[blindkid] never stands still

Sat Jun 12 05:09:58 UTC 2010

Do you have a school with a track close by?  that's pretty much guaranteed
to have a hazard free surface.
You could have her walk a couple of laps with her cane so she feels for
herself it's smooth to help with the trust issue (trust of the surface, not
you!)

A thought for neighborhood jogging..and this may be way off base but it just
popped into my head... do they sell (or could you rig up) a cane with a
wheel on the end?  I don't mean one of those fat rolling ball tips or
something as clunky as the "pre-canes" for toddler.  Something like those
measuring wheels surveyors use. It would give her feedback on minor terrain
changes (little dips etc) directly in front of her.   I'm picturing using it
with a tandem guide to keep her on the right path and away from
large obstacles but the feedback from the wheel letting her be confident on
where her foot is going to land next.

Hank has enough vision to see large obstacles like walls, trees, people.  He
gets tripped up over the more subtle things down at ground level.  Because
he can see the big stuff, he sometimes gets lazy with his cane and just
glides it straight out in front of him instead of in a sweeping motion.  He
can't run that way though because the tip gets caught on things.  That's
what made me think of the wheel idea.

Holly

On Sat, Jun 12, 2010 at 12:36 AM, Richard Holloway <rholloway at gopbc.org>wrote:

> I suspect we are not quite up to the tandem running yet, but we will likely
> get there at some point.
>
> The trick is almost certainly to have a smooth enough surface that she
> won't feel like she is going to stumble. We have of course run across the
> yard and things like that, but generally at more of a guarded pace. LIke so
> many of the other things already discussed and like you mentioned as well,
> it is all about feeling safe enough to get past a feeling that she might
> fall or crash.
>
> Richard
>
>
>
>
>
> On Jun 11, 2010, at 11:51 PM, Heather wrote:
>
>  That's an interesting thing I noticed.  As a young child I was low vision,
>> but I did run a lot and only crashed spectacularly on ocasion, but my sight
>> deteriorated over time, and I lost most of it by 16.  It didn't occur to me
>> until later on, how much I missed all out running, because, I, like many pre
>> teens and young teenagers had shifted to accademic and artistic focuses from
>> more physical ones and it was only when I was walking on a tred mill in the
>> work out room in college that I felt this pang of depression and a very
>> painful and real sense of loss, when I contemplated running on the tread
>> mill and felt a spike of concern about whether or not I could or should.  I
>> did, and it felt ackward at first, then I felt like I was flying again, and
>> I realized how much hurt I had been feeling at an unconscious level, not
>> having been able to run in almost ten years, and knowing that I could never
>> do that, in the same way, ever again.  I am so glad that your daughter feels
>> free and safe and empowered enough to let loose and run on the tread mill.
>> Perhaps she might enjoy running with you, on a track or smoothe field where
>> she knows she won't run into anything.  I have been contemplating lately
>> either getting Jim to go running with me or taking up horseback riding
>> again, because I miss that freedom so much.
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kathy B" <burgawicki at yahoo.com>
>> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)" <
>> blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, June 11, 2010 7:45 PM
>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] never stands still
>>
>>
>>  Richard,
>>>
>>> Do you mind me asking how old Kendra was when you first started having
>>> her use the treadmill?  And, how long will she stay on it at one time?
>>> Thanks,
>>> Kathy
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ________________________________
>>> From: Richard Holloway <rholloway at gopbc.org>
>>> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)" <
>>> blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Fri, June 11, 2010 3:02:14 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] never stands still
>>>
>>> Darian,
>>>
>>> I think you're exactly right-- virtually all kids have this sort of
>>> energy. The thing that comes up with blind children more often is that some
>>> of them have more trouble finding enough safe-feeling ways to release the
>>> energy which must go somewhere. No doubt, ANY child who cannot (for whatever
>>> reason, it need not be vision-related) move and jump and play as much as he
>>> or she feels compelled to is likely to begin to express motion and release
>>> energy in socially undesirable ways.
>>>
>>> My sighted kids can tear off and run and they're not afraid they'll crash
>>> into a tree. Kendra won't do that, but she'll put that same level of energy
>>> or excitement into jumping in a trampoline, swimming, or any number of other
>>> "safe-feeling" activities. Something else I didn't tie to this before-- back
>>> to the treadmill. Kendra is hesitant to run across a field, no doubt she
>>> doesn't feel sure-footed enough when running and/or she thinks she'll crash
>>> into something. However, on a treadmill she will walk briskly or even sprint
>>> at times and she loves it.
>>>
>>> Richard
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Jun 11, 2010, at 11:55 AM, Darian Smith wrote:
>>>
>>>  If I may-
>>>> I think (and I could be wrong) that it's really a matter of having
>>>> alot of energy that needs to be expressed in some way.  getting your
>>>> child to be activ with regards to running, playing in a playground
>>>> withother kids  the child's age, swimming anything that will burn off
>>>> that energy might help. II feel  pretty confident  that sighted
>>>> children have just as much energy and run into the same things as
>>>> well.
>>>> Just my thoughts and they are as valid are as invalid as youmay like
>>>> to take them.
>>>> Best,
>>>> Darian
>>>>
>>>> On 6/10/10, Heather <craney07 at rochester.rr.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Jeremy twirls, but he does not do it for prolonged periods, and all
>>>>> toddlers, sighted toddlers do that, although by three or four it does
>>>>> usually decrease from what I have seen in the early childhood field.
>>>>>  We
>>>>> usually try to shape the spinning into something, I.E. Duck Duck Goose
>>>>> going
>>>>> in circles around one of us while we tap his head for ducks and pick
>>>>> him up
>>>>> and raspberry and tickle him for goose, and Ring Around the Rosey,
>>>>> which
>>>>> with only one child, is pretty much just spinning with a song and a
>>>>> planned
>>>>> fall down at the end.  Now he never spins without also singing the
>>>>> song, so
>>>>> I'm not terribly concerned.
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: "Richard Holloway" <rholloway at gopbc.org>
>>>>> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)"
>>>>> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2010 6:46 PM
>>>>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] never stands still
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>  Our 7-year-old still does that occasionally and has done it since she
>>>>>> was
>>>>>>
>>>>>> probably 2. I used to try to tell her to stop but we had far  better
>>>>>> results long term when we redirected her to something else.  Then once
>>>>>> we
>>>>>> started offering her more and more movement alternatives  the problem
>>>>>> decreased greatly. If she's spinning a lot at home now,  we'll usually
>>>>>> ask
>>>>>>
>>>>>> if she needs to go and jump. Generally, she'll stop  spinning with the
>>>>>> question and walk straight to her trampoline.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Richard
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Jun 10, 2010, at 6:26 PM, L wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>  My daughter does the same thing, she is 3.  SHe will spin in circles
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> makes me dizzy.  We have just told her, stop spinning, most of  the
>>>>>>> time
>>>>>>> she does.  But even while spinning she is holding her  favorite
>>>>>>> sensory
>>>>>>> toy, so I am not sure what to do either!  Thanks  for the question.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> ________________________________
>>>>>>> From: Marie <empwrn at bellsouth.net>
>>>>>>> To: Blindkid email <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>>> Sent: Thu, June 10, 2010 12:42:54 PM
>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] never stands still
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I'm no expert on this but I'm wondering if she is filling a sensory
>>>>>>> need
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> by this constant motion. Does she stop moving when you are  talking
>>>>>>> with
>>>>>>> her or she is otherwise engaged? Perhaps providing her  with other
>>>>>>> ways
>>>>>>> to gain sensory input would help.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Marie (mother of Jack born May 2005)
>>>>>>> See glimpses of life with my determined son who is developing in his
>>>>>>> own
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> way at his own time at http://allaccesspasstojack.blogspot.com
>>>>>>> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>>> From: Kathy B <burgawicki at yahoo.com>
>>>>>>> Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2010 04:18:43
>>>>>>> To: <BVI-Parents at yahoogroups.com>; <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>>> Subject: [blindkid] never stands still
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hi All-
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> My daughter (4), totally blind, has a real hard time holding still.
>>>>>>> She
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> is constantly in motion by fidgeting, wiggling, bouncing, etc.   She
>>>>>>> doesn't do a whole lot of rocking but she does need motion.  How  do
>>>>>>> I
>>>>>>> get her to stop.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Please help!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Oh, the swimming lessons are going great!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Kathy
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --Darian Smith
>>>> Skype: The_Blind_Truth
>>>> Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com
>>>> “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are
>>>> spiritual beings having a human experience.” - Teilhard de Chardin
>>>>
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>
>
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-- 
http://www.raceforindependence.org/goto/Hank