2014-10-15-In Celebration of White Cane Safety Day
Seminars@Hadley
In Celebration of White Cane Safety Day
Presented by
Pam Winters
Cathy Pasinski
Ginger Irwin
Danette Johnson
Moderated by
Dawn Turco
October 15, 2014
Host
You’re listening to Seminars@Hadley. This seminar
is “In Celebration of White Cane Safety Day,”
presented by Pam Winters, Cathy Pasinski and
Ginger Irwin; moderated by Dawn Turco.
Dawn Turco
Good morning and welcome to today’s
Seminars@Hadley. I’m Dawn Turco and I am
moderating today’s seminar. And today is October
15th so we are celebrating White Cane Safety Day.
Perhaps some of you participating today are white
cane users, and would probably agree if so that it’s an
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invaluable tool for people who are blind or visually
impaired. And indeed the white cane affords a
freedom of movement you might not otherwise have.
Well it is White Cane Safety Day, not only in the US
but I saw on the Lyon’s Club International site they
had a list of events, and it’s actually International
White Cane Safety Day as well. And for our
Canadian participants, and we always have visitors
from Canada, I read that you have White Cane Week
in February – so how cool is that?
Well, I said today was going to be a little unusual as I
waited to start today’s seminar. Live events often
have a panel of presenters and today we do have a
panel but they’re not so live. Earlier in late summer
we had an event here at Hadley, and we had some of
our part-time instructors in for that event – three of
whom are certified O&M specialists. And as much as
we noodle around ideas for celebrating October 15th
we can’t do a Flash dance, the other seminar space,
so we decided to do something a little bit more fitting
of this environment.
So we do have a presentation starting with Pam
Winters who is giving us a history of the white cane
and its day. Cathy Pasinski is here talking about
types and varieties of canes and tips and such; and
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then the third presenter is Ginger Irwin who is talking
about more or less Cane Repair 101.
Well, Pam and Ginger work in school districts and
knew they wouldn’t be available today but did want to
participate in the event. So we have a pre-recording I
will be launching momentarily. But because we want
to have conversation in the room today Cathy is
joining us as well as Danette Johnson, one of the
newer instructors at Hadley who is also an O&M’er.
And then we figured today’s participants – you may
have a lot to say about the white cane, White Cane
Safety Day, and we’re thinking some participants are
not currently cane users and might make some
decisions based on what we have to say today.
So anyway, it’s all in celebration of the white cane and
I am going to get us started with this pre-recording.
And Pam is starting out as I said with the history of
white canes and White Cane Day. So let me push the
button.
Pam, why don’t you get us started off with a little
history about the white cane?
Pam Winters
Okay, hi everybody. I today am going to go over a
brief history as Dawn said of the white cane and how
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in particular October 15th came to be White Cane
Safety Day, which actually is 50 years ago today.
We’ve all heard the white cane called many things
other than a white cane. Probably the most common
of these mistaken names is the dreaded “stick.” The
use of a cane, walking stick or staff as a travel device
actually began back in Biblical times when shepherds
used the crook or the hook of their staff to gather their
herds of sheep. It also symbolized the solitary travel
of the shepherd, though.
But then in 1860 Sir Francis Campbell experimented
with the use of a long cane for foot travel at the
Perkins School for the Blind. But it wasn’t until
around 1920 that we started using the cane as an
identifier for people with visual impairments.
So I’m going to go over some of those key points in
history: in 1921 Englishman James Boggs lost his
vision in an accident. He still wanted to walk
independently within his community and so he
decided to paint a walking stick white because he’d
hoped to be more noticeable by the growing number
of motorists at that time.
It wasn’t until ten years later that – and now I’m going
to have to take a little bit of time here with this name,
because it’s French and I’ve never taken French
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before in my life – it’s Guilly d’Herbemont of France
advocated nationally for the white walking stick. This
news traveled to England and eventually in 1931
there was a radio broadcast on the BBC that
proposed that each person with a visual impairment
be issued a white walking stick.
Back here in the United States the Lyon’s Club
International is credited for the birth of the white cane
movement. Similarly to how things went in England,
there was a Lyon’s Club member once who witnessed
a blind man crossing the road using a black cane and
realized that it was difficult for motorists to see the
black cane. In 1931 Lyon’s Club International started
a national campaign to promote the use of a white
walking stick or cane and it was held in a stationary
diagonal position by people with visual impairments.
The first actual white cane ordinance was passed in
Peoria, Illinois in 1931. It was the first formal
legislation that gave blind cane users the right of way
when travelling with a white cane. And then five
years later in the City of Detroit a similar city
ordinance was passed, and that eventually led to the
first state white cane law in Michigan passed by
Governor Frank Murphy in 1937.
So then we get into the training part of white cane,
which really came into play as WWII blinded veterans
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began returning to the United States. In order to
promote the white cane as a mobility device that
would assist these veterans in regaining their
independence, Dr. Richard Hoover altered the cane
by lengthening it to make it more functional for this
use.
The first formal training programs took place during
WWII at Valley Forge Veterans Hospital in
Pennsylvania and at Heinz Veterans Hospital in
Illinois. The field of Orientation & Mobility grew out of
these programs and the first six Orientation & Mobility
specialists were selected at Heinz VA in 1947.
