Benefits of the Long Cane
The long cane offers a myriad of benefits for children with visual impairments:
Exploration: Children can use the long cane to explore their surroundings without the need to touch an object until they're comfortable and ready.
Independence: With the aid of a long cane, children can confidently explore their surroundings, engaging in everyday activities at home and school with increased independence.
Safety: Acting as a reliable tool for detecting obstacles and hazards, the long cane helps children avoid potential dangers, such as stair drop offs or kerb edges, as they navigate their environment.
Confidence: Mastering the use of the long cane instills a sense of accomplishment, bolstering children's confidence and encouraging them to tackle new challenges with a positive self-image.
Social Inclusion: By using a long cane, children signal their visual impairment, prompting peers and adults to provide the appropriate support and understanding, fostering a sense of belonging and inclusion.
Physical Development: Utilizing a long cane necessitates specific motor skills, promoting physical development and coordination among children as they navigate their surroundings.
"Independent movement and travel means making decisions, problem solving, and developing good judgment. For blind children this means moving and traveling in the world with the cane at a very early age." – Joseph Cutter
(Independent Movement and Travel in Blind Children: A Promotion Model, 2007)
Note: If a young child or a child with multiple impairments is unable to hold a cane, be well balanced in their movements while travelling, or is unable to get up and down from the floor, a cane becomes a safety issue. Other mobility aids, such as the possibility of using a walker, may be the first step as a tool for learning environment and texture change before accessing a long cane.
Introducing the Long Cane to Children
Tip #1 - Seek Professional Guidance
Consult with a certified orientation and mobility specialist to determine the most suitable cane, techniques, and activities for your child based on their specific needs and abilities. Because the parent is the child's first teacher, it has been said, the mother's lap is the first classroom. For this classroom, the parent requires developmental guidance from the professional service provider. Useful, reliable, and positive partnerships are needed for parents with O&M professionals and other professional service providers who truly understand the child's requirements for independent movement and travel.
Tip #2 - Familiarisation
Introduce the long cane as a friendly and exciting tool. Let your child explore it through touch, explaining its purpose gently. It may remain in the toy box or on the bookshelf for a few weeks or months before being introduced to your child. It may also become a prop for other imaginary play games until the family or child is ready to learn more about it. For children with multiple impairments, or are very young, the long cane can be used in a sitting position to extend and reach to learn about the environment.
Tip #3 - Playful Approach
Turn learning into playtime by incorporating games and activities that involve the long cane. For instance, practice detecting obstacles or follow tactile paths. Find different textures that create different sounds eg. metal drain, brick wall, rubbish bin, metal poles, galvanised metal wall, etc. If a child is in a wheelchair, the long cane can be propped on the child's lap so they are still receiving feedback and information through vibrations from the ground surface changes which may encourage future use.
Tip #4 - Model & Encourage
Introducing a 'teaching' cane where the parent role models using a cane, while the child can hold on, may be a nice way to introduce the long cane. It might be when you both go for a walk or when your child is sitting in the pram. As children become more comfortable, they will show interest in holding the cane themselves. Incorporating the use of the cane into the family's daily routine will also assist in building familiarisation. Be patient and supportive throughout the learning process.
Tip #5 - Positive Reinforcement
Celebrate your child's progress and achievements, no matter how small. Positive reinforcement encourages them to continue practicing and refining their skills. Ensuring good use of language that offers and invites your child to explore using the long cane, rather than direct instruction that may feel forceful and cause them to resist. Direct instruction can be introduced later in their long cane program.
Tip #6 - Encourage Peer Interaction
Encourage Peer Interaction: Arrange opportunities for your child to interact with other children who use long canes or other mobility tools. This fosters a sense of community and normalises the use of the cane.
Introducing a long cane as an early intervention mobility tool can significantly impact a child's development and overall quality of life. By starting early and providing the right guidance, parents and educators can help children with visual impairments gain independence, confidence, and safety while navigating the world around them. The long cane not only becomes a practical tool but also a symbol of empowerment, enabling children to embrace their unique abilities and thrive in their communities. With love, support, and dedication, we can ensure that all children have the opportunity for freedom, hope, and full participation in society.
This concludes our three-part series of The Long Cane: An Early Intervention Tool for Children with a Visual Impairment.
For more information on early intervention and concept development Buy Now, Click Here, Read This eBook. If you enjoyed this blog or have more ideas to share please leave a comment below this post.
Thanks for reading!
Jax@TactileCollective
Reference:
Cutter, J. (2007). The Promotion Model (nfb.org)
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