A Step Toward Equality: Cane Travel Training for the Young Child

A Step Toward Equality: Cane Travel Training for the Young Child

Future Reflections Winter 1989, Vol. 8 No. 1
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STEP TOWARD EQUALITY: CANE TRAVEL TRAINING
FOR THE YOUNG BLIND CHILD
by Fredric Schroeder
[PICTURE] Fred Schroeder, Director of the New Mexico Commission
for the Blind. [PICTURE] These
children know another name for canetravel Freedom!
Editor's Note: Mr. Fredric Schroeder began his
career in work with the blind as a cane travel
(orientation and mobility) instructor for the blind.
He moved on from that to became the Coordinator
of Low Incidence Programs for the Albuquerque
Public Schools from August of 1981 to June 1986.
In 1986 he accepted his current postion as Director
of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind.
Beginning in 1981, the Albuquerque Public
Schools implemented a unique program of
providing cane travel instruction to blind
children as they begin kindergarten. This
program is viewed as radical by some since it
operates from the philosophy that all blind
children should begin cane travel instruction at a
very early age.
One of the most fundamental parts of a blind
child's training is the development of independent
travel skills. Without these skills, the
blind child is placed in a position of being dependent
on others for inclusion in daily activities.
As a result, we find a direct correlation between
the acquisition of independent travel skills and
the development of self-confidence. As self-confidence
increases, we find a marked increase in
the degree to which blind children are accepted
by their peers.
There presently exists a controversy in the orientation
and mobility field concerning the age at
which cane travel instruction should begin. The
traditional practice is to introduce cane travel instruction
in high school or mid-school and in rare
cases in the upper elementary grades. It is felt
that young children are not able to use the cane responsibly before this time. Further, it is felt
that young blind children are not developmentally
ready to begin cane travel instruction due to
the coordination required for handling the cane
and the spatial concepts needed for orientation.
The controversy hinges upon the meaning
ascribed to the concept of "readiness" for using
the cane. Those of us who believe that very
young blind children should receive cane travel
instruction pose the counterargument that the
traditional method of orientation and mobility
training is designed for adults and, therefore, it is
the method of instruction which is deficient for
encouraging early use of the cane rather than the
child's maturational inability to use a cane effectively.
It is the method of instruction which is
deficient for encouraging early use of the
cane rather than the child's maturational
inability to use a cane effectively.
Certainly, very young children will not handle a
cane in precisely the same manner as adults;
however, this is not to say that the very young
child uses the cane incorrectly or inappropriateiy.
The way in which cane travel instruction is taught
to very young children differs in a number of ways
from conventional travel training. The first
modification concerns the type of cane to be
used. For very young children it is necessary to
have a cane which is lightweight, flexible and
durable. We do not use metal canes of any type
since they are heavy and become bent with significant
use. The best cane we have found is
manufactured and distributed by the National
Federation of the Blind (1800 Johnson St., Baltimore,
MD 21230, 301-659-9314). This cane is
of the hollow fiberglass type and uses a metal
glide tip. The hollow fiberglass makes for a
lightweight, flexible cane, and the metal tip
reduces the likelihood of catching the cane in tall
grass or shrubbery. We believe that a child's cane
should be longer than normally recommended.
We measure a child's cane so that it comes up to
his or her nose or higher. In this way, the child is
provided a two- to three-step warning of upcoming
objects, thereby allowing the child to move
quickly and confidently.
Next, we modify the way in which cane travel instruction
is introduced. The two-point touch
technique in a formal sense is not practical for
five-year-olds. However, the two-point touch
technique remains the goal, and therefore early
instruction must be structured with this goal in
mind. For example, the two-point touch technique
requires that the individual use a particular
grip with the index finger extended along the shaft of the cane. The hand must be centered with
the body, and the cane is to be moved from side
to side in an arcing motion. The arc of the cane
should ideally reach a height of one and a half inches
at its highest point. The width of the arc
should be two inches to either side of the body.