And I can say from a personal standpoint that it gives
me great pride even though it was several decades
later that I did my internship at Heinz. And it’s really
cool for me to be a part of such a historic
rehabilitation facility.
So then we continue on and momentum for white
cane legislation continued through the Civil Rights
Movement of the 1960’s. On October 6th, 1964, the
joint houses of Congress passed Resolution HR-753
declaring October 15th to be White Cane Safety Day.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed that bill into law,
Public Law 88628 just hours later.
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In his proclamation, President Johnson stressed the
importance of the white cane as both a tool for
independence and a visual symbol to others by
stating “I urge civic and service organizations,
schools, public bodies to join in this observance.
Appropriate activities designed to promote continuing
awareness of the significance of the white cane to
blind persons. I call upon all our citizens to make
every effort to promote the safety and welfare of our
blind persons on the streets and highways and
thereby to contribute to their independence of spirit
and their capability of self-management.”
I love the phrase “independence of spirit.” To me it
describes the functional aspect of the white cane but
also embodies the emotional and personal
satisfaction that comes from using a white cane.
In 2011, President Barack Obama renamed October
15th to be the Blind Americans Equality Day, stating in
his proclamation “We celebrate the achievements of
blind and visually impaired Americans and reaffirm
our commitment to advancing their complete social
and economic integration.” Like the presidents before
him, President Obama called on officials, business
and community leaders, librarians and Americans
across the country to observe this day with
appropriate ceremony, activities and programs.
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And I think it’s interesting to note that President
Obama’s proclamation also included a reference to
the recently-signed Pedestrian Safety Enhancement
Act, which is requiring that manufacturers of electric
and hybrid cars add sounds to alert pedestrians to the
unusual quietness of these vehicles. So you can kind
of see the progression through time that we now have
to consider different things in our white cane travel.
Around the world October 15th has internationally
become a day to both celebrate the white cane and
educate others regarding its use. When I was doing
my research I was surprised to find out that in the
United States the Lyon’s Club also has the third week
in May set aside as White Cane Week; I wasn’t aware
of that. And Canada also has a specific week set
aside, which is the first week in February. So there
are other times of the year that we should be
promoting white cane safety other than October 15th.
So then as a public school educator of students with
visual impairments, it’s really important to me that my
students learn how to use their cane and feel
comfortable with using them from a young age.
That’s why I work closely with their Orientation &
Mobility specialist, who in this case also happens to
be one of our co-presenters here, Ginger. Together
we provide fun learning experiences in the school and
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out in the community that promote the development of
safe travel skills.
We also in my school celebrate White Cane Safety
Week, and some of the things that we do are display
handmade posters throughout the school that are
made by the kids. And then every morning on the
announcements that week, each one of my students
will announce a white cane safety tip to the rest of the
school. So there’ll be things like “Never jump over
someone’s cane,” or “If you have to move someone’s
cane for some reason make sure you always tell them
where you put it and those sorts of things.
And the kids memorize those and read those and are
really excited to be part of the school community by
sharing information about their white cane, so
hopefully by educating those around us they can
become comfortable with using their canes as tools
for independence.
So I think that’s it for my part and I think we’re moving
on to Cathy then who’s going to talk about some of
the types of canes and tips that we use.
Dawn Turco
Thanks, Pam, that was really great. And not only did
we get the history but we got some great ideas and
what you’re doing in your school that maybe some of
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those listening in can start making posters as soon as
we’re finished with today’s seminar.
Meanwhile, while they’re thinking posters we’re going
to hand the microphone off to Cathy Pasinski who’s in
the office with me today as well. And Cathy’s going to
go through a lot of information I think about the
various kinds and types of tips and canes available
out there. So the microphone is yours, Cathy.
Cathy Pasinski
Thank you, Dawn. Hi everybody. I was listening to
this wonderful history and learning that the original
cane was made out of wood by the shepherds, and it
reminded me of an ex-client I had a few years ago.
He was an adult male who had lost his vision and had
never heard of Orientation & Mobility. So when I first
met him he presented me with his handmade cane
which was made out of a tree limb, and he had
wrapped blue electrical tape around it. And that’s
what he used to go in public with because he felt it
helped him negotiate a little bit better than not having
anything.
And of course I was a little surprised to say the least
and I informed him that I will provide him with a proper
cane that he can use to get around town. And of
course we spent a year together doing orientation &
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mobility and he was very successful in the end with
his nice white cane that I provided for him.
So I’m going to present about different kinds of canes
that exist and tips that go on the cane. There’s a lot
of choices nowadays so I’ll just try to go through them
and keep you informed.
The regular white cane, the original one was called a
rigid cane. Usually it was made from aluminum and
the bottom of the cane has a tip. And it also has six
inches of red reflective tape on the bottom which is
the symbol for visually impaired people in the USA.
Other kinds of canes now are folding canes where
you can have three or four sections and you can fold
it and fit it into your purse or your briefcase or your
back pocket. They have telescopic canes where it’s
structured like a telescope where each piece kind of
folds into each other and it becomes shorter, short
enough to fit in your purse or your briefcase again.
