Readiness for Cane Travel

Readiness for Cane Travel

Future Reflections May/June 1983, Vol. 2 No. 3
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READINESS FOR CANE TRAVEL
An excerpt from A Resource Guide
for Parents and Educators
of Blind Children
by Doris Willoughby
(Editor's Note: A Resource Guide for Parents and
Educators of Blind Children is an excellent book.
If I had to choose only one book as a help in raising
a blind child, I would choose this one. It can be
purchased for the price of $5.95 from NFB, 1800
Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230. Checks
should be made payable to the NFB.)
The Southview school system had just begun to
offer cane travel to children in preschool and the
early grades. Six-year-old Kelley was eager to
learn to walk to the school bus alone. She was the
only child in her class on her particular bus, and
she disliked needing to be "taken" to it. She hoped
to find the bus by herself right away --after all,
she had always boarded it at the same place.
As she proceeded, however, Kelley found that she
had much more to learn than she had realized. She
often needed to ask questions such as,
"Is this a fire hydrant or a mailbox?"
"Am I turning left now?"
"Does the bus stop on the sidewalk?"
Kelley had, of course, walked past fire hydrants
and mailboxes many times. She had walked
forward, turned left, and turned right. She had
climbed into and out of parked cars and buses.
However, she had always been guided by someone
else, without understanding exactly where she
was, and without putting words with actions.
Therefore she still had many concepts to learn
before she could walk to the bus alone --concepts
which could have been learned during the
preschool years.
In contrast to Kelley's lack of understanding, help
your young child to realize where he is and where
he is going. Talk about the feel of grass, sidewalk,
or gravel underfoot. Comment on the steepness of
a hill. Notice the rush of air when you open an
outside door, or when you walk past a large
building into an open space. Pay attention to the
smell of the bakery or the sound of the river. Even
though your child is walking with you, he can
learn to gain information for independent travel.
Let your preschooler examine the mailbox and the
fire hydrant, and help him reach the top. Let him
mail a letter. Talk about the names of objects,
places, and motions. Repeat each experience over
and over. As you walk with your child, sometimes
say, "Now we are turning left," or ask, "Are we
turning left or right?" Talk about the curb as you
step up or down, and examine a parked car's
position by the curb. (The child will need to use his
hands to understand what the curb is like, where
the car is, etc. He may get dirty, but he will learn.)
Later, have your child tell you how to proceed
along a familiar route. In walking to a neighbor's
home, ask him which way to turn, how many
blocks you must walk, etc.
Teach your child to follow directions, such as, "Go
through the doorway on your left" or "Please pick
up your chair and bring it here." Even a toddler
can walk toward you as you call him. Since
knowing right and left is very important for a
blind person, it is worth teaching as early as
possible. Wearing a ring or a toy watch can make
this learning easier.
Teach your child to give directions also, especially
for finding his home. By kindergarten he should be
able to give his complete name, address, and telephone number. An older child should be able
to explain how to reach his home (as well as other
familiar locations) from various approaches, and to
describe how to recognize it. Thus, the blind
passenger is not passively dependent on the
driver of a vehicle, but instead actively
participates in reaching the location.
Look for ways in which your child can use sounds
to find his way around. Instead of going to him,
ask the child to walk toward your voice. When you
say, "Please pick up this box," you might tap on
the box to show him which one you mean. Play
games in which you "hide" an object which makes
a noise (without turning off the noise) and ask the
child to find it. Talk about sounds outdoors, such
as birds and airplanes. Notice that footsteps and
other sounds create different echoes in an
enclosed space than they do in the open. Play
"Follow the Leader" as you move along while
making a sound.
The sounds of traffic are particularly important. If
your child pays attention to these sounds and
begins to understand them early, it will be that
much easier for him to learn cane travel later.
When you are waiting to walk across a lightly
traveled street, let your child tell you whether he
hears any cars. When you prepare to walk across
at a traffic light, have your child listen for traffic
to stop and start. When he crosses alone with a
cane later, he will need to listen for the cars going
across in front of him to stop, and for the other
cars to start up with his green light.
The independent traveler also needs to understand the rest of the scene which surrounds
him. Help your youngster realize, for example,
that the sidewalk is usually between the buildings
and the street, and that parking meters are usually
by the curb. Mention directions such as north
and south, and gradually help your child to use
and understand them. Sometimes ask him to point
toward the traffic, and later to show you which
way it is moving. These kinds of things all build an
understanding of one's location and of the
surroundings.
When a sighted child enters a new school, he will
look with his eyes to see where things are. The
blind child needs to walk around and touch things,
and this cannot easily to done while class is in
session. Take your child to the preschool or
kindergarten room before school starts and let
him explore. Arrange a convenient time for the
teacher to meet him. Walk through typical routes
such as from the playground to the coat room,
while discussing such things as right and left
turns. Help the child to examine things by touch,
and to explore with his cane if he has one. As you
walk along, you might say, "Feel the rough brick
on this wall... Now, here's a sink; let's turn the
water on and off once ... Here we go through a
big door. Notice that your cane makes a different
sound when it hits the door instead of the wall.
Let's open and close the door. Look at this bar that
opens it from the inside; it's a lot different from a
doornob, isn't it? ... Now, this wall feels smooth; it's made of plaster and it's painted
green ... We're walking through a doorway and
into the coat room. We'll walk along this wall and
look at all these hooks. You and the other children
will hang your coats on these hooks ..."
Even though your child may still be assisted in
moving around during the first days of school, this
practice will provide much confidence and also for the older child entering a new
though he is skilled with a cane), so that he will not
have so much to learn on the first day of classes.
If a resource or itinerant teacher will be working with your child, he may take care of this for you;
and a special school usually will plan to orient each
child individually also.
When your child is walking with someone, expect
him to walk at normal speed. Expect him to move
along on his own power rather than being pushed
or pulled. When a tall adult walks with a small
child, he will naturally take his hand. When the
two individuals are similar in height, however, it
is better for the blind person to take the arm of
the sighted person. (A gentle grip just above the
elbow is suggested.) In this manner the blind
person can easily feel the other person stop, step
up or down, etc., rather than feeling he is being
pushed ahead into unknown territory. The
youngster may need reminding to grasp the arm
gently rather than squeezing, and to move alone
rather than holding back.
Experience in walking at normal speed, in various
situations, and with different people, is important
in preventing the habit of walking very slowly or
with an unnatural motion.
Discuss the future use of a cane as a big step to
real independence; help your preschool child to
look forward to using one. If at all possible, have
him walk with a blind adult who is a good traveler.
There is no better way to show that the cane
really works. Many a youngster has protested
that "a blind person couldn't go there alone," only
to be taken there speedily by a good cane traveler.
Nothing is more convincing.
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