[blindkid] introducing a cane

[Richard Holloway]

Susan,

You're asking some great and important questions that many of us have had to sort through over the years.

> Hi, I know many of you have had much experience with kids & cane use...  My son is almost four but severely developmentally delayed (no talking, very limited communication).  At my strong encouragement his O&M instructor is going to start working with him with a cane.  (Some background:  I have tried for a loooong time to gently introduce him to an NFB cane, but so far he’s shown no interest at all & only wants to put it in his mouth).  I was wondering if some of you had any thoughts about the following:
> -          His O&M instructor strongly recommends a cane that comes up to his chest, but I know the NFB canes are longer.  Can someone tell me again what the rationale is for the longer length? 

The long cane is intended to give greater warning when walking, especially at moderate or faster speeds. The goal is to have about "two steps" worth of warning when approaching anything to react. The cane looks a bit long, but actually two steps at a brisk walk is not a lot of time to react to a curb or another person to avoid a collision. One step approach (with a short cane) really invites disaster and makes many people move slowly as a defensive mannerism. 

> Do you think there would be any harm to starting him out with a shorter length?

I'm no O&M instructor, but I'd say no problem. Rule number one is that ANY cane is better than no cane at all. Most kids in your child's age range aren't zooming about at a great rate of speed yet, and if there are delays in the mix, that seems even more likely. Sometimes long canes are in fact too long in certain circumstances and long cane users learn alternative grips for dealing with a crowded room, standing in a line, or traveling on stairs. There is certainly no reason he can't move to a longer cane when it seems more appropriate, and you could also maintain a longer cane for use at home to experiment with. Longer canes when "out of control" can also wreak a bit more havoc, so there are certainly situations where starting with a cane that is a bit shorter can make sense, and every situation is indeed different.

Something else to keep in mind, and I say this as the parent of a child who chewed up several canes in her younger years-- having the cane in hand and not even using it can also be a decent start. Many parents fight HUGE battles with kids that simply will not hold a cane. I think that is often when they didn't start as early as they might have (sometimes the kids didn't need a cane earlier-- I'm not saying they are at fault). 

It makes sense if you think about it. The cane is of no use to a child until he or she realizes it does something helpful. When nothing good comes from a cane what do you do? You throw it down so you can have two hands free to play and explore... Kids have to realize the cane gives them information-- it helps them find things. Learning that it prevents crashing into things and getting hurt may be harder to teach, so focus on rewards-- it helps you find your toy or maybe it helps you find where Mommy is, etc.

> -          She wants him to use a cane with a ball on the end so it doesn’t get stuck.   Do you think there would be any harm to trying this kind for a while since I haven’t had luck with the other cane yet?  

That is a little more "iffy". Back to rule number one though-- any cane beats no cane, and "harm" is perhaps a strong term in this case. The problems with the roller tip seem to center around the rolling "feature" it tends to roll to one side or the other quite easily and kids tend to leave them there or let them roll clear around and then they just drag them along. NFB canes are much sower to roll around while roller canes require some effort just to keep them in front of you-- you often have to fight the things a little to roll is straight. You might try it yourself-- just walk with one in front of you and don't correct the position at all-- where does your hand go?

The standard argument against NFB canes BTW seems to be sticking yourself in the belly with the handle. Usually the hand position used can greatly reduce the problem. with your palm up, generally a stuck tip will deflect the cane up in front of you. Ultimately, with the cane being so light it can be pushed just barely on the ground and sticking problems seem to vanish.

The other problem is that roller tip canes are heavy. The ball is heavy and the cane itself to support the ball is heavy as well. That causes fatigue. Still another problem is the very nature of a ball is to give less tactile feedback-- that is, it rolls over useful information. Texture changes in the floor are harder to find. Seems in a sidewalk. A transition from dirt to sand. Things like that are harder to notice. Also, if you go with a folding cane the joints in the cane and the elastic cord inside the cane dampen and remove tactile information.

For a new cane user, I doubt the missing subtle information will be as big of an issue, but the weight causes fatigue and the rolling part cause the cane to roll to the side, so if you feel you have to go with the roller tip cane, watch those issues carefully, and do whatever you can to get an NFB cane in his hands as soon as possible (and as often as possible, if you're using both).

I will say that we were fairly early cane users with Kendra (from about 18 months) and even with an NFB cane there was some cane dragging. We also went through a period where she refused to use her cane and the "fix" was actually the same (roller tip) cane you describe. As I recall, her O&M instructor used a heavy roller-tipped cane then too. Kendra was interested in being like her teacher so she wanted a cane like hers. We agreed (back to rule 1 once more) she started using a cane again. Within a few months we had her back to an NFB cane and life was good.

As a happy end to this story, a couple of years later we got the O&M instructor to an NFB convention and she spoke with Joe Cutter, a favorite O&M specialist of many in the NOPBC. Her teacher left the convention with HER "very own" NFB cane, which she used in lessons with all of her students for the next few years until she retired.

If you have any more questions which I might be able to answer, feel free to ask me on or off list. No doubt others will have many good suggestions to offer as well.

Good luck!