We also have kiddie canes which are little canes for
little people, little children that are starting out learning
orientation & mobility.
We have support canes for people that have a
physical impairment or an older traveler who needs
support. We have the identification cane which is a
lighter version of a folding cane or a rigid cane. It’s
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used just for identification that you have a visual
impairment when you’re traveling out around – when
you have low vision you can see enough that you
don’t need the cane for safety but it’s good to inform
the other people around you and the traffic that you
are visually impaired. And finally there is a guide
cane which you can use with a guide – a guide dog or
a human guide or something for occasional use.
We also have now electronic canes that have been
around for a little while, and of course they keep
getting complicated as the years go on and
technology keeps getting better. So there’s some that
I found. One is found an I-Cane. This one is pretty
cool because you can actually record directions on it
and it also has a sensor where it avoids obstacles. It
vibrates; it lets you know that there’s an obstacle
ahead. But how cool is that to have the directions
recorded on there for you?
Another one I saw was the Ultra Cane. That one also
has sensors and it warns you that there’s obstacles
ahead. Another one is the SmartCane which uses
SONAR technology and again, it vibrates in the
handle when something is ahead of you.
One of my favorites that I found is called the Origin
Cane and that one has a built-in GPS which, how
helpful is that nowadays? We can’t live without it
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anymore. It also has a microphone and a speaker so
you can put in the address you want to find and it will
speak the directions like your TomTom or your Apple,
your Google Maps and get you to your destination.
And I really want one of those because it sounds so
cool.
Dawn Turco
Me too! Okay, this really sounds like science fiction.
Cathy Pasinski
I know, science fiction! Oh, I have one more which is
even better. This one is an Apple app, and can you
believe this? You have it on your iPhone – I don’t
know if it’s ready yet; I think it’s in development. You
take a picture of your cane and it becomes a virtual
cane and you use your iPhone instead of your cane. I
don’t know if that’s effective or not. I think it probably
needs a lot of work for that one.
Dawn Turco
Wow, okay. Yeah, nobody run out and get that one
yet who’s listening to these seminar. Don’t just use
your iPhone yet and walk around.
Cathy Pasinski
Yeah, please don’t. You want to stay safe.
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Dawn Turco
You want to stay with the traditional cane.
Cathy Pasinski
Yes, and with orientation & mobility training, right. So
these are basically the types of canes that exist. I’m
sure there’s more that are in development that we
haven’t heard of yet but that will come out.
I want to talk about the importance of having an
orientation & mobility instructor teach you how to use
your cane because it is a lot of work. Like I said, I
had a student, it took us a year to learn for him to
travel independently. There’s many things that the
instructor will teach you.
First of all the instructor will give you the correct cane
for your height. It has to be a certain length. The
length of the cane will depend on how fast you walk,
how big your arch is, how strong your hands are.
There’s a lot of factors that go into picking a cane. So
that is something you need to address with your
orientation & mobility specialist.
I found four different materials that they make canes
out of. The most common and the most traditional is
aluminum. It is a strong cane. It does take a lot of
abuse but after a while they can bend especially if
they got stuck on a curb, which has happened. They
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now have graphite canes that are lightweight and they
flex more so you don’t have that bending. They have
fiberglass canes that are a little bit heavier but a little
durable, and carbon fiber canes that are also very,
very durable.
And we also have two different kinds of handles that
can go on a cane. The more traditional one is the golf
grip handle – it’s kind of the same handle that goes on
golf clubs, that’s why they call it that; and it’s usually a
straight handle. And also they have a crook handle
which is kind of like a little U-shape on top that is a
little more of an older version of a cane. But they still
exist and they’re good for hanging on the coat hook.
[laughter]
Dawn Turco
Good point.
Cathy Pasinski
Now I’m going to go into what kind of tips you can put
at the bottom of your cane. The more traditional one
is called the pencil tip, and it’s kind of long and thing –
it looks like a pencil, like a thick pencil. That one is
good to have when you’re learning. It does wear
down after using it for a long period of time and then
you have to replace it.
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There’s also what is called a ball tip. It is about two
inches in diameter. It looks like a ball and it’s light
and it’s good for a lot of travel. Another one is called
a rolling ball where it’s also about two inches in
diameter. It’s good for the Constant Contact
technique and it’s good for rolling over cracks and
small pebbles and stuff like that.
Another one is the roller tip, and that one is a little
quieter than the other tips and it gives you a lot of
tactile info. Another one is called the jumbo roller
which is like a big disc. It’s about 2.5 inches in
diameter. It’s really good going over obstacles and it
gives you a lot of information, and it’s also very good
with the Constant Contact technique.
A very popular one right now is called the
marshmallow tip. It is shaped like a marshmallow and
it is a heavy-duty tip that you can use for a lot of
travel. It’s very durable and you can’t get stuck in
cracks as much as the pencil tip. Another is called
the metal tip and it is made out of metal, and it does
provide more information because it improves the
sensitivity from the ground.
