[nabs-l] navigating in crowds and open spaces

Sun Sep 5 02:16:58 UTC 2010

Darian,
Thanks.  There's many ideas to this.
Traveling indoors such as a mall or
airport probably is easier for most of us because there's lots of people to 
ask and some of them may be traveling in the same direction as you.  Also 
its my experience that indoors has more landmarks since its a defined space 
with walls.

But outside you may just have concrete all around you or asfault if its a 
parking lot.  When at George Mason University the quad area where students 
gather for speakers or informally to chat is an example of an open space. 
Branching off it are sidewalks going to various buildings.  On one side is 
the Johnson center which is a kind of student union and multi purpose 
facility.  I'm not a student there now but do remember the layout and how 
frustrating it could be.
All you could feel with the cane were bricks on the ground.  You could hear 
echos depending on where you were in this space but it wasn't too helpful. 
How do you maintain a straight line of travel without veering?
Sometimes a crack in the sidewalk can help.  But often its hard to find 
anything to maintain a line of travel.

Lookforward to others responses.

Ashley

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Darian Smith" <dsmithnfb at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, September 04, 2010 9:45 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] navigating in crowds and open spaces

Ashley and list
  I’ll first speak to cane  technique.  If I’m in a crowd, I use
pencil  grip because it’s  best for insuring that you don’t trip
people, you don’t get your cane broken, and I find that you only are
going to  need to know what’s a foot or so ahead of you if even that
much as you are not traveling very fast anyway.
 In open  spaces I use  an open palm grip (assuming  that the cane in
use is a long white cane)I find  that by wrapping my hand around the
handle of the cane with my palm facing skywardas the technique is
utilized, will allow me to use the lenth of my cane and pick up
objects around me and travel at my natural pace.
As  orientating goes, If I am looking for something I might ask  for
directions,.  If I am in a mall, or airportor something like that, I
mayalso ask if there is a landmarknear my desired location (“ is there
a  restaurantor some other type of land mark near the restroom?” “or
if I find pete’s  Coffie, have I gone too far past the rest room?”)
If I’m not sure and I think I’m near the area, I can  ask  another
personif I am going the right direction by repeting the initial
question I probably asked at first “excuse me, I am looking for the
rest room. Might I be going in the right direction?” or “is it this
way?” and point in the direction that I think it may be.
 I think you have the right idea as it relates to using echoes and
tactal landmarks.
 I think there are probably ten or twenty different ways people may go
about it and I am interested to hear what folks have to saytoo!
  Darian

On 9/4/10, bookwormahb at earthlink.net <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I have a similar question to Kerri's.
> I grew up with O&M service since elementary school and got some through 
> the
> Dept for the blind here.  But still struggle with some areas of O&M.
>
> How do you navigate crowds?  For instance a crowd gathering for a picnic 
> or
> event.  Its noisy and I can't use hearing as usual to navigate.  What 
> about
> crowded vacinities such as a mall or train station?  Do you just ask for
> directions and navigate best you can?  In my experience tactile landmarks
> may or may not be touchable in a crowd because people are all around them.
> How do you hold your cane in a crowd?
>
> Next question concerns open spaces.  I have tunnel vision but cannot 
> always
> use it depending on lighting.  I also want to give suggestions to my 
> friends
> who are more blind then me.
> What tips can you share for open spaces where there may not be something 
> to
> shoreline with your cane?  I use my vision if available, tactile landmarks
> and echos.
> Sometimes where you're walking may be away from or toward a smell which is
> helpful.  How do you maintain a straight line of travel?  Its so easy to 
> get
> turned around.
> Echos only seem to help when I'm near enough to the building.  Open spaces
> such as the campus quad or some parts of a mall are examples of open 
> spaces
> like this.  Unfortunately some blind people I've talked to believe open
> spaces including parking lots are places to avoid.  That stems from low
> expectations and just not knowing the alternative techniques others use.
>
> Look forward to your responses.
>
> Ashley
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-- 
Darian Smith
Skype: The_Blind_Truth
Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com
Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/goldengateace

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are
spiritual beings having a human experience.” - Teilhard de Chardin

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