[nagdu] Telescoping canes
Ann Edie
annedie at nycap.rr.com
Sat Dec 5 20:19:13 UTC 2009
Hi, All,
When my first guide dog got ill and then died while still in service (at age
11), I was teaching in a high school and walking to and from school each
day. I began using an NFB telescoping cane full-time at that time. I liked
the sleek design and light weight of it. When collapsed, it looked like a
white police night stick or a designer flashlight. However, I found that it
did tend to collapse at inconvenient times, like in the middle of a street
crossing if it hit a crack or bump in the pavement, and that this happened
even if I had given each segment a twist when opening it. On the other
hand, two of the segments would sometimes fuse together and refuse to
collapse at all, which made it difficult to stow away.
But the major disadvantage of the telescoping cane that I found was that it
did not stand up well to the weight of 200-pound high school boys who always
seemed to either be walking backwards down the high school corridors yelling
something to their friends down the hall, oblivious to what was behind them,
or who thought it was fun to jump over the white stick instead of walking
around the blind teacher. As a result of these travel conditions, I had
several shattered telescoping canes within a short period of time. And
since they do shatter into dangerously sharp shards, rather than simply
bending like an aluminum cane usually does, I soon gave up on the
telescoping canes and switched to the old reliable aluminum folding models.
I agree with the NFB that the "feel" of the lightweight straight cane is
probably the most clear and distinct, and that it is therefore probably the
best cane for gaining information about the travel environment. However, I
do not think that it is necessary to exclusively use a long, straight, white
cane in order to demonstrate one's acceptance of blindness. There are
certainly circumstances in which a telescoping or folding cane is more
suitable. I'm glad to see that the NFB is flexible enough to be selling
other types of canes besides the straight canes.
I currently work with a number of preschool and early school age children in
classroom and daycare settings where there are many children present, both
children with disabilities and those without disabilities, and I spend most
of my time either on the floor playing with them or sitting at child-sized
tables working with my little students. There is no corner where I could
leave a straight cane where some curious child would not walk off with it to
use as a spear or sword in a game of soldiers or knights, putting his
classmates at great risk of injury. Besides, I need the cane for moving
about the classrooms with their many toys and children strewn across the
floor. If I used a straight cane and laid it on the floor whenever I sat
down, the little ones would be tripping over it and trying to pry it out
from under me. So I use a folding cane, and every time I sit down
somewhere, I fold it up and place it under some part of my body because if I
don't maintain contact with it, someone will assume it is just one of the
toys and walk off with it. Despite the fact that I fold and unfold my cane
many times a day, the elastic seems to hold up pretty well, and I have only
had to replace the elastic a couple of times, which is much easier and less
expensive than replacing a shattered telescoping cane.
When I worked with my 3 guide dogs, and now when I travel with my miniature
horse guide, I still carry a folding cane in my backpack, just in case I
might want to use it for any number of reasons.
My canes have definitely become longer over the years that I have been using
them, and I definitely prefer a longer cane. When I was first instructed on
the use of the white mobility cane in the early 1980's, the standard was
still for a cane which only came up to the user's mid chest. I now use a
cane which comes up to my chin at least, if not up to my nose.
It's nice to have options to experiment with--and we haven't even touched on
the subject of the many types of cane tips out there! For myself, the
traditional straight cane tip seems to be the most practical and
long-lasting.
Thanks for the discussion of this interesting topic.
Best,
Ann
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 9:05 AM
Subject: [nagdu] Telescoping canes
> The NFB stgore sells telescoping canes in a whole range of lengths.
> Independent Living Aids sells the little cane Tami was talking about,
> which is very short, but would suffice in a pinch and is very convenient
> to carry around as a backup.
>
> I carry a telescoping cane in my backpack in case of emergencies or
> whatever. I like them for situations where I need the cane to get small,
> but I find that they sometimes telescope when I don't want them to, like
> when they hit a crack in the sidewalk. The trick is to twist the parts a
> little bit when the cane is extended, which helps the thing not to
> collapse unexpectedly, though it still can sometimes.
> For that reason, if I am not concerned about the size of my cane when I'm
> sitting around, I prefer a straight cane.
> The telescoping cane is a lot less bulky than the folding cane. But my
> husband has a very sturdy folding cane, which he prefers. He likes it
> because it's really sturdy, for when people step on it. For me though,
> it's too heavy.
> HTH.
> Tracy
>
>> I keep hearing about these telescope canes. I have a solid one I got
>> through
>> the nfb and another one which I think you described a thinner one I use
>> for
>> formal events and such. Then I have another one which folds up into 4
>> pieces
>> and has an elastic cord running through it. I am curious about the
>> telescope cane I keep hearing about. Tell me where I might be able to
>> find
>> one please?
>> Albert J. Rizzi, M.Ed.
>> CEO/Founder
>> My Blind Spot, Inc.