Another tip is called the ceramic tip. It does last a
very long time and it gives you very good audio
feedback. So I guess that one is a little louder. Then
we have the rover tip that looks kind of like a fat
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wheel, and that one is used for outdoors when you’re
going hiking. It’s good for people that have low vision
only. It does only go forward; you can’t use it to tap
with or go left or right. And it’s really good for people
that are in wheelchairs because it just lets you know
what’s ahead of you.
I found one thing called an ice tip which is good for
support canes for people who are travelling in the
winter and they don’t want to slip on the ice. So the
little picks kind of go into the ice and keep you safe
from slipping. And the final tip I found which I was
really happy was the nightwalker, and my friend
Ginger here actually has one next to me so I can see
it in person. And it has a battery-operated light that
only comes on at night when it’s dark out – that’s
when it starts lighting. And every time you tap it it
flashes, and it makes you visible for night travel. I
love that, I really do. I love that.
Those are all the tips that I found.
Dawn Turco
And you have some websites that we’re going to be
posting as a resource list, that will direct people if they
want to find out a little bit more about all these
different types and varieties. There’s a lot to think
about there and to work with your own O&M instructor
with. A lot of choices, a lot of choices.
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Pam Winters
I have a question, actually. So with the light up tip
there at the end, so you would have to use touch
technique with that, correct? You couldn’t use
Constant Contact method?
Dawn Turco
No, you can use Constant Contact. When you turn it
on it will blink at basically the same rate as a tapping
technique, but it will also work if you’re using Constant
Contact. This particular one has a roller marshmallow
tip on the end also, but it is also sensitive in that if
you’re where there is enough light to notice it anyway
it will not flash – it has to be completely dark. So if
you live in an area in the country where you don’t
have a lot of streetlights or those types of things it can
be very beneficial in flashing to make you more
noticeable.
Pam Winters
But maybe not so much if you’re in downtown
Chicago.
Dawn Turco
Right, because there’s enough light in downtown
Chicago that they should be able to notice your white
cane. So it’s a sensor, basically.
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Pam Winters
Yeah.
Dawn Turco
Just like on so many things now – your hallway lights
or your holiday lights. Sometimes you do the dusk to
dawn.
Pam Winters
Okay, got it. Very cool.
Dawn Turco
Very nice, thank you. Cathy, what else?
Cathy Pasinski
Yeah, I wanted to say about canes that have different
colors.
Ginger Irwin
Yes, that’s going on in my classroom.
Cathy Pasinski
Yes! The traditional light cane of course started out
as just white, but in the US we have adopted the
lower portion is reflective red, so the lower six inches
of the cane. And that is what most travelers use in
the USA. If the bottom has two red stripes instead of
the whole bottom section being red that indicates that
the traveler is visually impaired and hearing impaired.
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Also some countries in Europe use that as their
symbol for the visually impaired. An all-white cane
indicates someone who is visually impaired in most
countries in Europe.
You can also order black, all black or all white canes
for formal occasions like prom or your wedding or a
nice ballroom occasion, I don’t know, dancing,
graduation. And also now they’ve come up with some
fun color tips and fun color grips and the shaft, but I
do have to caution that a lot of people will not
recognize those colors as being the symbol for a
visually impaired traveler. So it’s something to use
just for fun maybe indoors and in a safe place, and
not outdoors where there’s traffic.
Ginger Irwin
Working in the public schools, a number of the
students are not as excited about learning to use the
white cane. But if they have a blue cane or the girls
have a pink cane or sometimes they’re even green,
they’re a little more quick to actually use it in the
school. And in teaching my lessons with my students
I let them select the cane color that they want, but
they also know that when they are out in the
community and they’re going to be crossing streets
it’s important to choose to use the white cane with the
red tip because that’s what’s most often recognized
as “Oh, this person has a visual impairment.”
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And they also have now, the golf grip, you can use
the white cane but the golf grip now can be pink or
green or yellow, and I think there’s a blue that you can
also order at some of the places where you can get
canes. So again, that’s a nice way to kind of gussy it
up for kids.
Cathy Pasinski
You can express your individuality.
Ginger Irwin
And when you’re in a resource room it’s a great way
to tell the difference between.
Cathy Pasinski
And I even saw a gold one online for someone’s
wedding. That’s rather fancy, fancy.
Dawn Turco
That would be like going to an awards in Hollywood!
[laughter]
Cathy Pasinski
Yeah.
Dawn Turco
Well thank you. That was, well I was going to say
confusing, there’s so many choices, but very
informative. And we’re handing it off right away then
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to Ginger Irwin. And Ginger is going to go over some
basic cane repair – Cane Repair 101 is what we’ll call
it I guess. So take it away.
Ginger Irwin
Okay. Well as Cathy mentioned there are basically
four sections to every cane. You’ve got the tip, you’ve
got the grip; you’ve got the reflective tape part that is
on the shaft; and then inside you have the elastic cord
or what some people call is the bungee cord. And all
four of those parts can very easily be replaced if they
break or wear out.
Normal wear and tear and as well as sometimes an
accident, such as closing your cane in the car door
can cause you to lose the tip, break part of the cane
or it just wears out. And rather than worry about
spending the money to get a new cane you can very
easily replace some of those parts with just some
simple, little tricks.
