God, Table Manners, and Independent Travel: A Mother's Viewpoint

God, Table Manners, and Independent Travel: A Mother's Viewpoint

Future Reflections Winter 1986, Vol. 5 No. 1
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GOD, CLEANLINESS, AND INDEPENDENT TRAVEL: A MOTHER'S VIEWPOINT
by Barbara Meadors
(Note: Barbara Meadors is the Second
Vice President of the Parent's of Blind
Children Division of the NFB, and the
President of the Louisiana Parents Division
of the NFB. It is also clear from
the article below that she is articulate
and determined and knows how to get
things done.)
Two years ago I knew nothing about
blindness. Now, thanks to the National
Federation of the Blind, I'm learning
and coming up with ideas of my own.
When my son Mathew was three, he was
operated on for a brain tumor and as a
result of the surgery became suddenly
and totally blind. All of a sudden I
was in dire need of information about
blindness. When Mathew was home from
the hospital he walked around with his
arms out, running into things, falling
down, and becoming frustrated. I told
his daddy he needed a cane and so he cut
him one from the tulip tree in the back yard. It worked beautifully! He looked
distinguished with his cane and that was
an improvement over shuffling for steps,
walking with arms out, and falling down.
We didn't know the first thing about
cane travel, but trial and error works
when nothing else does. Mathew got some
teaching and a lot of encouragement from
us but he did all the work. He eventually
realized that, if used right, the
cane worked well. If used incorrectly,
he ended up in the rose bed or worse
places.
In the fall, when he was still three
years old, he started preschool at the
Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired.
It didn't occur to us that cane
travel would not be one of his classes.
As if that wasn't bad enough, he was not
allowed to bring his cane to school. My
husband, James, and I proceeded to rectify
this. It was most important that
James come to school and talk to the
mobility committee because unless the
father is supportive, the school tends
to think of the mother as a "professional
mama" and ignore her.
After James threatened to take them to
court, they agreed to to do a survey of
schools for the blind. The survey was
favorable to the point that schools for
the blind that didn't have young children
traveling with canes still believed
they should be allowed. Now Mathew
travels with his cane wherever he goes.
And he's not alone. When Louisiana had
a parents seminar in 1984, Fred
Schroeder from Albuquerque, New Mexico
told us of public schools where all the
visually impaired children traveled with
a cane.
My concern is that more parents aren't
getting canes for their blind children.
Believing in independence is not enough!
Anything important enough to impress on
children should be done while they are
still young. You wouldn't wait until
grade school to teach them about God,
respect, table manners, or cleanliness.
You don't wait until they are teenagers
to teach them independent cane travel.
Independence starts with toilet training
and the terrible twos. The absolute
worst time to give a cane to a child is
when they are a self-conscious teenager.
If you wait for the educators to suggest
cane travel your child will be fifteen
years old and will have missed that
learning experience that comes so easily
to the young child. The organized blind
have been telling us for years that
independent travel begins early, and by
early I mean preschool.
If what I have said makes sense, then
I encourage you to begin independent
travel between the ages of three and
five. I have some tips for those of you
interested.
1. To determine how long the cane should be, measure your child from the nose to the floor.
2. Order the cane from the NFB, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230 (301) 659-9314. The canes cost $10.00 each and payment should be made with the order. Sizes are: 24", 26", 28", 30", 32", 34", 36", 39", 42", and 45". Adult sizes begin at 49", 51", 53", etc. I like to get two canes--they do break sometimes.
3. Give them a cane and, using the wrist, move the cane from left to right; tapping the cane in front of them as they walk. Always keep the cane tip low and moving from side to side. Any blind adult proficient in cane travel would be glad to show you how.4. Set up the rules such as: no waving, slicing, hitting, etc. Then set the punishment and let it be swift.
5. Travel with them on stairs, streets, escalators, elevators, stores, roads, and anywhere they would normally travel. Every trip is a learning adventure and a courage builder.
6. Place a hook by the door so they can hang their cane on it and then they will always know where it is when they leave. Impress on them that they are responsible for their cane.

In closing, I realize this idea is
revolutionary to teachers of orientation
and mobility, but revolution is what
brings necessary change. Sighted guide
is outdated! And remember, practice is
what makes them perfect. Thirty minutes
a week of reading does not a reader
make. The same is true for cane travel.
Thirty minutes a week is not enough.
Their cane should be with them as their
guide wherever they go.
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