Cane Travel and Young Students

Cane Travel and Young Students

Future Reflections Fall 1992, Vol. 11 No. 4
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CANE TRAVEL

AND YOUNG STUDENTS
Featuring

excerpts from the Handbook for Itinerant and Resource Teachers of Blind and

Visually Impaired Students by Doris M. Willoughby and Sharon L. M. Duffy

From

the Editor: You are a parent of a blind child age eight or younger. Your

youngster is supposed to get cane travel lessons this year. Maybe you had to

fight to get the service; maybe you had an enlightened school district which

routinely provides cane instruction as soon as blind youngsters enter the system;

or maybe you are in the middle of negotiations to get cane instruction added

to your child's IEP. Whatever the circumstances, you know you need more information.

You're sold on the benefits of early cane use, but you don't know what specific

skills your child should be learning.
The following

excerpts from the Handbook for Itinerant and Resource Teachers of Blind and

Visually Impaired Students by Doris M. Willoughby and Sharon L. M. Duffy

provide an excellent outline of goals and expectations for the young cane student.

What is reprinted here is only a small portion of the four chapters in the book

which cover the topic of orientation and mobility for blind and partially sighted

students of all ages.
The Handbook

has 54 chapters, 7 appendices, and a reference section—a total of 533

pages. The print edition is $20 plus $3.00 shipping and handling (the Braille

and four-track cassette editions are $30.00 plus $3.00 shipping and handling.)

To order send request and check, money order, or purchase order to: Materials

Center, National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland

21230. *Note: Discover, MasterCard, and Visa are also accepted if the order

is accompanied by credit card name, number, expiration date, and card holder's

signature.

Lesson

Planning

Most students

over eight, and some who are younger, can grasp the entire basic technique in

a lesson or two. Lessons become a matter of keeping basic technique consistent,

adding new techniques such as those for escalators, and applying the skills

to an ever-widening environment.
Very young

students, however, often cannot grasp very much at once. It may be necessary

to spend several lessons in teaching the basic position and motion. Nevertheless,

actual travel with the cane should be begun while the technique is still imperfect,

with more and more elements of the standard form being gradually added.
Suppose,

for example, that a beginner is still learning how to hold the cane and keep

the tip down. She should nevertheless walk with the cane and find obstacles,

even if she is not yet tapping in an appropriate arc. Part of the time the teacher

might take hold of her and move her through the standard motions. But part of

the time the child should move on her own, however imperfectly, as long as the

cane is finding obstacles. If this is not done, the child probably will not

understand the purpose of the cane and lessons will also be impossibly boring.

She Can't

Learn It All At Once

I use the

following sequence of skills when the child is too immature to learn them all

at once:
(1) Begin

to understand the purpose of the cane.
(2) Keep

the tip down.
(3) Hold

the handle with one hand. (Note: See exceptions.)
(4) Keep

the cane hand centered at waist levels with the arm against the body.
(5) Use

correct grip and finger position.
(6) Tap

cane from side to side.
(7) Make

the arc consistent on each side.
(8) Keep

in step.
Note that

this is a process of refining and improving techniques which are very imperfect

at first. Some instructors say that this is wrong—they believe the cane

should never be used except with perfect form. Their concern is inconsistent

with the way other developmental tasks are handled. Recall the analogy to using

silverware: The progression (for a sighted or blind baby) ordinarily is something

like this:
(1) Begin

to understand the purpose of silverware.
(2) Hold

the handle.
(3) Insert

spoon into mouth (with food having been loaded onto spoon by someone else).
(4) Lift

the food to the mouth, keeping the bowl of the spoon upright (again, spoon having

been loaded by someone else).
(5) Direct

the bowl of the spoon into the food and proceed (receiving some help in loading

the spoon).
(6) Scoop

some food from the bowl and proceed independently.
(7) Consistently

use correct grip and finger position.
(8) Avoid

messiness.

Build On

Experience

Any number

of other skills are gradually refined and improved with maturity and experience:

drawing, writing, walking, bathing, etc., etc. Withholding a cane completely

from a young child is no more logical than totally withholding the washcloth

because she flops it around.
"Improving

and refining" includes developing more and more independence. At first

we place the child's hand on the cane in the proper position. Later she holds

the handle correctly when reminded. In time she will remember by herself.
Some beginners

are better off using two hands on the cane for awhile. They may center the handle

better, and overcome a tendency to reach out with the free hand.
Similarly,

very young beginners may find it easier to slide the tip back and forth rather

than tapping it.
As the

child progresses introduce new elements of technique. Simply proceed for awhile

with a given level of skill, and then say, for example, "Now you're going

to learn how to move the cane just the way a grownup does." Avoid waiting

unduly long between refinements lest the immature technique become too established.

The ultimate example of "waiting unduly long," however, is to delay

starting with the cane at all. Then the habits to be changed include shuffling

feet, outstretched hands, slow motion, irregular gait, and crippling fear.
With a

student in junior high or high school, the basic stance is quickly learned,

and it is almost immediately possible to work on routes suitable for an adult—walking

throughout the building, going up and down steps, crossing streets, etc., and

proceeding into routes several blocks in length. For a youngster of nine or

ten, the same is true but at a slower pace. But what about the very young child

who would not be going far alone if she were sighted and who seems to need several

lessons before even crossing the room?

Expectations

By Age

First of

all, let us consider what skills are reasonable to achieve at various ages.

