Hello Everyone,
As we begin the process of preparing for the 201 Cane Walk, and knowing that we will again be providing this training in a virtual environment, I have been thinking about some ways we could possibly help the families we are serving to have something they can have to help them work with their blind family member, both when we are available and after the conclusion of the instruction. I have prepared a list of very basic cane skills, and what I hope are relatively clear and simple written directions, so that the families can refer to them. I have attached this list and pasted it below. You are welcome to use it, if you feel it is appropriate, or to modify as you see fit to match the techniques you prefer. Your feedback on this list is also welcome.
Sincerely,
Jeff
LIST OF TRAVEL SKILLS
This is a list of suggested skills to work on with your blind family member, and some notes to help you make sure you are practicing them correctly. It is best if your Cane Walk instructor works with you on these before you try them. Younger children will probably have difficulty performing these skills completely correct, but continue to encourage them and over time as there manual dexterity improves, their cane skills will also. Please contact your instructor should you have any questions, or concerns.
A: Appropriate Posture And Cane Positioning
Proper Arm And Hand Position For Two Point Touch Technique:
Upper arm resting lightly against the side, hand centered in front of the body, approximately a hand width out from the mid-section, just above belt buckle level, palm facing up, and fingers wrapped around the cane handle.
Proper Arm And Hand Positions For Pencil Grip:
Hand centered in front of the body, holding the cane handle, or near the handle on the shaft, as if holding a pencil or a magic marker, finger position can vary depending on what is most comfortable, but more than one finger on the cane can help stabilize it .
Hands Free Position:
Holding the cane against the shoulder, freeing up both hands while standing still.
Proper Posture:
Head level and facing forward, shoulders back and square to the hips and feet. If your head is turned, or your feet are pointing in a different direction than your body, there is a good chance you will veer.
B: Basic Cane Manipulation
Appropriate Width And Height Arc For Two Point Touch Technique, also known as Open Palm:
A Using only the fingers and thumb, not moving the wrist, arcing the cane four to six inches wider than the shoulders on both sides of the body, tap the cane tip lightly at each end of the arc, and raise the tip off the ground by no more than a few inches.
Maintain Appropriate Cadence Of Steps With Opposite Cane Arc:
As the left foot moves forward, the cane should be arced to the right, and as the right foot moves forward, the cane should be arced to the left. You can think of it as kicking the cane tip out of the way with each step. Arc the cane tip as low as possible, lifting it no more than a few inches at the midpoint.
Maintain A Straight Line of Travel:
Walk with good posture, head level and facing forward, shoulders back, taking full strides, stepping as though walking on a diving board, and moving at your natural walking speed.
Maintain Confident, Steady, And Appropriate Walking Speed:
Walking slowly makes it more difficult to maintain your balance, and this can cause you to veer, or stumble, so walking faster will help you stay straight.
Tap Slide:
When arcing the cane as you would normally do, allow the cane tip to drag for just a moment straight ahead of you with each step. This will help you keep your cane arc lower to the ground, and also helping you to locate curbs, stairways, drop offs along the edges of sidewalks, and ice in the winter.
Shore Lining:
This can be done with either the Open palm technique, or the pencil grip. Walk parallel along the edge of the grass, wall, or other object you wish to follow, by arcing the cane normally, but then on the side the edge or wall is on, slide the cane out to meet it, before arcing the cane back to the opposite side of your body. You should only shore line when you are specifically looking for something, such as an intersecting sidewalk, or a doorway, or when you are trying to avoid something, such as a side walk that turns off in a direction you don't wish to go, so you would shore line on the opposite side of the sidewalk so you do not turn the wrong way.
Walking with Pencil Grip:
Use the pencil grip for when you are walking in congested places, such as a room full of furniture, or in a crowd of people. The cane should be extended no more than a forty-five-degree angle but can be drawn into a more up right position in more congested situations. You will need to take shorter steps when using pencil grip, and remember, the closer the cane tip is to your feet, the shorter your steps should be.
Shore Lining With Pencil Grip:
You can also use pencil grip when shore lining, especially when exploring the inside of an unfamiliar building, since this will help you to find more details, and provide some upper body protection.
