[nabs-l] Cane Travel Training: Report Number 1

[Ashley Bramlett]

Hi Jim,
I'm glad you had a positive experience with the cane.
A folding aluminum cane with a roller tip is a good quality cane.  But its 
disadvantage is the heaviness.  I used to have a folding aluminum cane.
I'm not sure its a good idea to teach yourself O&M since you may develop 
improper habits that will be hard to correct.  Still I understand your 
desire to learn.
Its great you felt more confident and safe with it at night when your vision 
cannot work for you.  I have some vision too.  Acuity is actually good but 
my field is so limited rendering my vision not sufficient for travel.  I 
just see straight ahead.  So the cane makes me more confident to detect 
curbs and side objects out of my field of vision.  Its too bad the O&M 
instructor didn't teach you how to use it.  Unfortunately that's typical of 
instructors that visit clients at home.  They first talk to you to evaluate 
the situation.  They should have discussed your goals for O&M.  Because they 
have high caseloads the lessons are infrequent and I hope you get a lesson 
before the end of June.

My advice is slightly different than others as I think there's many options 
out there.  I'm not a strong Federationist.
I suggest you get a lighter cane that's taller as everyone else said.  The 
one you have is free, but if you can afford one there's several choices. You 
might be able to ask your O&M  instructor to bring different canes to 
sample.
Ambutech  makes graphite canes I think.  If not other companies do.  I have 
a folding cane made of graphite inside and its half the weight of the 
aluminum!
No wonder your wrist hurts from constantly picking it up!  You can also try 
the NFB fiber glass canes but there's several cane companies out there that 
may also meet your needs.  I think your cane should come up to your chin. 
You need a longer cane for adaquate warning.
In order not to get blisters or "hot spots"
maybe you were gripping the cane too tightly.  I also think alternating 
hands is a good idea to give one hand a rest for long walks like you did.

I have used a cane since I was eight.  Professionals realized my vision 
wasn't adaquate to travel.
Mobility instruction in school is inadaquate since they have too many 
students to see but that's another story.  I haven't had too much 
opportunity for independent travel and don't have a good sense of direction. 
Its not a strength.  Still I did the basics of traveling alone around 
college campus and went some places alone such as the mall to shop and eat 
during college.  I say this for background.  Still here's my answers for 
what its worth.  Traveling is an individual thing and what works for one 
doesn't work for another.
Here it goes.  I answer after your question.

How do I better detect curbs and keep track of what street i'm on?
If you slide your cane in an arc it should detect curbs.  Its called 
constant contact.  Most federationists use the tapping method called two 
point touch.  Personally I like constant interaction with the ground and 
find it gives me more info.    To keep track of what street you're on, 
there's a number of ways.  In your case you can read the names and remember 
for later on when you can't see.  People without enough vision to see them 
ask.
You can ask about street names and remember the layout.  If there's numbered 
streets they likely will go up or down in number.  You can listen to traffic 
to tell major streets from side streets.  You can count blocks.
Mostly its memory.

How do I stay focused on something as dull as cane travel?
You just think about it, what you're doing and make sure you have good 
technique. Later on it will be natural and you don't have to think about the 
mechanics of cane travel.
If my mind wanders what helps me is I ask myself questions about the 
environment.  I have to focus since otherwise I easily get lost!  Actually 
in familiar environments I can drift off a bit since its so ingrained from 
routine I don't have to think.  But usually not.

Since I still have vision, is it ok to rely on a flashlight to check out 
street signs? If I know that the main streets are 8th, 13th, and 15th, do I 
really need to know that I am in between 9th and 10th, or is it ok to find 
out exactly where I am once I hit one of those main roads?

You could use your vision to check.  But try developing trust and 
alternative methods of figuring it out.  Maybe there's landmarks by major 
streets.
I think its fine to find out where you are when you hit the main road.  As 
long as you're traveling in the right direction, knowing every little street 
isn't neccessary.

Is the wrist pain unavoidle until I become conditioned to using a cane?

No.  You won't have wrist pain with a change in cane weight.  Until then 
maybe shorter walks with the cane is good.  Part of it is conditioning in 
that your muscles are not used to this work.  Maybe build up to those long 
walks.  so I think a combo of conditioning and trying lighter canes will 
help.

