[blindkid] School cane O/M issues

[Richard Holloway]

I think part of what got us started with parking Kendra's cane was  
starting her in Montessori school from just after her third birthday  
where she remained for two school years. Montessori lessons virtually  
require two free hands unless you have an assistant fetch and return  
materials to and from their stored locations and the kids do this many  
times each day for each lesson they have. Frequently you get a mat,  
cary it to your workspace in the floor, unroll it then get materials,  
do the work, return the materials, roll the mat and return the mat.  
This means that multiple trips are involved to manipulate all the  
materials for every different lesson. There's no way a three year old  
is going to carry a flat tray with many loose objects with one hand  
and a cane in the other, yet an assistant would have defeated much of  
the utility of the lessons.

After those two years, we were familiar with that general workflow  
which began with parking the cane when she entered the room and it is  
also what we do at home by the front door. I can see merit to both  
approaches but I cannot see any reason to leave the cane behind when  
one heads to the next classroom, the lunchroom, etc. That is a matter  
of convenience for the staff and an excuse to use sighted guide to  
excess.

Richard


On Oct 19, 2009, at 8:32 PM, Carol Castellano wrote:

> Serena didn't park hers, either.  In the early grades she used  
> velcro at her desk like Joy's child and later she would stow it  
> under her desk.  I became a fan of kids using their canes in the  
> classroom as it seems to enable faster movement and faster locating  
> of objects (teacher's desk, trash can, etc.), keeps the kids from  
> having to use their hands as they move along, often then touching  
> other kids, and prevents the kids looking as if they're "groping."
> Carol
>
> At 02:26 PM 10/19/2009, you wrote:
>> auubrie and I place our canes in the corner behind the door as we  
>> seem to always live in houses with a good corner for that. There  
>> was a time when my husband tried to get us to store it in the coat  
>> closet but we fought that one because closets can become  
>> disorganized, causing canes to get a bit lost. This way, when we  
>> walk out the door, the cane is oh, so close to the door. Aubrie  
>> mentioned to me last night when we were reading these posts that  
>> the only class where she parks her cane by the door is band.
>> Bonnie
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joy Orton" <ortonsmom at gmail.com>
>> To: <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, October 19, 2009 9:42 AM
>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] School cane O/M issues
>>
>>
>>> About storing the cane:
>>> We have a strip of velcro on the desk at school so that Ahbee's  
>>> cane is
>>> available at hand. If there is a fire drill(or the real thing), I  
>>> want her
>>> cane to be in her hand in a moment! She chooses to walk  
>>> independently at
>>> school as much as possible, and the teachers are with us on that.
>>>
>>> At home Ahbee stores her cane in the hall closet. Her dad and I  
>>> have told
>>> her, feel free to use your cane in the house! With two younger  
>>> siblings,
>>> things are going to get in the path, but she just walks more  
>>> slowly in the
>>> house.
>>>
>>> Joy Orton
>>>
>>
>>
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>
> Carol Castellano, President
> National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
> 973-377-0976
> carol_castellano at verizon.net
> www.nfb.org/nopbc
>
>
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