Future Reflections        Winter 2013

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Echolocation with the Long White Cane

by Merry-Noel Chamberlain

From the Editor: Growing up as a blind child, I assumed that echolocation was an ordinary part of life. For me it was as natural as breathing. No one taught me to notice the echoes bouncing off objects in my surroundings; they were simply there, and I learned to read the messages they gave me. In those days echolocation was called "facial perception," and no one seemed to know much about how it worked.

Today echolocation is recognized as a valuable skill that can enhance a blind traveler's ability to move independently. In this article, Merry-Noel Chamberlain explains what echolocation is and how it can be used effectively. Merry-Noel is an orientation and mobility instructor and a teacher of the visually impaired who lives in Omaha, Nebraska.

A few years ago I was working with a middle-aged man on an orientation and mobility (O&M) lesson. As we walked along a street in his neighborhood on a beautiful sunny morning, he informed me that he could hear the houses as we passed by them. I didn't quite believe him until he demonstrated his knowledge by telling me whenever we were beside a house. Then he went a step further, informing me when we were beside a mailbox. I was rather surprised at his fine-tuned hearing. This gentleman, totally blind since birth, was right on the mark with each statement he made. Still, as the sighted instructor I was back then, I couldn't hear what he heard as he noted the echoes from the metal tip of his cane.

I had had sleepshade training with the long white cane when I was training to become a counselor for the blind and visually impaired. During my training, I learned to listen for the auditory information that my metal cane tip provided as I approached a building or a brick wall. I could hear the distinctive echo the cane tip made when a wall was about five feet away. However, at that time, I didn't fine-tune my skills enough to hear buildings that were a hundred feet off or to pick out a lone mailbox connected to a post next to the sidewalk. Years later I concluded that my three months of training under sleepshades was not nearly long enough for me to fine-tune the skill that is called echolocation.

I did not perfect the skill of echolocation with the long white cane until I gained further training through the orientation and mobility program at Louisiana Tech in Ruston, Louisiana. My additional hours of sleepshade training focused exclusively on orientation and mobility (cane travel). This training truly gave my ears more time to concentrate on the information provided by the metal tip of my long white cane. In addition, while I was a student at Louisiana Tech, I discovered that I was legally blind. I picked up the long white cane and have used it ever since.

I believe that most people, blind and sighted, know a bit about echolocation. Perhaps you have seen a documentary on the sonar navigation used by bats, dolphins, and submarines. Maybe you have stood on a mountainside and yelled, "Hello!" to hear the sound of your voice bounce off a rock wall and return to you. Perhaps you have even experimented with echoes in the city by yelling out the window of a tall building. Basically, an echo is created when sound is projected from one location and bounces off a solid object to return to its point of origin.

In orientation and mobility, echolocation is the use of echoes to determine the distance between the original location of a sound and the object from which its echo bounces. The longer it takes for the sound to return, the further away the object is. As one approaches a building, the time between the original sound and its echo becomes shorter. In addition, changes in the sound of the echo can give the traveler other information about the environment through which he or she is moving. The echoes in a hallway sound different from the echoes in an office or reception area. The echo that the metal cane tip sends back from a solid wall is different from the echo of a recessed doorway. A closed door sounds different from an open door. The sound of an open space is unlike the sound of a car parked nearby. The echo may vary depending on the materials used to construct a building or object. Echoes will also differ depending on whether the traveler is inside or outdoors.

For a blind or visually impaired child or adult, learning about echolocation seldom requires a three-day course, and the skill does not have to be taught by an O&M instructor. Echolocation can be introduced in a matter of minutes (usually by an O&M instructor or by a blind or low-vision cane user). However, it takes time and effort for a new cane user to fine-tune the ears to hear the information provided by the metal cane tip. For a new cane user, the whole concept of learning the long white cane may be overwhelming. The new cane user may focus so much on learning technique that echolocation simply needs to be brought to his/her attention and mastered over time.

Did you notice that I said "metal" cane tip? That's because plastic (marshmallow or roller) cane tips do not provide a useful echo. The cane tip must be metal in order for echolocation to be effective. The metal cane tip is a consistent element--it does not need to be trained. One does not need to think about making the sound consistent. One can listen to the metal cane tip and still carry on a conversation. One can use the long white cane and still have a free hand to carry a bag of groceries or pull a stroller. If the environment is too noisy or windy, or if the traveler is wearing a hood, the cane can still provide tactile information to the user--permitting safe, effective travel from one location to another. The metal cane tip still makes an echo, although the sound may be blunted. The longer one uses the metal cane tip, the more in-tune he/she becomes to the plethora of sounds it creates.

Besides the metal cane tip, there are other methods used for echolocation. These include making auditory sounds with the mouth, snapping the fingers, or using clickers. Some proponents argue that echolocation with these sounds makes the use of the cane unnecessary. However, sounds made with the mouth, fingers, or clickers do not provide information about the terrain where one is traveling. Echoes alone do not inform the traveler about curb cuts, steps, or deep cracks in the sidewalk. The long white cane can provide such information about the terrain to the traveler, allowing him/her to travel safely.

Clucking, clicking, and other mouth sounds, snapping of the fingers, or using clickers to obtain echolocation can draw negative attention from the public. After many years in the field of O&M, and as a white cane user myself, I have concluded that most members of our society are aware that the long white cane is used by individuals who have a visual impairment to help them travel freely. However, if a person makes auditory sounds with the mouth, while turning his/her head from side to side to aid in hearing, the public may wrongly assume that the person has a mental disability. Many members of our society may think negatively about public snapping of the fingers, too. I've always understood the action of snapping the fingers as an impolite way to gain someone's attention, perhaps a waitress in a busy restaurant. The bottom line is that the metal cane tip offers echolocation to the user in a positive, consistent manner that is most accepted by members of our society.

Some people who are blind or deafblind may want to try using a portable electronic travel device that employs ultrasound to detect objects such as open cupboard doors or low branches. These devices provide tactile and/or auditory feedback. The device can vibrate or make chirping sounds (through an earpiece) that become more rapid the closer an object is to one's body. However, such a device cannot help the individual find curbs, cracks in the sidewalk, or abandoned roller skates on the pavement. In the advertisements for such electronic devices, retailers recommend that the device be used in conjunction with the long white cane or guide dog.

When I work with individuals on O&M, I have found four levels of skill with echolocation. My students who have been blind since birth are most expert. Those who became blind in early childhood have mastered echolocation with some additional training, while those who became blind as adults can become quite proficient. (I fall into this category.) Sighted people or people who became blind later in life are quite capable of using echolocation, but not usually at the level of individuals who have been blind since birth.

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For me, becoming blind as an adult, the long white cane with the metal tip is the most effective tool for echolocation. It enhances independent travel, providing the individual takes the time to fine-tune his/her hearing to become knowledgeable about the many sounds the metal cane tip can offer, sounds that provide a plethora of information. I only wish that someday I could become as skilled at hearing the fine detailed information my long white cane is trying to tell me as those who have been blind since birth.

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