Finally, the cane tip should touch in opposition
to the leading foot. That is, as the cane touches
to the left, the right foot should be forward.
Without a doubt, a five-year-old would be hard
pressed to master all of these skills and coordinate
them while walking. Nevertheless, it is
well within the ability of a five-year-old or even
three-year-old to master the fundamental concepts
of cane travel and implement them to a
developmentally appropriate level.
The initial objective is an awareness that the cane
can detect objects in the environment. Since the
cane is a natural extension of the arm and hand,
few children have difficulty in understanding the
usefulness of the cane as an exploration device.
Next, the instructor will encourage the student to
move the cane from side to side for the purpose
of establishing a clear path. A centered hand
position can be introduced at the same time. At
this point, the instructor should not be concerned
with the student's keeping in step. Similarly, it is
not necessary for the student to have the index
finger extended while gripping the cane. These
refinements will come later. At this stage, the
primary objective is to encourage the student to
move independently, using the cane to find a
clear path. In this way, children develop an
awareness that the cane will allow them to move
easily and without fear. Unlike conventional
orientation and mobility training, from the time
cane travel is introduced our students are required
to use their canes at all times.
Our students are required to use their
canes at all times
This includes using the cane in familiar environments
such as within the school building, in the
cafeteria, and on the playground. Using the cane
in familiar environments helps the child learn to
interpret information received from the cane. If
stairs or a familiar object can be anticipated, then
the child will learn to use the cane to find these
familiar landmarks. At this stage, attention to
the width and height of the arc should be of the
most general type. The teacher should resist
focusing on technique in lieu of encouraging independent
travel and exploration.
It is very important for children not to
become dependent on using memorized
routes of travel.
It is very important for children not to become
dependent on using memorized routes of travel.
During orientation and mobility lessons children
should be encouraged to make use of landmarks
for orientation which are naturally encountered
by the child. Students should not be allowed to
trail walls with their hands, count steps or slide
their feet to find stairs. Furthermore, children
should not be allowed to use protective arm techniques
(particularly the upper hand and forearm
technique), since it interferes with the child's
ability to make use of auditory clues. In addition,
children should not be allowed to square off with
walls as a means of making ninety degree turns.
Instead, children should be encouraged to use
the cane to find landmarks which would naturally
be encountered in the environment.
It is critical that children be encouraged as soon
as possible to travel independently through wide
open spaces. This will enhance development of
the child's ability to orient him or herself by
means of broad environmental clues. Our students
use the cane on the playground and are able to find their way to the swings, slide, and other playground equipment. When necessary, students
will ask directions of other children.
Similarly, all of our students are expected to function
independently in the cafeteria. They are
responsible for going through the line with the
other children, using the cane, gently, to determine
when the student ahead has moved forward.
Our students carry their own trays, using the cane
in either a diagonal technique or, for more experienced
travelers, using the pencil grip. The
pencil grip is a technique for holding the cane at
a nearly vertical angle. As the name implies, the
cane is held like a pencil using the thumb, index
and middle fingers to move the cane from side to
side. This technique leaves free the ring finger
and little finger which can be used to hold one
end of a tray with the free hand holding the other
end. Our students find their own seats and are
expected to bus their own trays after lunch. In
short, we believe that children who are provided
cane travel at an early age are able truly to
mainstream themselves in all aspects of school
life.
