[blindkid] School cane O/M issues

Richard Holloway rholloway at gopbc.org
Tue Oct 20 17:03:10 UTC 2009


Albert,

To be clear, I in no way intended to suggest or infer anything  
negative about your personal choices in canes or anyone else's so long  
as these are informed choices. My great concern and frustration is  
that all too often, parents are "railroaded" by blindness  
professionals, most of them I suspect having the best of intentions  
when they tell parents "this is the way I do things, so this is what  
your child needs to use, how they should use it and when they should  
use it." It is simply not their place to do more than recommend.  
Parents need to decide.

If you want to put your cane "away" because that's where you want it  
and it works for you, that is fine by me (as if it were my business to  
offer an opinion). If you feel like you need to NEED to put your cane  
away because I WANT you to, that is where the problem comes in, and  
not so much for adults (I would assume and hope) but it happens to our  
kids far too often. I have heard of blind kids even having their canes  
TAKEN AWAY because they weren't using them "properly". Would the same  
teacher toss a wheel chair traveler out of his wheelchair and remove  
it for inappropriate chair use? To me this is like forcing a blindfold  
on a sighted child as a punishment.

I appreciate all of your suggestions and sharing on this listsev (and  
the same to all here). I have been talking a lot here recently but  
(like so many of  us here I suspect), I have much more to hear and  
lean about parenting a blind child than I have to offer! What a good  
thing to have places like this to collaborate and come up with ideas  
and strategies.

Richard



On Oct 20, 2009, at 9:43 AM, Albert J Rizzi wrote:

> Richard's answer was very informative and eye opening.  I did not  
> realize
> the key issues and differences that each cane can bring to safe  
> travel.  I
> in no way mean to hide my cane, just as anything else I use, as an  
> adult, is
> put away until I need it, my computer, my coat, my dogs harness, so  
> why not
> my cane.  I am not at all embarrassed by my blindness in oh so many  
> ways see
> it as a gift, as exemplified by the gift I received from both you and
> Richard in my growth as a blind man who still has many things to  
> learn about
> the tools and skills I need to be an empowered and independent  
> individual.
>
> Albert J. Rizzi
> 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: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindkid- 
> bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Carol Castellano
> Sent: Monday, October 19, 2009 9:22 PM
> To: NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] School cane O/M issues
>
> I think it was Richard Holloway who listed a lot of the reasons last
> week.  For children still learning the cane, the folding cane is
> heavy and the rubber inside dampens the sound and feedback to the
> child's ears and hand.  Collapsible canes can collapse--that's the
> main problem with them!  But both kinds of canes often require the
> assistance of an adult to get them fully open and that cuts down on
> the child's independence.  Last but not least, we do not want the
> child to internalize the message that the cane should be put away,
> hidden away, gets in the way, etc.
> Carol
>
> Carol Castellano, President
> National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
> 973-377-0976
> carol_castellano at verizon.net
> www.nfb.org/nopbc
>
>
> At 03:20 PM 10/19/2009, you wrote:
>> Let me ask this, what is the reluctance  of using a collapsible or  
>> foldable
>> cane in instances where one would otherwise try to find a spot to  
>> hang,
> lean
>> or otherwise stow a cane until needed? New to blindness and oh so  
>> prefer to
>> be able to fold up my cane and place it under my seat or in my  
>> brief case
> or
>> bookbag until needed again.
>>
>> Albert J. Rizzi
>> 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: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindkid- 
>> bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of Bonnie Lucas
>> Sent: Monday, October 19, 2009 2:27 PM
>> To: NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)
>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] School cane O/M issues
>>
>> 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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