Cane Travel for Preschoolers?

Cane Travel for Preschoolers?

Future Reflections Winter/Spring 1990, Vol. 9 No. 1
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CANE TRAVEL FOR
PRESCHOOLERS?
by Dennis Baxley
[PICTURE] Canes for preschoolers also
made sense to the parents of
(from left) Jerred Gill, Timothy Day,
and Cherrane Verduin.
Editor's Note: Nearly ten years ago, in the very
first issue of Future Reflections, parents were invited
to join the Federation as partners in making
life better for blind children. And we didn't mean
partnership in the general, impersonal sense of
paying dues once a year (though that's important,
too). Real partnership means personal involvement
with blind people. Dennis Baxley, father of a
blind child, accepted our invitation of partnership.
It paid off for his blind son. What about you? Think
about it. It's a standing invitation.
Thank God Jeffrey is only blind. When trauma
occurs head injuries can result in many handicaps,
and we soon learned how fortunate Jeffrey
was as we met other blind infants and preschoolers,
most of whom had multiple problems.
So, what do you do for a healthy, active, inquisitive
toddler who keeps getting hurts and bumps
because he can't see what's ahead? Consulting
various resource persons in the field yielded confusing
answers. The logic that said he was "too
young" for mobility training didn't quite fit for he
was certainly "mobile."
Finally, a meeting with Marilyn Womble, a blind
mother and teacher (and arch Federationist) led
to some sensible-sounding guidance: "Get him a
cane now! He'll figure out how to use it and can
refine skills later."
At 29 months Jeffrey learned a new word -- "cane." And he shouted it plenty. With that new
word came a new freedom and another new
word -- "run." No, he hasn't had mobility training,
but I think he can teach the mobility instructors
a few things.
Do we require other children to wait until they
have full cognitive skills for receiving instruction
before we expose them to spoons, bowls, forks,
crayons, tricycles, phones, or any other tool of
society they are safe to begin experiencing for
themselves? Give them a chance; let them help
themselves. Thanks to Marilyn for giving us the
courage to back up our own judgment and follow
common sense over "expertise."
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