White Cane Saga

White Cane Saga

Future Reflections Fall 1987, Vol. 6 No. 3
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ONE WHITE CANE SAGA
by Charlotte Verduin
(Editor's Note: Ms. Verduin was elected to the
national board of the NFB Parents of Blind
Children Division at the July, 1987 annual meeting
in Phoenix. She is a quiet, intelligent woman who
doesn't like to call attention to herself or seek the
limelight. But when it comes to her daughter, and
to blindness, she is determined and unswerving.
The NAB has helped her understand what her
daughter's potential is, and what kind of training
she needs to achieve it. She knows that it will not
be easy, given the attitudes and prejudices which
exist, but she knows she must persist. She also
knows the value of collective action and is committed
to the goals of the NFB.)
My daughter Cherranne, blind from birth (RLF
or as it is now known, Retinopathy of
Prematurity, ROP), has had a cane since age four.
In early spring, 1984, the annual conference of Illinois
teachers of the visually impaired was held
in Chicago. At that conference the National
Federation of the Blind of Illinois gave a presentation
which included "Kids With Canes" (a video
distributed by the NFB Parents of Blind Children
Division). I liked what I saw and heard, and I
decided then and there that Cherranne would
have a cane now. What follows is one mother's
story of mobility training in a "good" state with a
"good" teacher.
At the Illinois teachers of the visually impaired
conference I mentioned to Cheranne's Orientation
and Mobility (0 & M) teacher (Cherranne
had been getting one half-hour of 0 & M training
once a week since age three) that I was now
going to start badgering her for Cherranne to
have a cane and to get training with it. She listened
and made two comments. First, she suggested we take time to discuss early (age four-six)
cane travel teaching experiences with the few
other Illinois teachers whom she knew had taught
it. Second, she agreed to seriously consider implementing
white cane training for Cherranne on
an "experimental" basis.
The responses of the 0 & M teachers who had
taught younger children were largely negative.
"They develop bad habits"; "They don't have the
abstract concepts"; "They can't even follow directions";
"They don't know left from right"; etc.
None of it sounded like a good enough excuse to
keep my child away from the mobility tool she
will use for the rest of her life. And I became
angrier with each patronizing, paternalistic,
power- tripping statement I heard. By the end of
the discussions I was close to cutting a branch off
a tree, as I know some people have done, for I felt
it may be the only way Cherranne would see a
cane before age nine.
My determination to get some kind of cane into
Cherranne's hands was impressed upon her 0 &
M instructor. Soon after the conference I told
her that Cherranne would have a cane either with
her support or without it. I tried to be as pleasant
about this comment as possible, but I was firm.
And she conceded to begin Cherranne on
diagonal technique and how to walk sightedguide
while carrying her cane for the remainder
of that year.
I was not yet a Federationist, but I believed
Federation philosophy, and I was determined to
go to the Louisville convention in spite of the
negative comments from the professionals
responsible for my daughter's educational program.
There I learned of the inappropriateness of the
training Cherranne was getting. I am still working
two years later to continue appropriate orientation
and mobility goals in Cherrannes I.E.P.
At Louisville I was fired up by the Parents of
Blind Children conference. This was the support
of the type I needed. Hearing from blind adults
what their own experiences throughout
childhood had been was so important. When
Federationists met Cherranne and her cane--
"Bumpy"--encouragement to continue training
and pleasure at seeing a small child using a cane
abounded. Stories of mobility training were
shared, teaching me what to teach, what to watch
for, and how to counter-argue certain
philosophies and practices of the teaching
professionals. NFB has helped me know my rights, my child's rights and needs, and how to
achieve and fulfill them.
That is not to say the battle is won. Cherranne's
0 & M teacher and I still disagree strongly over
what length the cane ought to be. I return from
each convention with a LONG white NFB cane
which promply gets cut down when school starts.
Cherranne has yet to be formally taught touch
technique although she has had her cane for
three and one-half years. I am learning that I will
have to be more assertive in this area, and I intend
to be this coming year. Stay tuned to Future
Reflections for further developments!
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