Probably the most frequent problem that I’m asked
about is when you’re working with a folding cane, the
more you use the cane the more the body oils form
your hand get on the joints of the cane. And what that
does is it attracts all kinds of dirt and dust and such so
that as you’re walking with the cane, when you try to
refold it or open it up and fold it up it gets stuck – it
gets sticky, it’s jammed, you can’t get it apart.
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If you would on a regular basis just take a piece of
steel wool and clean the part that gets inserted into
the other section that will clean off all that dirt and
grime and keep your cane nice and slickery, if you
want to call it that, so that it’s easy to open and close.
Graphite is another really nice thing to use but that’s
exactly what steel wool is – it’s easier with the steel
wool on it. You do get a little bit of dirt on your hands
and you’ll have to wash them off but it’s really very
beneficial.
The next thing that’s very easy to do is replace the tip.
Sometimes if you’re using a roller tip it will fall apart
and the little bearings will come out of it, and you’ll
end up with just the pencil tip part of it – and it’s like
“Oh gosh, where did it go?” You can find it the same
place where you buy your canes, the same catalog or
the AmbuTech company. You can get a replacement
tip. Some people even have two different types of
tips, one for regular travel and one for if they like to
hike and get around, they can change the tip to be
better for that particular ground service.
There are two types of tips. There are tips that hook
into the cane which hooks onto the elastic that is
inside the cane, or there is the slip-on. If you’re going
to replace the hook tip what you’ll do is you will pull
the cane at the bottom – you’ll pull it out and you’ll
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notice that there is the hook on a little loop of the
bungee cord.
What you want to do is you want to put a pencil or a
dowel rod in that loop and fix it and hold it so that it
will not retract back into the cane itself because if it
does the whole cane’s going to fall apart, and that
we’ll get into next. And then you just take the one tip
off the hook, and you’ll notice it’s got a really nice
hook; and then you can put the new cane on, remove
the pencil and then just let it slide in. It’s very simple;
it takes less than 30 seconds if you do it quickly and
as long as you don’t let go of that bungee cord.
If your cane has a slip-on and the slip-on has broken,
you may need to take a pair of pliers to pull it off. And
then when you’re getting ready to replace the new
slip-on, sometimes if you will put a little bit… Do not
glue it, do not use glue because once it’s on there it’ll
be on there and if it breaks again you’re going to have
to replace the whole section. But if you take a little bit
of dishwashing liquid and put it into the cup of the slipon, and then slide it into your cane – when that
dishwashing liquid dries it becomes very, very tacky
and will hold it on there tight enough as it would as if it
had been glued.
But it’s still going to be loose enough that you’re going
to be able to, that if you need to get it off again with
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the pliers it’ll just come off, or you can soak it in water
for a little bit and that’ll loosen up the soap. So that’s
two simple ways to replace the tips and it’s very, very
easy to do.
So if you’re replacing your tip and you end up letting
go of the bungee, oh my gosh, what are you going to
do? [laughter] And it all just falls apart. Well, the
magic tool for fixing a bungee cord is a metal coat
hanger. You take the metal coat hanger and cut off
the hook part and then straighten it out into one long
piece of wire. And then fold it in half. Then what
you’ve done is basically made a giant needle. And
you slip the cord loop on this wire and then you can
thread the wire through the shafts and pull the cord
back through. Then once you get it to the end, and
you’re going to have to really pull, remember to stick
that dowel or pencil back into it so that you can hold it
until you need to put the hook of the tip back through
and hold it in there.
Other parts that sometimes need to be replaced are
the grip. You can go to any golf store and get a golf
grip. You can also order them through the various
websites that we will have on the list, but again, to get
the old grip off you will need to cut it with like an XActo Knife or a really sharp scissor, or you know,
those knives that you cut packages with. And in order
to get it on, the hard part – getting that rubber onto
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the shaft of the cane – again, the dish soap come sin
very handy. If you pour the dish soap down into the
handle then it makes it nice and slickery so that you
can slide it on very quick, and then it’ll get nice and
tacky when it dries and will be there permanently.
Just remember that when you’re putting the new grip
on you want to make sure that you thread the bungee
cord through the top of the golf grip, and yes, even
regular golf grips at the golf stores have that hole
already in there. I don’t know why but they’re there.
Ginger Irwin
I’ve never golfed before in my life. Do the golf grips
have a flat surface on them?
Ginger Irwin
Yes, and that’s why they like the golf grip is because
that same flat part of the grip… I know, I’ve been
playing with my cane through this whole thing
because it helps me. [laughter]
Dawn Turco
Ginger knows that this is an audio but we’re amused
by the fact she has her cane and she’s been doing
this as she talks.
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Ginger Irwin
I’m a tactile learner, what can I say? When you’re
using a regular golf club there is a flat where you
place your finger in order to swing the club, and that
same flat is what we use when we’re teaching our
students to use the cane, to grip the cane.
Okay, so getting back – yes, you can replace the grip
that way. Another way that you can repair or fix the
grip if you don’t want to replace the whole thing – if
you go to a bicycle shop, they have a type of tape that
is used for the handlebars of a bicycle. And you can
use that same tape to wrap around your golf grip to
make it stronger.