>> 90 Broad Street - 18th Fl.
>> New York, New York 10004
>> www.myblindspot.org
>> PH: 917-553-0347
>> Fax: 212-858-5759
>> "The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who
>> is
>> doing it."
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf
>> Of Tamara Smith-Kinney
>> Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 8:27 PM
>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] guide dog responsibilities
>>
>> Rebecca,
>>
>> You raise really great points. It's easy to get caught up in the reason
>> why
>> to chose a guide dog. But it gives a good perspective to hear a guide
>> dog
>> user's reasons why she chose *not* to have a guide dog again.
>>
>> I can really see how a cane would be more useful in the situations you
>> describe. Even without a squirming, stinky toddler, there have been a
>> couple of times I wished I had a cane to hand to find out what the heck
>> is
>> all around me. /smile/ My telescoping cane sort of blew up and no
>> longer
>> telescopes, and it was a while before I got a new identity cane -- this
>> is
>> a
>> tiny, skinny folding cane, very light and fragile, but it does fit in my
>> pocket or purse. Only when it's in my current purse, which carries a
>> bunch
>> of junk but is totally impractically for someone with her other hand full
>> (I
>> can't carry on my dog shoulder because it falls off and bonks the poor
>> dog),
>> I can't just whip it out to use to investigate! Usually where I start
>> feeling a bit lost and confused is public restrooms, where I really don't
>> want to touch anything to find what it is Mitzi is showing me. /shudder/
>>
>> We will not talk about the porta potty incident. I am still grossed out!
>> And I made it a point to stop procrastinating getting a "pocket cane."
>> /grin/
>>
>> Thanks for sharing.
>>
>> Tami Smith-Kinney
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf
>> Of Pickrell, Rebecca M (IS)
>> Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2009 9:34 AM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] guide dog responsibilities
>>
>>
>> Thank you Meghan.
>> A couple other things which I failed to leave out of my earlier post.
>> I found that when I was using a dog, people expected the dog to just
>> know things. For example, I wanted a high chair for my daughter and when
>> I asked for assistance, the question was "Can't your dog find one"? She
>> could find chairs, but she couldn't distinguish between a high chair and
>> a big person chair. So, no, in this case, she couldn't do the task I
>> asked of her. When I used my cane, people were happy to help. The same
>> thing was true of diaper changing facilities. Some places have changing
>> tables in the rest rooms, some places hve tables that come down from the
>> wall, and some have nothing. Other places have "diaper changing areas".
>> My dog couldn't find the tables that fold out of the wall, and she
>> treated the kind that are standing like counters. I find changing a
>> diaper on the floor extremely painful and prefer to use a surface when
>> possible, though I also want to use the right surface if one is present.
>> The general attitude seemed to be "Won't the dog find what you need?" I
>> even had someone ask me once, when my daughter was having a red-zone
>> tantrum once "Why won't the dog calm her down"?
>> With a cane, I get none of this. People are willing to show me things,
>> sometimes a little too much, but at least they have the right attitude
>> even if it may be for the wrong reasons. And, wrong reasons don't much
>> matter when you've got a squirming kid with a poopie diaper stinking up
>> the joint.
>> The other thing is that you cannot ever leave a child alone. So if I got
>> into a situation where I had to decide which one I was going to take, it
>> was always the kid. I can remember once trying to get ready to go
>> someplace, my daughter was fussy, it was pouring down rain, and I just
>> couldn't deal with putting her down, getting my coat on, taking the dog
>> out to go park, and then getting my daughter ready. I'd already gotten
>> wet once taking the dog out at her regularly scheduled park break which
>> was about an hour before we were to head out, I didn't think she would
>> use the bathroom, and I simply didn't have it in me to take her out
>> again for an event that was unlikely to happen. So, I left the dog home
>> and used my cane. Leaving my daughter home and taking the dog was not an
>> option legally or morally. We can debate all day if I morally was in the
>> right with regard to the dog, but I didn't do anything illegal. I left
>> water for her, I'd be home soon and she'd had a chance to go park.
>>
>>
>>
>> Finally, it's physically easier to use a cane with my daughter. She
>> likes to stop and look at random things, flowers, trucks, other kids,
>> lights, and my dog was getting frustrated. She didn't understand why we
>> didn't keep on moving. She would also get frustrated when I'd use my
>> hands to look for the forementioned changing tables. She would either
>> take me to the sink or the toilet, or she'd shut down and be like "Well,
>> if you don't want me to guide in here, then I just won't guide when
>> we're done either".I sympathize with the dog's perspective as nobody
>> likes to feel useless, but I also couldn't deal with it either. It just
>> took too much out of me.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of Meghan Whalen
>> Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2009 10:25 AM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] guide dog responsibilities
>>
>> Thank you for this post. I can tell a lot of time/thought went into it.
>>
>>
>> Thanks for sharing your thoughts Bebecca.
>>
>> meghan
>>
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