Maneuvering Around Obstacles And Through Doorways:
When walking with the cane, if the cane contacts something, such as a pole, the corner of a wall, or a door frame, sweep the cane tip in the opposite direction, and turn in that direction, if the way is clear, continue walking until you are able to turn back in the direction you were originally traveling in. For example, if your cane strikes a pole, as you were arcing the cane from left to right, then set down your left foot along with the cane tip, and drag the tip to the left to make sure there is nothing to block your way. Then turn to the left by stepping in this direction with your right foot, and then when you are clear of the object, turn back to the right to continue in the direction you were walking before finding the pole. Work on making this as smooth as possible, and only slow down if the object is really close to you. If you are walking along a street, then keep in mind that poles tend to be near the edge of the street, and so you may want to stop, and see if you need to turn away from the street to go around the pole. Also, if the object you locate with your cane is basically directly in front of you, and very close, you should stop, and explore which way to go around it.
Full Sweep to Locate Landmarks:
If you are right handed, keep your feet in place, do not turn your body, reach the cane out as far as you can to your left, keeping the tip low and then slide the tip in a semi-circle from the position to your left, sliding it across in front of you, and ending straight to your right. This would be just the opposite for a left-handed person. You should only need to do this once to find any useful landmarks or other information near you. You can use this technique when you have missed the sidewalk after crossing a driveway or street, or in those situations where you feel you are in the wrong place.
Locating Curbs and Stairways:
When approaching a curb or flight of stairs, your cane will either drop downward when finding a down curb, or a down flight of stairs, or stop abruptly when you encounter an up curb or a flight of stairs going up. If the cane tip drops downward, slow down, and pull the cane tip toward your feet, keeping it against the edge of the curb or step, and carefully walk up to it. If the cane stops abruptly, knowing the circumstance you are in will help in identifying what you have located, for example, if you are crossing a street at the time, there is a good chance it is a curb. So, keep the cane tip against the curb, or step, as you move toward it, and use pencil grip to bring the cane up right.
Clearing Curbs, Curb Cuts, And Landings:
In the case of where the cane has dropped down, before stepping down, sweep the cane forward to determine whether it is level ground, or if there is something in the way such as a parked car, a flight of steps, or an unsafe situation. Before stepping up onto a sidewalk, or a flight of stairs, slide the cane tip up to judge the height of the step, and then take a sweep across the surface, wide enough to insure you will not run into a pole, hand railing, or other obstacles.
Ascending and Descending Stairways:
When climbing stairs, begin by stepping up to the bottom step, and you may want to bump your toes against the bottom to make sure you are square to the stairway. To help make things clearer, the front of a step, is called the riser, and the part you walk on is called the tread. Normally we walk up on the right side, so it is best to move to this side of the stairway. Place the cane tip on the tread of the first step, and slide it across, from left to right if you are right-handed, with the cane held straight up and down. This is to make sure there isn't a railing in the middle of the stairway that you could run into. For steps you are not familiar with, hold the cane straight up and down, place the cane tip on the tread of the step-in front of the foot you will first step up with. As you raise your foot, move the cane tip over to the next step up, in front of your other foot, And continue to do this as you walk up the steps, just as you would walk in step with the cane otherwise. As you raise the cane up to each step, you should tap it lightly against the front (riser) of the next step, and if you do not feel a step ahead, then take a sweep to clear for the landing, in case somebody is standing there.
For descending unfamiliar stairs, first locate the edge of the first down step, you should feel the cane tip slip over the edge and drop down. Place the tip against the edge of the step, and step up to the edge, as you slide the cane across in front of you, holding the cane straight up and down. You want to make sure you know the location of the handrail, if you are beside one, since possibly running into it with your thigh can be very painful. Then place the cane tip on the first tread down, in front of the foot you will first step down with. When stepping down, point your toes downward, this will shorten the amount of time your foot is in the air, and will also help lessen the possibility of losing your balance as you step down. As you step down, move the cane forward off the edge of the step, tap it against the front edge of the step, and then place it on the next tread in front of your other foot. Tapping the edge of the step as you move the cane to the next step will help you judge if the steps are wider than normal. You should not have both of your feet on one step at a time as you descend. Continue to step down in step with the cane until you feel you have reached the bottom, which you will know when the cane tip no longer slips off the edge of a step, and then take a sweep.
