From the web page http://www.nfb.org/indtrav.htm

INDEPENDENT TRAVEL FOR THE BLIND

You know a great deal about your own home--your house or
apartment. You probably do not need any special tool or guide to
get around there. You know the arrangement of the furniture, the
shape and size of the rooms, the location of stair steps. If
blindness occurs suddenly, you may move about slowly and
cautiously at first. Do not let family members help you get
around your own home, for you can do it yourself and it well
help you learn to have confidence in yourself as a blind person.
If you bump your shoulder on the edge of a doorway, you have
done no damage to yourself or the doorway. If you bump your head
on an open cupboard door, it smarts some, but that is not
serious either. The family pet will learn to get out of your
way, but don't expect other people in the household to pick up
everything just for your benefit. Some blind people are
well-organized, just as some sighted people are, while many
blind people are fairly flexible about where things are. We have
to learn to live with other people the way they are, whether
they leave the foot stool in the middle of the floor and the
ashtrays exactly where they ought to be or not. Of course, it
would not be safe in any situation to leave some things, such as
an open can of paint or roller skates, in the middle of the
floor. However, a blind person who is aware that such things are
being used can generally deal with them and the usual kinds of
changes in a home quite adequately.

It is often assumed that a blind person cannot go anywhere by
himself or herself. No one walks with his or her eyes. It just
doesn't make sense to think that the lack of eyesight prevents a
person from moving around. It does make sense to find a method
to get the information needed for safety some other way, if an
individual cannot see. This can be done.

There are several schools that train dogs to serve as dog guides
for the blind and train blind individuals to use these dogs. Dog
guides are trained to walk rapidly and it is recommended that
those blind persons who use dog guides use them regularly.
Children are not able to travel with dog guides for several
reasons. Schools that train dog guides and dog guide users do
not accept individuals who are less than 14 or 16 years of age.
This seems reasonable. Handling a large dog 24 hours a
day--maintaining strict discipline for the dog--is a
responsibility for which children are not prepared. A dog may
seem exciting to a child, but it is important to maintain a
minimum age requirement for a blind person to get a dog guide.

The white cane used by the blind as a tool to obtain information
for travel purposes is a long white stick made of fiber glass or
metal with a metal tip at the bottom and a straight handle at
the top. If an individual needs a cane for support, he or she
will use this type of cane.

Either a long white cane or a dog guide can be used moving in
front of a blind individual to find out all that is necessary to
know about sidewalks, streets, steps, obstacles, etcetera in the
path of a pedestrian. The blind person can get information about
traffic movement by listening to it. A newly blinded person must
practice in order to learn to use the information obtained in
this way as effectively as he or she used the information
provided by eyesight in the past. It is a matter of developing a
new skill--no more and no less.

A blind person who needs to learn to travel with a white cane
should be able to get lessons from a teacher who works with
blind children or from a rehabilitation agency. It is possible
for a blind person to teach himself or herself a good bit about
cane travel if it is necessary. Generally speaking, the more
lessons one can get from a teacher, the better. There are
specialists who teach cane travel, but most teachers of the
blind can do it as needed, and if they can find the time. You
must use the cane regularly in order to make it effective for
you and to gain confidence in yourself as you use it. It is not
unusual for a newly blinded person to be very frightened at the
idea of walking alone on the street with only a white cane. With
experience and practice, this fear will diminish and you will
enjoy your new accomplishment. If you are walking with a friend
or relative, you may wish to take the cane along also, so that
you do not need to depend on the other person all the time you
are away from home.

The cane should be long enough that the tip rests on the ground
a step and a half or two steps in front of the individual using
it when the top is held slightly above the waist close to the
body. The handle of the cane should remain centered in front of
the blind person held with the palm of the hand under it,
fingers upward grasping it. The tip of the cane is swung back
and forth from one side of the body to the other using wrist
motion to move it. The arm should not move back and forth. This
enables the blind traveler to protect himself or herself from
obstacles in front and on both sides of him or her. It also
gives him or her needed information about steps and obstacles in
time to make use of it.

Generally, it is desirable for the blind traveler to tap the
cane each time he or she takes a step. When a step is taken with
the right foot, the cane is tapped in front of the left
shoulder. As the left foot moves forward, the cane moves to the
right side of the body. This motion becomes automatic, and with
practice the individual reacts instantly and easily to
information supplied by the cane, also.

The technique of using the white cane in travel is simple and
can be learned in a few minutes. However, this technique is a
very flexible one. The cane should be used differently in
different situations. For example, in a crowd you will want to
keep the cane close to your body to avoid tripping people ahead
of you. This may mean that you will wish to take the arm of
someone beside you or slow your speed, since you will have less
time to react to information supplied by your cane. When
climbing up steps, you will probably want to hold your cane in a
straight-up-and-down position, letting the tip bump the step
ahead of you. When the cane does not bump a step, you will know
you have reached the top of the flight of steps. Similarly, you
will probably wish to let the tip of the cane touch each step
ahead of you as you descend a flight of steps. You will find
other situations in which you may wish to use the cane somewhat
differently. The cane is meant to be a tool and you are the best
person to know how to use it to get the information you need.
However, it takes weeks or months of using the technique for you
truly to feel confidence in the skill.

A white cane can vary in length from less than 50" to more than
60" depending on the height of the individual using it and the
speed at which he or she walks. Canes can be obtained from
rehabiliation agencies or from the National Federation of the
Blind. Canes can be cut down to shorter lengths for small
children.

Although some white canes can be folded in fourths or even
smaller, the rigid, fiber glass cane is most durable and is
preferred by most blind people who are good travelers.

As the blind person practices, he or she will become aware of a
great many other ways to get information while traveling. Of
course, it is possible to get information about street signs and
store fronts from other pedestrians. The odor of a bakery or a
shoe store may be a good landmark. Blind people may take note of
different types of landmarks from those commonly thought of by
sighted people, but landmarks are helpful to all. A pole or a
bench may indicate the location of a bus stop just as accurately
as reading the sign. The sound of an escalator or a revolving
door in a department store may be an excellent landmark.

If friends or family members are willing and available to help
with transportation, it is efficient and pleasant to go places
with them. Most people like to go some places with others, but
find it convenient to be able to go some places alone. If public
transportation (city buses, trains, or subway) is available,
blind people can and should make use of it.

It may be frightening and frustrating at first to confront the
hubbub and commotion in order to make use of city buses or
subway, but thousands of blind people are doing this daily. Many
blind individuals have learned to deal with buses and the
subway. Of course, it helps to have the moral support of an
encouraging friend or teacher to take on independent travel as a
blind person. The first few trips are the hardest. Truly
learning to travel independently is an adventure or a series of
adventures. If you are not looking for this kind of experience,
you may be able to avoid it. However, independent travel is
considered normal and necessary in our society, for the blind
and sighted alike.

In the 1980's there is no reason for a blind person not to
travel independently when he or she wishes or needs to do so.
This is progress for the blind--important progress. Blind
persons can go where they wish to go alone or with a group. The
techniques that exist have been developed to the point that
anyone can learn them and use them. The training is increasingly
available. You should take encouragement from the experience of
the thousands of blind persons who have already learned to
travel independently. You can, too, if you want to.

If you have further questions about independent travel or
blindness, write to the National Federation of the Blind, 1800
Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230.

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