What is the absolute strongest cane material for the lightest weight?
Many cane matterials are strong and
light weight.  Graphite canes are strong and durable.  Rainshine canes are 
strong too and looked pretty durable when I saw them.

I was walking at max speed, I was walking as fast as I walk during the day, 
is it reasonable and safe for me to expect myself to walk that fast or 
should I take it down a notch?
You may want to slow down while you learn and get used to the cane.  But in 
general you can
walk as fast as you normally do.  I just think as a beginner you can get 
more feedback and react to the tactile feedback from the cane if you slow 
down.

Is it a good idea for me to teach myself cane travel, or should I really 
wait for the O/M instructor?

I'd say either wait or at least ask someone whose used a cane for guidance.

Ashley
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jedi" <loneblindjedi at samobile.net>
To: <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 5:50 AM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Cane Travel Training: Report Number 1


Jim,

Here are some suggestions to help you in the future. These may also be
useful to others, so I post them here.

First, regarding cane length. Yes, you will want a longer cane to fully
cover the length of your stride. The longer cane will also make it
easier to detect those down curbs you mentioned at a reasonable clip.

Let's briefly talk about cane composition. Length gives you the
advantage of stopping distance and maneuverability. What I'm about to
suggest is controversial for a lot of reasons, but the collective
experience of many expert cane travelers suggests that you may want to
consider a lighter cane, especially one that is fiberglass or carbon
fiber. I would also recommend according to that same collective
experience, that you don't use a folding cane because the elastic
places a barrier between you and the sensations you could be getting.
Folding canes are great, but not if you want maximum sensativity. As an
option, consider a telescoping cane for collapsability. But for long
walks on rugged terrain, consider a straight cane (one that doesn't
collapse) and a collapsing one when you're mostly going to travel by
plane, car, be indoors, etc. If echolocation is useful to you, you may
consider a metal tip for maximum sound as an echolocator. But if
echolocation isn't useful because of your hearing loss, still consider
the metal tip as it's also quite sensitive and much lighter than the
roller tip which means that you exert less effort lifting the cane to
make an arc, thus saving your wrist and preventing blistering. Also, to
prevent blistering, consider a smooth plastic handle rather than a
grippy leather one. In short, think about getting an NfB cane as we
tend to make them long, light, and with a center of gravity that's
closer to the top of the cane itself rather than the bottom.

Now, as to orientation. That's another matter entirely. your instructor
may not know how to orient in practice because she is a sighted person
who doesn't use the knowledge on a regular basis and probably doesn't
really believe that blind people can really travel anyway. This isn't
true for all sighted instructors. the best sighted instructors are
those who spent a lot of time under blindfold in the company of blind
people, learning what the blind do through practice and guided
mentoring from good blind travelers. Most sighted instructors get
limited practice under blindfold and only see blind travelers on their
lessons, so their knowledge tends to be more theoretical than
practical. There isn't much you can do about that except to hang around
blind people who are good at cane travel and who can really offer you
practical suggestions on how to orient. Your teacher may be able to
offer some help, but you will have to be the one to provide practical
experience on your own unless you've actually observed your instructor
actually get around with a blindfold. Knowing basic orientation skills
(using non-visual information to discover your location) will negate
the need for a flashlight. The more practiced you become, the more you
can daydream on a midnight walk.

Much of what I tell you comes from collective experience and from my
own educational background both in cane travel and in blindness
studies. Nonetheless, it's fantastic that the cane skills you have, and
the cane itself, gave you a measure of confidence even at the beginning
stages of your cane travel journey. Just imagine how confident and how
fluid you will become when you get to a level of true experience!
you'll be movin' and groovin' before you know it!

Respectfully,
Jedi
Original message:
> Hey all,

> I just got through my first cane travel lesson, and I had the worst O/M 
> instructor ever, me! You see, the VR O/M instructor came to my house 
> today, we talked for an hour, she gave me the cane and left. She told me I 
> might be able to get one lesson before the end of June. And she also told 
> me not to use the cane until I had a training session. I'm sorry, but you 
> dont give me a new tool or toy and tell me not to uae or play with it. Of 
> course I took the cane for a spin. It is a 64 inch ambutech folding 
> aluminum cane, with a roller tip. To test for length, I did the test 
> suggested by the author of "Care and Feeding of the Long White Cane": I 
> took my cane, swinging it as I normaly would, walking at a speed I 
> normally would, and I walked straight towards a wall. The idea is to stop 
> as soon as your cane hits the walll, and then walk to the wall. 
> Apparantly, if the cane is the right length, you should be able to take 
> two full steps after your cane detects
>  an obstacle, without having your face or shin detect the obastacle. I was 
> able to manage maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a step between the cane recognizing the 
> wall and me running into it. I dont have the time or patience to half-ass 
> anything, I need a longer cane.