For ascending familiar steps, you can use a different technique, but start out the same way locating and clearing the first step. Then holding the cane straight up and down with a fist grip on the handle, raise the cane up to the second step, but do not let the tip touch the tread of the step, but rather place it against the riser of the third step. Simply hold the cane in this position as you walk up the steps, allowing the tip to touch and slide up the riser of each step. Do your best to keep the cane tip from banging loudly against the front of the steps. When the cane tip no longer touches the riser of a step, take a sweep, and you will be on the landing in two steps.
For descending familiar steps, locate the top of the stairway in the same manner as you did for unfamiliar steps. Then simply point the cane down the stairs, with the tip close to the steps, but not touching. Then walk down the steps with the cane pointing straight ahead. When the cane tip reaches the landing, the cane will slide forward, causing it to angle upward a bit. You will be two or three steps from the bottom, and with practice you will be able to judge this exactly. When you feel this happening, sweep the cane across the landing. If you are going to another flight down, sweep the cane across the landing without moving your feet, to locate the edge of the stairway.
Using the Cane Properly with Either Hand:
This can be a very useful skill, especially if you are carrying a heavy item, or you are unable to use your dominant arm for some reason.
C: Specialized Techniques
Locating Door Handles And Knobs:
To make sure you have located a door, place the cane tip against it, and slide it across, looking for the door frames. This can be very useful when dealing with double doors, since you can feel the seem between the two doors this way. Once you know that is a door, place the cane straight up and down against the door, and slide it across the door, keeping it straight up and down, and you will feel it stop when it contacts the door knob or handle.
Locating And Clearing Seating:
When searching for a seat, use pencil grip. You may either find one of the chair legs, or the edge of the seat. Hold the cane shaft against the seat straight up and down, slide it across the front of the seat if possible to see if anyone is sitting in it. If not, continue to hold the shaft against the chair, and place the little finger side of your free hand against the cane shaft, with the palm up, and slide your hand down the shaft until you reach the seat. Then brush the little finger side of your hand across the seat away from you in a sweeping motion. This technique of sliding your hand down the cane shaft should also be used when exploring an unfamiliar object, such as a table, or another object. Remember that whenever you reach for something, reach with the back of your hand, this is safer and more socially appropriate. For locating an empty chair at a table, use pencil grip to locate the table and the back of the chair. Place the cane shaft against the back of the chair, and then slide the little finger edge of your free hand down the shaft of the cane, until you touch the top of the back of the chair. Then take hold of the back of the chair and gently pull it outward. If the chair moves, it should be available.
Appropriate Placement of The Cane in Social Situations:
Whenever you are in a public place, or in someone's home, and you aren't using your cane, but still need to have access to it, here are some possible places to put it. At a table, you can lay it on the floor, making sure that it is not in the path where people are walking. For example, you can slide the tip across under the table, so that it goes under the chair across from you, and push it forward until you can bring the handle down to the floor between your feet, and then pull it back to where the handle is under your chair. You can place the tip on the floor to the side opposite of the hand you normally use it with, and then lay the cane shaft across your one leg, so that it is between your knees, and the handle is sticking out a little behind you on your dominant side. If there is a corner, or a wall near where you are sitting, you can either stand the cane up in the corner, or you can lay it against the base board. If you are not sitting at a table, you can sit with the cane tip held between your feet, and the cane shaft resting against your shoulder. If you are in a row of seats, you can either lay it along the length of the row, with it against either the legs of the chairs in front of you, or those of the seats you your are sitting in. You may also be able to slide it under the seat you are sitting in and turn it, so it goes along the length of the row of seats, but this is harder to do.
Appropriate Placement of The Cane When Riding in a Vehicle:
If you are going to be riding in the front seat, sit down first, then bring the handle of the cane in first. Place it against the ceiling of the car, and slide it back keeping the handle against the ceiling, until you can lift the cane tip into the car. Then slide the tip forward until it is by your feet. You can then either lay the cane down beside your seat, or on your shoulder after you have buckled your seat belt. Please keep in mind there may be another person sitting in the back seat, so be very careful how you move the handle around. If you are going to be riding in the back seat, after you have sat down, slide the cane tip between the front seat, and the pillar between the two doors, and slide it forward until you can lay the handle down beside your seat. Before you close the door, make absolutely certain that you have not placed the cane shaft into the hinged end of the door, or where the door might strike it when it is being closed, this will break the cane.
