Wheels And White Canes:

Wheels And White Canes:

Wheels And White Canes:

Tips For Helping Blind Wheelchair Users

by Maureen Pranghofer

Reprinted from the March, 1996, issue of the Braille

Monitor, the monthly publication of the National Federation of

the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230.

From the Braille Monitor Editor: Maureen Pranghofer

writes and speaks on many subjects. She is a fairly recent

graduate of BLIND, Inc., the adult rehabilitation center

established and conducted by the National Federation of the

Blind of Minnesota. For several years now she has used a

wheelchair, so when she began her travel training at BLIND,

she and her instructor began by working out ways for her to

move about safely. Increasing numbers of blind wheelchair

users are learning that they too can be independent and

confident travelers. This is what Maureen has to say on the

subject:

Whether I'm traveling through the busy Minneapolis skyway

system or crossing a downtown street, I get all kinds of

reactions. These range from those people who simply ignore me

as they would any other passing pedestrian to those who have

public panic attacks.

Daily I encounter people who want to help but don't have

the foggiest idea what they should do. So, for the most part,

they simply get in the way. There are people who outright pity

me, those who are terrified that I'm going to run them down,

and those who are simply overwhelmed.

The reason for this variety of reactions is that, for

most people, a blind person using a motorized wheelchair is

something new. And this newness is not just prevalent in the

general public. Blind wheelchair users are an enigma among

many in the rehabilitation field, among other blind people,

and among other wheelchair users. I was told, for example, at

an AER (Association for Education and Rehabilitation) meeting,

the topic of which was "Blind Wheelchair Users," that "Totally

blind wheelchair users cannot travel independently." This,

despite the fact that the presenters had seen me independently

come into the room; park myself at a table; use the restroom;

and go through a buffet line, needing assistance with carrying

my plate and cutting food (because of my physical disability);

but not needing assistance to travel.

A blind woman whom I met recently told me that she was

checking out nursing homes because she would soon have to use

a wheelchair and knew that "you can't do it if you are totally

blind." Then there are the disabled people who tell me about

disability-training simulations in which they have been

blindfolded and "just don't know how you do it!" So here are

some tips which I have found helpful in traveling and which

you may want to remember when you are with someone who is a

blind wheelchair user.

1. Assume that travel is possible. One of the greatest things

I have found in being an NFB member and going through my

eleven-month adjustment-to-blindness training at BLIND, Inc.,

was that Russell Anderson, my travel instructor, and the other

staff at BLIND, Inc., expected that "Of course you can

travel." After becoming totally blind in an accident and

finding that others had virtually no expectation that I could

ever be independent, I had to learn to believe that I could do

it. Have high expectations.

2. If you are guiding someone who is a blind wheelchair user,

walk behind the chair and give oral directions. People tend to

walk in front of me and have me follow. But in that position

I cannot always hear what is said; and if I have to stop

abruptly, I could accidentally bump them. To avoid this,

people tend to turn around to face me and walk backward. Of

course this makes no sense because the directions they give

must then be reversed, which causes much confusion.

3. When opening doors, stay behind the door if possible.

Standing in front of a door one is holding open narrows the

pathway for the wheelchair user. No wheelchair user wants to

run over anyone's toes.

4. Suggest that the person use a long carbon fiber cane.

Finding a cane which worked for me was probably my biggest

challenge initially because the other canes I tried were too

heavy for me to handle. I can easily maneuver this cane, and

it works well. A cane slightly longer than one used by an

ambulatory person of the same height is necessary because one

needs distance in order to stop one's chair. My cane, for

example, is sixty-three inches long, even though if I were

standing, I would be only four feet six inches tall.

5. Remember that access for one person does not ensure access

for all. Wheelchair users have a variety of disabilities which

affect their travel. For example, I cannot use my cane

independently for more than half a block or so on certain road

surfaces because the resistance of the cane's movement on the

pavement causes me pain and fatigue, but this would not be an

issue for others who do not have my disability. Some

wheelchair users are able to open doors independently while

others are not. In my case opening doors is difficult, so I

make use of electronic power doors, ask passing pedestrians

for help, and often use my cellular phone to summon assistance

for getting in and out of places in both indoor and outdoor

settings.

6. Do not panic if you see the cane encounter an object. This

seems obvious. But I can't tell you how many times people seem

to feel that, because I am in a motorized chair, I won't stop

when I encounter an object with my cane. People often seem to

believe that I will either destroy what I am about to run into

or get hurt myself. Bumping objects with a cane when one is

using a wheelchair is no different from doing so when one is

walking.

7. Encourage the seated user to hold the cane vertically when

approaching curbs. During the time I was learning to travel at

BLIND, Inc., we discovered that locating curb cuts was easier

when the cane was held in a more vertical position. This

technique assists one to locate curb cuts and curb drop-offs

quite accurately. This is not the case for locating up curbs

after crossing streets or for traveling parallel to curbs.

8. Keeping to the perimeter in indoor settings with large open

areas or along the sides of buildings is helpful. While it is

not necessary to plaster oneself against a wall or building in

order to travel, I have found that staying near these

landmarks is useful. It is sometimes difficult to know whether

one is traveling in a straight line when one has no direct

contact with the ground. For example, I have sometimes

traveled diagonally, while thinking I was going straight, or

have even turned without realizing it. Sound cues help, of

course, and one needs to learn to use these just as any other

blind traveler does, but checking for a wall or building

occasionally helps me to stay on course. It also ensures that

one will not inadvertently get too close to the curb running

parallel to the direction of travel.

9. Be aware of objects which the cane or chair may slide

under. Like anyone else traveling with a long white cane,

wheelchair users occasionally contact objects that are not

detectable by cane. This is one time when sighted assistance

or an oral warning is helpful to a person in a wheelchair

because what might bump a standing person at waist level will

hit the wheelchair user in the face or head.

10. Disabilities are not static. If you are helping someone

who uses a wheelchair, the individual's ability to travel

distances or on certain surfaces may vary depending on how he

or she is feeling that day. Some days, for example, I have

traveled as far as a mile and a half along a busy, pothole-

ridden street in my neighborhood which has no sidewalk. On

other days, going the block and a half to the corner bus stop

is barely possible.

11. Do not push a motorized wheelchair unless it is taken out

of gear. In their efforts to help me, many people dash up to

me and want to push my chair. Motorized chairs are not made to

be pushed unless the gears are disengaged, and attempts to

move them will only produce frustration. If a chair must be

moved manually, ask its user how to disengage the gears.

These tips will enable you to be genuinely helpful to any

blind person you meet who happens to use a wheelchair as well.

Good luck, and thanks for the constructive assistance.