One thing I actually did this past school year, I had a
young lady who was only three years old, this ittybitty, teeny-tiny young thing. And the very smallest
kiddie cane was still too big for her plus her hands
were so small that they couldn’t actually hold onto the
grip that was part of the cane. So I cut down the
cane; I just cut off that section, making it shorter for
her and then I used that bicycle grip tape to make a
more narrow or a not-quite-so-wide handle for her.
And it worked perfectly.
So sometimes people with arthritis may have
problems with a grip that might be too fat, so there
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again, that’s another – just that little bit of tape gives
you a little bit of traction to hold the cane safely.
And the other really easy part to do is if you need to
re-tape your cane. If you’re using your cane correctly
throughout the day it’s going to get marred and
scarred . You’re going to chip the tape off and
everything. The reflective tape can be purchased at
any hardware store or you can purchase it through
the websites that are on our resource list. Make sure
that you have tape, though, that is three inches wide
because that will then go around your tip.
And in order to re-tape your cane, if you’ve got a
folding cane you would do it in sections. If you’ve got
just a long cane you would do the whole length. But
you will lay your cane out horizontally. You will put
the length of the tape, well first off, you get a roll of
tape – you peel off the back and then it gets really
sticky. It’ll be hard [to use], it’ll fold so be careful.
You’re going to lay it sticky-side up on the table,
you’re going to put your cane just on the edge and
then you’re going to kind of roll it up. And as you roll
it roll it just about a quarter of the way, and then press
from the middle out to seal it; roll it a little more, press
and seal; roll it a little more, press and seal.
Okay. If you ever have to replace your cane because
it’s just become very falling apart, whatever – it’s a
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good idea to keep your old cane so that you can
replace parts. Sometimes you might just break the
joint and you only need one small section, and if you
have an old cane you can sometimes piece them
together.
The other thing that happens a lot is when you’re
opening and closing your cane a lot, the section
where the other cane inserts can become frayed and
ragged and it can get really sharp and hard and it
hurts. If you just take a metal file that you can get in
any kind of a hardware store and just file it down like
you would a jagged fingernail, it’s the same kind of
principle. And then it will increase the length of the
life of your cane.
And I think that pretty much covers everything. One
other thing is that if you find that the bungee cord has
gotten loose over the years by opening and closing,
opening and closing, at the top of your cane you will
notice that there is a small knot that you can adjust.
You can untie it, pull it tighter, tie a new knot so that
the cord is a little bit tighter than it used to be to help
you keep it in a nice, straight position.
So what have I forgotten, ladies?
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Ginger Irwin
I don’t know, I just love the word “slickery.” [laughter]
It’s a great word!
Dawn Turco
When you got to the sharp objects, that’s when I
decided “No, I would just get a professional to do this
for me.” So okay, we’re advising people to do what
they feel comfortable doing but there were some great
little tips there on some basic cane repair. And yes,
we will have all those websites available on the
resource list.
When you were talking about the youngster, it
reminded me, Ginger, that when you teach at the
University you do a class on what are called AMDs,
right?
Ginger Irwin
Yes.
Dawn Turco
Briefly talk about what an AMD is, because I know
we’ll have lots of professionals on the seminar and I
want to make sure that everybody is aware of what
this is.
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Ginger Irwin
AMD stands for Adapted Mobility Device, and
basically it could be anything that an individual would
choose to use to, instead of the white cane for
detecting obstacles and drop-offs.
With students that are multiply-handicapped that I
work with, or like with cerebral palsy or very, very
young children that are just starting to walk, you might
choose to make something out of what is called PVC
pipe. PVC pipe is in the hardware store; it’s a pipe
that’s used for plumbing . And the joints and the pipe
come in various dimensions, but you can construct
almost anything that would help support and provide
detection of obstacles.
You can also use PVC pipes to build a specific
adaptive mobility device for someone in a wheelchair
that would, where Cathy, you did an incredible design
several years ago for one of your students.
Cathy Pasinski
Yeah, it was, what do they say – necessity is the
mother of invention. I had a blind student in a
wheelchair and he just basically didn’t know where to
go because he couldn’t use a cane – he needed his
hands to wheel his wheelchair. So I just thought one
day why don’t I just make a rectangle made out of
some PVC pipe, and I put some red reflective tape at
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the bottom and some bigger PVC pipe pieces as
rollers on the bottom of the rectangle, and basically
just laid it on his lap.
And I said “Try moving forward and when you feel like
it’s bumping something then you know to stop.” And
by surprise, what do you know? It worked, and he
was even able to detect a drop-off because the cane
would fall down. So it was just one of those things
that I just tried it and it worked, so it was great.
Dawn Turco
There are a number of designs that have been
developed that you can find from the TAPS
Curriculum or on the Texas School for the Blind
website. But there are also designs that people have
just come up with on their own. I know that some of
the cane companies such as AmbuTech, they also
have an AMD made out of metal or aluminum that you
can also use. But you know, for $5 and a little bit of
glue you can make a cane; and when the student
outgrows it it’s really easy just to replace it.
Cathy Pasinski
And you can reuse the pieces – take it apart and build
a new cane, yes.
