[blindkid] cane use and travel in familiar areas

[Barbara Hammel]

I have had to fight a battle with the O&M with diagonal technique, but I 
don't think it's an exceedingly safe means of travel.  Even as small as he 
is, he could have something slip under his hand that his cane would miss. 
My example is if the child is using the diagonal technique to follow the 
grass on the sidewalk and a neighbor child leaves a trike out.  The blind 
child could easily trip over that trike because the stationary cane did not 
find it.  The only time I think a right-handed child should hold the cane in 
the left hand is to hold a railing on stairs.  I'm not an O&M person, 
though.
Barbara

Snow is God's way of reminding us that beauty can be found even in the 
coldest hearts.

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Susan Harper" <sueharper at firstchurchgriswold.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2009 1:57 PM
To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)" 
<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Rev. Lou Harper" <revlou at firstchurchgriswold.org>
Subject: [blindkid] cane use and travel in familiar areas

> Hi All,
>
>     I know I am probably going to sound uneducated here, but I have a
> question for those whose children use canes and mental mapping, okay, two
> questions.  Here goes.
>
>     My son learned to use his cane in his right hand.  He has done a
> remarkable job of adapting to cane travel for a 3 year old.  He also does
> extremely well with echo location and mental mapping.  Now the O & M
> instructor (I might add that we got a new O & M instructor on the first 
> day
> of school.) wants him to switch cane hands.  He is right handed and the O 
> &
> M want him to use the cane in his left hand, so he can trail with his 
> right
> hand and then cane diagonally.  He is not really happy or cooperative with
> this change.  Is this something others have had experience with?  Is this
> something new?  Every picture I have seen of a child or an adult with a
> cane, it has been in their right hand.  I get the reason that he should be
> able to use both hands and walk on the right, but it seems a little bit 
> like
> trying to make a lefty learn right hand stuff, only in this case it is
> making a right handed person into a lefty.  I also understand that the can
> is an extension of your hand.
>
>     Second issue.  My son is learning trailing in the classroom.  However,
> he was headed straight for his cubby to get his coat and his aid 
> interrupted
> him to go back and trail.  I thought it was quite remarkable that he has a
> mental map and knows where his coat is.  I should say that I am an 
> advocate
> of discovery learning techniques.
>
>     Help, what am I missing?
>
> Blessings,
> Sue H.
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