As time goes on, the orientation and mobility
specialist begins to help the student refine his or
her cane technique until it takes the form of the
conventional two-point touch method. We have
not encountered any of the difficulties which are
generally presumed to occur with the introduction
of cane travel at a very early age. The traditional
thinking in the field is that giving a cane to
a very young child will result in the child's
developing bad habits which will need to be
remediated later on. We have found this concern
to be wholly vacuous and perplexing by its lack of
understanding of child development. It would
certainly be an exceptional two-year-old who
would hold a crayon in the same manner as an
adult holds a pencil. Nevertheless, it is recognized
that a young child's early scribbling is
providing good practice in the development of
the fine-motor skills which will eventually enable
him or her to hold a pencil properly later on. To
deny a child of early writing experiences so as to
avoid the development of bad habits would be
considered ludicrous and would be recognized as
retarding the development of eye-hand coordination
and other important skills. As previously
stated, we do not expect young children
to use the cane in the same manner as adults. We
have found that as children grow, they become
developmentally ready to master new aspects of
efficient cane technique. In addition, there are
many residual benefits to early introduction of
the cane.
We find that children, if provided canes at an
early age, develop the ability to orient themselves
easily in complex environments, which frees
them from the limitations of route travel. It appears
that early exploration is the key to enabling
young children to develop spatial concepts. Furthermore,
we find that use of the cane greatly improves
posture by eliminating the need for the
student to shuffle his or her feet or walk with his
or her hands extended. Finally, we find that use
of the cane improves children's feelings of self
confidence and self-worth as they are able to participate
independently in the school community.
Let me now address the issue of "pre-cane" techniques.
The orientation and mobility profession
has identified a number of pre-cane skills, including
protective arm techniques, trailing walls, and
use of sighted guides. We believe that these skills
are rendered useless once cane travel has been
introduced.
[Pre-cane techniques] are a separate and
less efficient travel system which is
unrelated to eventual cane travel
Furthermore, they are a separate and less efficient
travel system which is unrelated to eventual
cane travel. Therefore, we do not consider them
"pre-cane" skills since they do not provide
developmental readiness for eventual cane use.
For this reason, we are philosophically opposed to conventional pre-cane techniques since they
promote unnatural and inefficient mobility.
In particular, we discourage the use of sighted
guide procedures. It is our experience that the
use of sighted guides places the blind student in
a subordinate status which is damaging to the
child's development of independence. When
being led by a sighted guide, it is difficult to
remain well-oriented since natural landmarks
are not encountered. More importantly, there is
a tendency for the blind child to relinquish
responsibility for his or her own orientation. In
some instances, such as traveling through a
crowded shopping center or sports stadium, the
use of the sighted guide technique may be helpful
in keeping track of a companion; however, at
no time do we refer to the technique as "sighted
guide," nor do we allow the child to give up
responsibility for his or her own orientation.
To accomplish this end, we introduce crossing of
major intersections, bus travel, and travel
through large shopping centers in elementary
school. We often have the children go in pairs
with the more experienced traveler serving as a
role model for children less experienced. In this
way, the children learn how to rely on their own
abilities to reason their way through new situations
without significant intervention by the
orientation and mobility specialist.
Let me hasten to add that the process I have been
describing is not limited to a select group of students
with extraordinary ability. Our students include
blind children with other conditions. For
example, two of our students have been identified
as having communication disorders. This
would normally be assumed to cause great difficulty
in understanding and following directions
as well as conceptually understanding large open
spaces. We also have a student with a
hydrocephalic condition and a hearing loss in one ear, which makes localization of sound more difficult. Let me also add that the success of our students
is not based on the degree of residual
vision. Students with any vision (including light
perception) wear ocular occluders (sleep shades)
during all orientation and mobility lessons. In
this way, the children genuinely develop the
ability to rely on the cane as well as landmarks
and auditory clues. Properly developed, these
skills will enable the child with residual vision to
function easily and confidently in situations
where glare or other physical conditions make his
or her vision unusable.
The benefits we have observed from the early introduction
of cane travel have been greatly encouraging.
Children benefit individually through increased confidence and self-esteem, as well as
benefiting socially by being able to participate on an equal footing with their peers. For these
reasons, we remain firmly committed to early
cane travel instruction from both a philosophical
and practical standpoint. As educators, there is
no greater gift we can give a child than the skills
to take charge of his or her own life and take a
step toward equality.
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