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Pam Winters
Yes, this is Pam again. I had a student who used one
and she was very little. She was in preschool and it
was designed sort of like a walker that she used. But
she didn’t like it because it was too plan with just the
PVC pipe and she was still kind of resistant to using it.
But she loved cats and so she helped me and we
covered it with… She loved black cats so we covered
the PVC pipe with black electrical tape and then we
cut out a big cat body out of construction paper and
cat head, and put whiskers on it and everything.
And it actually had a name, I can’t remember – I think
it was Roscoe at this point in time. But she used
Roscoe all through preschool then, and at the end
when she was ready to start with her white cane we
disassembled Roscoe and she took all the body parts
home. And she still talks about it now and she’s in
sixth grade, so it was a beautiful start to cane travel
for her.
Dawn Turco
Oh, I love it! That’s sweet. I love it. Ladies, we’ve
packed a lot of information into a short amount of
time, but before I close this segment any last thoughts
that have come to mind as each of you kind of
thought as you were talking or while the other one
was talking… And Cathy put her hand up! We’re not
in class; you don’t have to raise your hand. [laughter]
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Cathy Pasinski
I just wanted to mention a few of the more popular
brands that exist. AmbuTech makes a big variety of
canes and tips and they have a good website to order
from. NFB, the National Federation for the Blind has
a free cane program that they provide. I don’t know if
they provide the training to go along with it so that
might be something you have to acquire on your own.
ILA is another brand, Revolution and WCIB. And like
Ginger said, we will provide the websites that you can
order any of these brands by yourself. And that’s all I
have for now.
Dawn Turco
Alright, last thoughts, Pam?
Pam Winters
I think I’m good.
Dawn Turco
Alright. Ginger, last thoughts?
Ginger Irwin
I’m good.
Dawn Turco
Alright, well thank you.
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Ginger Irwin
I was just going to say if you have any other questions
you can always send us an email to the Hadley
website.
Dawn Turco
Alright. Well we’re about to open it up actually for live
questions and we’ll hope to have the answers. It
always makes me a little nervous but we do our best
as we always can do. So thank you, ladies, for
spending this time with me in the office. It’s a treat to
have people in person together with me – I’m usually
sitting here by myself doing these webinars, so thank
you.
Pam Winters
Thank you.
Ginger Irwin
Thank you.
Dawn Turco
Alright, folks, we’re live again and this is Dawn. I’m
going to remind you that we have Cathy here with us
today and we have Danette, both COMS’s, and we
have lots of participants. And you all have been chitchatting a little bit and have had an exchange of
ideas.
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So let me thank you for hanging in there and I am
opening the microphone to any questions you may
have.
Linda
Hi, this is Linda Perry and I’m glad to have heard this.
I’m going to listen again because there was so much.
But I have been using a cane for about 45 years and I
have always thought that the tip was to be red, that
that was regulation. But now I understand it’s just the
bottom segment? I always knew about the reflective
tape but I didn’t realize it had to be red. I thought the
tip was red. So are these tips normally also white? I
realize this is a silly question I’m embarrassed to ask.
My other question is I now use a wheelchair and I was
fascinated by the talk about other ways to sense
what’s ahead, because if I were to get an electric
wheelchair I don’t know I would know where I was
going. And so I’d love to hear a little bit more talk
about that for an adult person, or maybe for
somebody with no legs – which is not me but I know
somebody in that situation.
Danette Johnson
Hi, this is Danette. I can address the tip question
about the color of the tips. Some of the tips are white
and some of the tips are red, but it’s most important
that the bottom of the shaft of the cane is red. So
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especially the roller balls, I’ve seen a lot of those in
the red. Generally the pencil tips are white; generally
the marshmallow tips are white but they do come in
either color. So I hope that helps with the tip
question.
Dawn Turco
Go ahead, Beverly
Beverly
Hi, this is Beverly, I have a question. I live in an area
where there are no sidewalks, and my O&M instructor
was here with me on Monday and he has decided that
it is not safe for me to walk in the road because the
cars were coming by and almost hit me. So what do I
do? I feel like I’ve lost some of my independence.
Cathy Pasinski
First I wanted to respond to Linda Perry’s question
since I couldn’t connect before. Linda, basically you
would need to talk to an orientation & mobility
specialist that can come and kind of measure you in a
wheelchair; and he or she can make an adaptive
mobility device and then kind of teach you how to use
it and what situations it would be good for you to use
it in so that you would maximize your safety. So that
would be my recommendation, and I think it would
work the same for your friend who has no legs.
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Next, I want to respond to Beverly. You’re in a rural
area so the rules for rural travel apply. And not every
rural area is the same, so you do have to trust what
your orientation & mobility instructor is telling you. If
he or she has deemed the situation unsafe because
maybe the traffic is too fast on that road then you kind
of have to listen to him or her because they use their
expertise and their knowledge to see if a situation or a
street is safe. So even though it is reducing the
amount of independence it’s better to be safe – that’s
the priority. So that would be my advice at this point.
Dawn Turco
We have a text message, folks, asking how does one
find an O&M instructor. Who would like to pick that
one up?
