[blindkid] white cane with walker questions

Carol Castellano blindchildren at verizon.net
Mon Jul 19 15:49:39 UTC 2010


Hi Leah,

I believe Joe Cutter has information on this subject in his book 
Independent Movement and Travel in Blind Children.  Do you have that 
one?  If not, you can find the book on this page of the NFB website:
http://secure.nfb.org/ecommerce/asp/prodtype.asp?prodtype=47&ph=&keywords=&recor=&SearchFor=&PT_ID=

It's really a great book--full of creative ideas.  I highly recommend it!

Carol

Carol Castellano
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
973-377-0976
carol_castellano at verizon.net
www.nopbc.org

At 02:01 PM 7/18/2010, you wrote:
>I haven't posted in a while due to moving and other life changes.
>My son is 5 and legally blind from ONH. He also has right hemiparesis,
>hypotonia, energy issues, etc.
>His vision is mostly central/lower, and depth perception is a big issue.
>
>He has been using an wheeled open-front Kaye walker at his preschool this
>year and he is doing great with it. As he learned to use the walker, he
>really needed both hands all the time just to be able to use it at all.
>However, he's getting a little faster now and a little more curious.
>
>When he gets to any line or color change, he is able to see those things and
>he wants to know what they are. He can't tell visually whether a color
>change is a large dropoff or just a change in surface. He asks an adult for
>help. But in some of these cases he could pause and use a cane to feel
>what's ahead. If it's not a dropoff, he could keep going without adult help.
>
>I'm thinking about making a white cane available to him, at first mounted to
>the walker so that he could stop and take it out and use it. I don't think
>he has the strength to hold one in his hand all the time at this point.
>
>I can get an O&M eval for him, but I'd like the opinion of this list too,
>and I'd like the freedom to just order a straight cane now. When using a
>walker, does the cane need to be any longer, that is, does the user have to
>reach farther forward to get past the walker wheels? Or can I just measure
>to his chin? Also, is there a significant weight difference between carbon
>fiber and fiberglass? Looking at the lengths available, I'm guessing people
>use fiberglass more often for little kids. But it needs to be light enough
>to work with his lower arm strength.
>
>Thanks for your suggestions!
>
>Leah Roberts
>mom to John, 5
>Austin, TX
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