[blindkid] O&M for the young child

Merry-Noel Chamberlain owinm at yahoo.com
Sat Apr 10 19:58:30 UTC 2010


Marie,
 
The pencil grip is like holding the cane like a giant pencil or a stick used for writing in the sand - except little children have trouble with this and will often hold it like a walking stick.  The hand may be a little down on the cane, too.  The tip is not extended out so much.  This technique is good when walking in an area with lots of people or things (chairs) within one's path.  With the cane more up and down, the grass can't catch it as much.
 
Have fun!
 
Merry-Noel
 


--- On Sat, 4/10/10, Marie <empwrn at bellsouth.net> wrote:


From: Marie <empwrn at bellsouth.net>
Subject: Re: [blindkid] O&M for the young child
To: "Blindkid email" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Date: Saturday, April 10, 2010, 12:47 PM


Thank you for the encouragement and information!

We are taking the cane everywhere we go except to Jack's school just yet. It is a private day care/preschool. We have told them that we will be sending the cane with him next week and they are very open to the idea. 

We are having lots of fun! I am not sure that I completely "get" the pencil grip. Do you mean held in front but not extended as far? So his grip would be further down the cane, not at the handle?

Thanks for your patience in explaining. :)

I hope y'all don't mind that I'll be asking questions as we proceed on this exciting journey! 

Marie (mother of Jack, 4 years old with Apert Syndrome)
http://allaccesspasstojack.blogspot.com 
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

-----Original Message-----
From: Merry-Noel Chamberlain <owinm at yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 04:29:41 
To: \(for parents of blind children\)NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blindkid] O&M for the young child

Marie,
Young children, and children with additional disabilities, need to learn that the sound of the tip of the cane offers information.  When walking around, encourage him to stop and make extra taps in various settings - such as when you are passing a doorway - have him place the cane in the doorway, tap and listen.  Look for different types of floors, such as wood vs. carpet.  Also, open spaces vs. closed spaces.  Check out the sound of the cane tap in the closet, in different stores.  Take a special field trip just to listen to the cane taps in different places.  In the video you walked through a tunnel of sorts, I bet the cane sound was different in the tunnel vs. by the door.  If you also had a long white cane with a metal tip, you could do the same thing.  Through NFB, you can purchase one as a 'teaching cane'.  Get one that is taller than your chin but shorter than your nose.  Teach by modeling.  You tap your cane, too.  Be excited
when you do that - "Jack.  Come over here and listen to this!!  Wow!  Doesn't that sound cool?"
 
Marie, when children start to write, they are not perfect.  They scribble, right?  That's because they do not have their fine motor skill developed yet.  The same goes for O&M.  It takes time for them to develop their gross motor skill to be able to walk and tap at the same time.  Right now, he is 'scribbling' with the cane (so to speak) but with time, he will get better and better as he grows into his cane.  Just by having him have a cane at EVERY WALKING OPPORTUNITY outside his home environment, you are helping him develop his O&M skills.
 
In grass, it is sometimes harder because the grass tends to grab the cane.  So, when I walk in grass, I tend to use the pencil grip more.
 
Merry-Noel Chamberlain, NOMCT   

--- On Fri, 4/9/10, Marie <empwrn at bellsouth.net> wrote:


From: Marie <empwrn at bellsouth.net>
Subject: Re: [blindkid] O&M Parent Handbook
To: "'NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)'" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Date: Friday, April 9, 2010, 11:43 PM


Thanks for the information. Jack loves using his cane to find curbs and the
street. He does not like using his cane so much in the grass. I'm sure that
most if not all of that comes from the way he likes to let it drag the
ground. How do you encourage your very young students to begin to tap tap?
Marie

-----Original Message-----
From: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Merry-Noel Chamberlain
Sent: Friday, April 09, 2010 8:14 AM
To: (for parents of blind children)NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List
Subject: [blindkid] O&M Parent Handbook

Marie,
I loved watching the video of your son using his cane.  It is also great to
have a parent using the Bamboo walking sticks to help model.  I'm a NOMCT
(O&M) instructor at Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind and I am also
blind.  I wrote an O&M Parent Handbook to assist the parents of the students
I teach.  Attached is a copy of that handbook for you (and anyone else
reading this).  Some things do not apply but you may find some things
helpful within it.
Thanks again for sharing.
Merry-Noel Chamberlain

--- On Thu, 4/8/10, Marie <empwrn at bellsouth.net> wrote:


From: Marie <empwrn at bellsouth.net>
Subject: Re: [blindkid] Jack and his new cane
To: "'NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)'"
<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Date: Thursday, April 8, 2010, 2:24 PM


This is soooo exciting. We have been reading and re-reading articles on the
NFB site. We took Jack out for his first cane outing yesterday! We went over
to a local school after hours. There is a big wide sidewalk with cracks, a
tiled area, flagpole, curbs up and down...very exciting place! 

Jack really seemed to enjoy using his cane. I have attached a video showing
some of his cane use on our first outing. Dad (David) and I are holding
bamboo walking sticks since we don't have canes.

Because Jack is partially sighted he is figuring out how to use the cane to
help him gain more information about what he thinks he sees. For example,
when Jack comes up white lines in the parking lot, they must look to him
like a curb or some sort of step up. He almost always tries to lift his leg
as if to step up. Yesterday you should have seen him! He sat down on the
ground (parking lot was empty) and he ran his cane across the white line
over and over. He seemed fascinated that it was smooth unlike what it
appeared to be to him. 

AND this morning he used his cane (and still our hand-holding assistance as
always) to identify the steps as he descended the 14 steps to the garage of
our split level home!

-----Original Message-----
From: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Carol Castellano
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 8:53 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)
Subject: Re: [blindkid] Jack and his new cane

It's funny, because the teaching cane is one of Joe Cutter's ideas on how to
get kids interested.  I think you'll like his book.  And, yeah, we figured
out you meant pix.
Carol

At 06:27 PM 4/7/2010, you wrote:
>LOL...sorry guys, I was a bit tired when I sent that email out last 
>night and I meant are pictures allowed through the list? I've been on 
>lists that don't allow attachments and I could not remember if this was one
of them.
>
>Thanks for the resources, Carol.
>
>And my hubby is all over using this cane. He printed out several 
>articles for our son's teacher to read. :) My heart flutters....
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
>On Behalf Of Marie
>Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 8:56 PM
>To: Blindkid email
>Subject: [blindkid] Jack and his new cane
>
>Are emails allowed through the list? I've attached a picture of Jack 
>and
his
>new cane. My brilliant husband picked it up and held it out himself in 
>the bathroom on the tile where it was sure to make lots of noise. Soon 
>Jack was running after him wanting to do it too!
>I should have prepared better for this. What are your 
>recommendations/tips/books or websites to read for getting started?
>Marie (mother of Jack, 4 years old with Apert Syndrome) 
>http://allaccesspasstojack.blogspot.com
>Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>blindkid mailing list
>blindkid at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>blindkid:
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/blindchildren
>%40v
erizon.net

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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