Feb 2011 06:40:45 -0500
>
> Hi.
>
> I apologize for the unrelated topic.
> I've been using Facebook successfully on my windows 7 laptop,
> using (www.m.facebook.com), which I think our litt moderator
> suggested because (www.facebook.com) wasn't very accessible with
> jaws.
> This morning, I come to find that now, m.facebook.com isn't
> accessible either! Everything is preceeded by "same page link",
> and when I click on something or try to write a message, the
> system won't let me. This happened overnight, because I was able
> to work on Facebook just 24 hours ago.
>
> Could someone please give me some assistance with this off list
> at
> Michelle.abadia at verizon.net
> ?
>
> Thanks so much in advance.
>
> Michelle Abadia
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-- 
*Have A Blessed Day!
Mari Hunziker
512-670-9950 home
512-587-1463  cell
*