Cathy Pasinski
Hi, this is Cathy again. If you are an adult the best
way to start is with the Department of Human
Services in your state or in your area. They usually
have a list of orientation and mobility instructors that
they can either send them your way and they can pick
up the cost or they will have names of agencies that
are private that can provide you a list of orientation &
mobility specialists.
So for example in Illinois we have the Department of
Human Services but we also have Second Sight in
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downtown Chicago – they have a list of orientation &
mobility specialists. Also if you go to a rehabilitation
center they usually have orientation & mobility
specialists. For example, we have the Lighthouse for
the Blind in Chicago, and I think it used to be called
ICRE-Wood in Chicago – all those are great
resources. And I know each state has something
similar to that.
Dawn Turco
Right, thank you Cathy. I think people may best start
with their local agencies or schools for the blind, or
their state agency. Do we have another question for
the microphones? I’ll let go again.
Caller
Yes, someone mentioned guide canes and identity
canes. I know about the identity canes but what’s
different about the guide cane?
Cathy Pasinski
Hi, this is Cathy. It is very similar; it’s just that maybe
one is a little shorter than the other but they pretty
much serve the same purpose.
Darla
This is Darla. I was wondering about the Origin cane.
I would like to find that information.
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Cathy Pasinski
There will be a resource list attached to the seminar in
a couple days when it’s archived, and all of the canes
listed will have websites on how you can purchase
them or how you can find out more about them.
Caller
I’d like to ask one more question about the red tip.
My cane is solid white and I didn’t know that it was
even required. Also I’d like to say hello to Linda, the
world’s greatest braille instructor.
Danette Johnson
Hi, this is Danette. Again, the tip can be either red or
white. The most important part is that the bottom of
your cane shaft is red. And so the tip is really up to
you as far as which tip you prefer. It doesn’t have to
be “legally” either color.
Ginger Irwin
Hello, this is Ginger Irwin. The red tip is also, I
believe it was added later because when individuals
are walking in the snow the white cane is sometimes
hard to find. So that red tip provides an additional
contrast. Also just in regular travel and stuff the
movement of the white cane, the red tip again just
draws attention to the sighted public so that they can
pay attention.
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Cathy Pasinski
Hi, this is Cathy. Ginger, there is a question about
whether you can use the steel wool on all kinds of
canes, like graphite, carbon fiber or fiberglass? Can
you take this one?
Ginger Irwin
Sure. The graphite or steel wool can be used on the
aluminum cane and on the graphite cane. I believe it
can be easily used on the carbon fiber cane, but the
fiberglass, it may provide scratching – I don’t know.
So we’ll just have to try that. I would think probably
not. I didn’t realize though that those kinds of things
could happen. I’m sorry, I’m getting distracted by
some of the comments.
I see a comment also by Ann, that yes, three strikes
at the bottom of a white cane, the red part being three
stripes does recognize an individual as being deaf
and blind. So yes.
Cathy Pasinski
I’m also reading a question about what is the cost of
an O&M instructor? If you contact your state agency
it is very likely that they will pay for it, especially if it’s
a need for you to go to work or live your everyday life
successfully. If you decide to hire an instructor
privately it could vary anywhere between $30 to $100
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per hour which can get really costly. But it doesn’t
hurt to ask.
Dawn Turco
We’re getting close to the end, folks, and I’m going to
open up one last time for any last questions. And
then we’ll get ready to shut down.
Linda
This is Linda Perry and I just wanted to say that
because of where I grew up most of my training came
from O&M instructors at the Heinz VA, and I love
those guys. And they were paid for on my behalf by
the Delta Gamma Society which is one of those
sororities. And they paid for my original training, and
then I requested help from them again as an adult
after I gave up my guide dog. And so I appreciate
them so much and there might be something like that,
maybe a Lyon’s Club or whatever that you can ask for
help.
Dawn Turco
Great advice, Linda. The Lyon’s Clubs of course
have been so supportive of these types of needs in
their communities, and we heard of course the
connection in Pam’s history of the Lyon’s Club
International. So we applaud the Lyon’s.
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Ladies, Cathy, thank you for being here today, and
Danette. And if you have a final thought please share
it now and then I’ll get ready to close down and
launch this survey for those who can hang in there
with us.
Cathy Pasinski
It was a pleasure for me to do this seminar about
White Cane Safety Day. Thank you all for listening
and I wish you a great day.
Dawn Turco
There was a question earlier about listening to this
seminar again. This Seminar@Hadley, like all of our
seminars, we put the recorded version on the Hadley
website at www.hadley.edu. Just follow the links that
go to “Past Seminars” and you will find it there in
probably two days or so. We like to just clean up
some of the hiccups first and then place it there.
Our presenters will send me their websites and along
with the recording of the seminar we will place the
resource lists. I’m seeing some “Thank You’s” for this
content today, ladies. And as I said, it was a new
experience for us going a semi-recorded and partiallylive seminar, and of course anybody going to that
“Past Seminars” page is like “So what’s the big deal?
It’s all recorded for them.” And we will get lots of
traffic there. So we do appreciate the presentations
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today by one and all. And our participants – great
questions, thank you so very much.
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