A rough guide for the average student is:

Under age

5:

* Use correct

hand position.
* Arc the

cane while walking on flat terrain (Keeping in step may be too hard at this

level.)
* Detect

obstacles and go around them.
* Use cane

up and down stairs. (Adult may warn of presence of stairs.)
* Cross

streets with assistance (not independently), and pay attention to traffic sounds.
* Detect

major differences in surface underfoot.
* Walk

toward a sound, including following a person who makes a sound while walking.
* Tell

left from right, with one hand marked tactually if necessary.
Ages

5-6:
* All above

skills
* Detect

stairs, even when unexpected, and proceed up or down.
* Keep

in step when arcing.
* Begin

to interpret echoes made by cane tip (when passing a side hallway, a parked

car, etc.)
* Find

open doorways and closed doors with cane.
* Walk

independently (with cane, as always) to classroom, rest room, office, etc.
* Travel

on playground, with assistance at times.
* Stay

on sidewalk in non-complicated environment.
* Recognize

when a street is being crossed.
* Independently

cross uncontrolled intersection with little traffic.
* Cross

simple intersection with traffic light (possibly with some guidance).
* Correctly

identify the four compass directions, in a familiar place.
* Follow

directions for a simple route of three blocks or less in relatively familiar

territory.
* Attempt

to correct errors or miscalculations before expecting help.
* Know

left and right without aid.

Ages 7-8:

* All above

skills
* Make

continual use of echoes from cane tip, indoors and outdoors. Use this as one

method to find open doorways.
* Follow

directions to schoolrooms where student does not ordinarily go.
* Travel

independently on playground, selecting play activities.
* Stay

on sidewalk despite some complications.
* Independently

cross simple intersection with traffic light
* Begin

to understand variations in arrangement of intersections.
* Expand

ability to correct errors.
* Correctly

name the intermediate compass points: NE,SE,NW,SW.
* Follow

directions for a simple route of up to six blocks, in an area which may be unfamiliar

but is not difficult.

What Is

Independence

Let us

pause to discuss the term independently. This has a different meaning

for a young child than for an adult or even a teenager. When we say that an

adult "crosses streets independently," we mean that she can choose,

at any time, to proceed to any intersection and cross it. If we say that a twelve-year-old

"crosses streets independently," the interpretation is not quite as

broad—her parents will exert some control over where she may go and when,

but she will cross without necessarily having a helper nearby.
In contrast,

consider what we mean when a six-year-old "crosses a street independently."

At that age, sighted or blind, parents place tight guidelines over where the

child is permitted to roam. If traffic makes safety dubious, someone will watch

her. This prevents the young child from attempting to cross an intersection

of unknown complexity without assistance. However, there is no reason why she

cannot walk to a neighbor's house alone, over a simple and safe route, while

someone is prepared to look for her if she is late.
Similarly,

the adult uses self-discipline to extend correct procedure outside of lessons.

But the child needs to be reminded often very firmly, if necessary. If the eight-year-old

walks to the drugstore while merely carrying her cane (rather than actually

using it) or crosses the street carelessly, the valued privilege of going alone

can be temporarily withdrawn. The five-year-old who waves her cane around can

be told, "You have to hold my hand until you keep the cane tip down."

Fit The

Lesson To The Child

Yes, the

little child can learn to use a cane with great advantage. No, she can't learn

just like an adult. For a five-year-old, ten minutes is usually long enough

for any one activity. Change the pace frequently, with the entire travel lesson

probably not exceeding 20-30 minutes. A typical lesson outline might be:
* 10 minutes:

Walk on sidewalk, trying to stay off the grass.
* 10 minutes:

Go up and down stairs.
* 10 minutes:

Walk around in the schoolyard. When an obstacle is found correctly with the

cane, the child may examine it (and play on it if appropriate).
In the

above sequence of activities, note that the most "fun" is last.

Making

Lessons Interesting

A young

child has limited stamina and a short attention span. If he has a lot of difficulty,

he will cry or balk if the lesson is too easy or repetitive, he will "clown

around," make irrelevant remarks, complain, etc. Since he cannot yet articulate

feelings clearly he may even say the work is "too hard," when he actually

is not challenged enough.

Suggested

Ideas

The following

ideas provide variety and a positive approach for early lessons in cane use:

[Note: The ideas listed below are only a sample of the 33 given in the Handbook.]
(1) Set

a specific length, appropriate for the level of skill, to a given task. With

a four-year-old beginner you might say: "Walk straight ahead and find the

wall with your cane," or "Make the cane go from one side to the other

side, for ten steps." A six-year-old might walk to the end of the block

or to the far side of the playground.
(2) Emphasize

praise over criticism. Often correction should be nonverbal—simply take

hold of the child and move him into the correct position, while praising his

efforts.
(6) The

use of sounds especially lends itself to "making a game" of a lesson.

For example: -Hide and Seek: Place a beeping object within earshot. The child

must use good cane technique to walk to the object and pick it up. -Howdy Do:

Direct the child to keep still while you walk away. (You may or may not choose

to move silently.) Then tell the child to walk toward you and keep on talking

as he approaches. Shake hands ceremoniously when he arrives and finds your foot

with his cane.
(12) When

a child is careless in a familiar area, deliberately provide some unexpected

obstacles (chairs, boxes, etc.).
(13) Take

the child to a safe, interesting area and have him explore it independently.
(17) Work

on part of a skill before expecting the child to do it all alone. For example,

at first physically move the student through the motions of looking for a doorway

with his cane, while he merely announces when it has been found. Later the child

can move the cane himself, knowing how it feels to accomplish the task.
(22) Whenever

possible, have a genuine purpose for the trip: - Buy the teacher's lunch ticket

-Deliver a message. - Get the art paper.
(27) Work

with two students together. If one is more advanced, he can help teach the other

one. Two students who are equal in skill will pick up ideas from each other.

Everyone will be stimulated by the change of pace.
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