I have been considering an issue that recently came to my attention. First I want to say that I come from a consumer perspective when discussing education of blind children and parenting of blind children. I was a founding member of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children in 1983. I have been a part of the organized blind movement since 1970. As a student of history I look at many issues with the past practices in mind. This helps me to analyze where I want to go after understanding where I have come from.
I recently heard a statement, which I paraphrase as “parents should not get a cane for their young child because it gives them a license.” I have frequently heard from Orientation and Mobility professionals that it is unwise for parents to be the first to introduce their young blind children to a white cane. Over the past 28 years I have heard parents express frustration at the lack of good mobility services available for their children. I hear expressions of frustration at lack of positive attitudes their children are exposed to about blindness. Parents tell stories of having been given a cane then having the mobility professional tell them that their child cannot use that cane.
The reasoning I have heard from some professionals is that the use of a white cane is a technical and highly specialized skill; that it is hard to unlearn bad habits in the use of the cane; that if a person is given a cane they have a false sense of invulnerability. Only a mobility specialist has the background to instruct children and adults in the skills for safe and efficient travel.
Movement is a primal urge for all humans. Parents are facilitating movement of their children from the first moments of life. Mobility is about movement first and foremost. Blind children begin to use the necessary components for efficient travel when they first hear their mother’s voice. When the parent is touching and cuddling their baby. When the baby is put into a pack on the parent’s back or front the baby is moving in concert with their parent. The parent is the primary motivator for rolling, crawling and walking. As a result, in a very real sense, the blind baby’s mother and father are her first mobility instructors. Whether an educational professional has seen this child or not the child is moving. As their child continues to progress from passive movement to self-monitoring active movement the child needs to be given the tools to proceed through the natural progression all children achieve.
History shows that the cane was not introduced to high school age students until the 1960’s. Canes were not introduced to elementary age students until the 1980’s. One of the first tasks the newly formed National Organization of Parents of Blind Children did was have manufactured and distributed canes that were specifically designed for children. This was the first cane that parents came into contact with that fit the needs of young children. Even today most canes called “Kiddie Canes” are just cut down versions of an adult cane. No effort is made to have a handle, which fits the small hands of a child or have a weight to length ratio, which allows for effective handling. The use of canes by students prior to school age was not even thought possible until the 1990’s. This still remains controversial. Most mobility specialists are still trained using an adult model. The refined skills we are taught to use in traveling with a cane are wholly inappropriate for young children. For young children their fine and large motor development is immature. Yet, very few university trained mobility specialists are trained in the natural progression of motor development of all children. So, the question begs how can we properly introduce a skill to a young blind children when we ourselves do not know what would be developmentally appropriate. The parents have a better understanding of these issues because they are observing and participating in the development of their children.
Blind children are already moving. By not providing them with an essential tool they will use their entire life we deny them positive experiences with movement and instead instill fear. In Independent Movement and Travel in Blind Children, Joe Cutter states that the “cane will be the most valuable tool for blind children to move, explore and travel. It is an extension of their sense of touch that puts them in contact with the world around them.” The cane is the only practical tool, which allows the blind child to preview and explore the environment before putting forth their body. By not allowing the blind child to preview where they are moving they have negative experiences of bumping and tripping which does not teach skills of independence but fear of what is out there.
It is unfortunate that many times the last professional brought onto the early intervention team is an orientation and mobility specialist. There are many reasons why this is the case. Mobility specialists are even more scarce than teachers of the blind. Not all mobility specialists feel comfortable working with babies or very young blind children. There still exists among educational specialists the idea that the need for an orientation and mobility specialist only begins when the child is walking or venturing out on their own. This is so far from the truth. The basic components of moving in a typical, developmental progression, is impacted when movement happens using non-visual input. Mobility specialists in work with the blind can help families and other professionals to promote typical movement using non-visual experiences. As a member of the early intervention team I view my role as primarily resource and consultative. The family plays an essential role in promoting movement. I work extensively with other therapists, occupational therapist and physical therapist, in providing intervention services. I promote the use of the “teaching cane”. The first experience a blind baby may have with a cane will be holding the cane while being held or holding onto the cane while an adult is using the cane to get the feel of what is out there.
Research has shown that when children are restricted, such as in the Romanian orphanages, of the 1980’s, learning and cognitive development is impacted. Blind children learn about their world by exploring and experiencing. Any way we as professionals can promote a positive note to parents and our peers that blind children deserve all of the tools necessary for progressing through life as their sighted peers is an ethical imperative.
