Future Reflections Winter 1996, Vol. 15 No. 1
(contents)
by Thomas Bickford
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V
Author's Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .VIII
1. Getting Yourself Ready. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Why Should I Use This Thing That Makes Me Look Blind? 2
Who Can Learn Cane Travel?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2. Getting the Cane Ready . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
How Long Should the Cane Be? . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
What Should the Cane Be Made Of? . . . . . . . . . . 9
How and Where Do You Hold the Cane? . . . . . . . . . 11
3. Actually Walking Around. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Walking with the Cane, Rule One . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Planning Practice Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Going Up and Down Stairs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Listening to Traffic on the Street as a Guide . . . . 16
Which Way Can Cars Turn At Intersections? . . . . . . 18
Environmental Clues and Mental Maps . . . . . . . . . 18
Expanding Your Horizons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
One Dangerous Situation to Avoid . . . . . . . . . . 24
Crossing Big, Busy Intersections . . . . . . . . . . 25
What Goes Through My Mind While Walking Down a Street? 26
Walking with Someone Else . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Walking Without a Cane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4. Public Transportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Riding Buses and Streetcars . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Subways, Escalators, and Elevators . . . . . . . . . 37
Airports, Train and Bus stations . . . . . . . . . . 38
5. Times and Places without the Usual Landmarks . . . . . 41
Grocery Stores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
How Do You Walk in Ice, Snow, and Rain? . . . . . . . 42
How About Suburban and Rural Roads with No Sidewalks? 43
Are There Roads and Intersections Unsafe for Any Pedestrian?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Picnics, Hiking, and Rough Country . . . . . . . . . 45
6. Care and Feeding of the Long White Cane. . . . . . . . 47
Wash, Feed, and Dress Your Cane . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Where Does the Cane Go When Not in Use? . . . . . . . 48
Which Hand Do You Cane With?. . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
7. Thoughts and Experiences on Cane Travel. . . . . . . . 50
How Long Does It Take to Learn Cane Travel? . . . . . 50
Can a Blind Person Teach Cane Travel? . . . . . . . . 53
No One Has to Do Everything Perfectly . . . . . . . . 54
What About Other Travel Aids, Dogs and Electronics? . 56
8. Songs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
The White Cane Freedom March. . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
The Lament of the Folding Cane. . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Sources of Canes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66