> My first impression of the cane: Ouch! Damn it my wrist hurts. I have long 
> legs and I walk fast. I tried maintaining the "step left- swing right, 
> step right-swing lef"t rythm, but fairly quickly my wrist got tired and my 
> cane swings became less frequent, thus less effective. Additionally, I 
> developed a "hot spot" on my palm; I know from plenty of hiking experience 
> that "hot spots" turn to blisters very quickly.

> I walked 11 blocks total, to the gym and back; some blocks had minimal 
> street light, some blocks had no light (I am totally nigh blind). I felt 
> confident and I walked fast. In between corners, the cane travel was easy 
> (althoug I did noit run into any obstacles on the sidewaljk). The travel 
> may have been a bit too easy, as I allowed my cane to lead the way and my 
> thoughts to follow and wander (much as thoughts should wander on a 
> pointless midnight walk). Anyhow, I very shortly lost track of what block 
> I was on, however I brought a flashlight with me, so I was able to easily 
> figure out where I was. Additionally, I missed 80% of the downsteps on 
> curbs that I was not able to first detect visually. That little 4 inch 
> drop just wasnt enough for me and my cane to regiser that the curb was 
> there.

> Despite my newness to the cane, I felt myself being able to "stride out", 
> and it felt good to do so. I am not sure how much time the cane knocked 
> off my travel time, but what it did do was allow me to feel more safe and 
> confident traveling at night. Dispite the fact that I dislike walking as a 
> form of travel, I intend
> to make regular night walks a part of my routine. Hop[efully, if I walk
> enough blocks, I will run into situations that will test and expand my
> skills.

> I did notice that I felt much more comfortable and confident "shorelining" 
> along the non-curb side of the sidewalk. I lost confidence when I felt 
> myself nearing the curb, and I also lost confidence when I was on an 
> angled slope, such as a driveway. Oddlty enough, I instinctivly found 
> myself following my cane: if my cane dropped off the edge of the curb and 
> rode along the street for a while, I found myself angling towards the 
> street, even though I knew I did not want to go that way, and I knew there 
> was a rolled ankle in my future if I continued that way.

> Oh, byu the way, I've used my cane on only one trip, and I damn near broke 
> the thing. The tip got caught in what I believe was a chain link fence, 
> and all of a sudden the cane sounder different. Fortunatly, the tip of the 
> cane had its own folding joint, and apparantly the fence provided enough 
> pressure on the joint to remove the tip from its normal position. The 
> internal cord held, and the tip retuned to its normal position, but I have 
> the feeling that I may need something as strong as an aluminum cane.

> Other than the fact that my wrist is sore, it was a positive experience, 
> and I intend to do it again tomarrow night. It was really nice to be able 
> to walk at night, even if it was a bit loud. Do they make a quiet cane? To 
> me, it does not seem to me like the cane provides any auditory feedback 
> that can't also be detected via touch, and I'd like to be able to hear 
> myself think.

> A couple of questions:
> How do I better detect curbs and keep track of what street i'm on? How do 
> I stay focused on something as dull as cane travel? Since I still have 
> vision, is it ok to rely on a flashlight to check out street signs? If I 
> know that the main streets are 8th, 13th, and 15th, do I really need to 
> know that I am in between 9th and 10th, or is it ok to find out exactly 
> where I am once I hit one of those main roads? Is the wrist pain unavoidle 
> until I become conditioned to using a cane? What is the absolute strongest 
> cane material for the lightest weight? I was walking at max speed, I was 
> walking as fast as I walk during the day, is it reasonable and safe for me 
> to expect myself to walk that fast or should I take it down a notch? Is it 
> a good idea for me to teach myself cane travel, or should I really wait 
> for the O/M instructor?

> Thanks,
> Jim

> "From compromise and things half done,
> Keep me with stern and stubborn pride,
> And when at last the fight is won,
> ... Keep me still unsatisfied." --Louis Untermeyer



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