The White Cane

A lot of blind people use a white cane that helps them navigate and avoid obstacles in their path. A visually impaired person also benefits from using one if they are night blind which means even though they can see during the day they are not able to see at night. Another reason for sometimes needing a cane is if a person is not able to walk on very bright days when there are not many clouds. For a person who has some remaining vision, an identification cane is useful as it lets them know if something is in their peripheral vision or right in front of them - in the case that they have a central vision loss. An identification cane also lets the public know that the individual using it may have some degree of vision loss. A totally blind person needs a cane to detect cracks in the sidewalk, find and use grass lines, and to help with finding where stairs are, to name a few. The white canes are not just white, they are red and white because it helps someone with sight notice the cane. It is also possible to specialty order canes for the visually impaired and different colors. The white cane may also be made out of aluminum, fiberglass or graphite. There are many different tips that may come with a white cane. They are called marshmallow, pencil, ceramic, or flat tip. There are straight canes, folding canes and telescoping canes. A folding cane and a telescoping cane are a lot easier to break at the joints, but the straight cane will break if there is not a proper place to store it. there are two ways to use a cane the techniques are constant contact or two touch . Constant contact is when the tip of the cane stays on the ground and is rolled the persons shoulder length. The two touch is when the user steps with the left foot and the cane is on the right where the shoulder would be the opposite happens when the user taps the cane on the left side on the ground. Some users use a mixture of both while walking.Personally I like the folding cane with a pencil tip and I use the two touch technique unless I need to switch to constant contact for one or more reasons. Some of those reasons can be to find truncated domes to cross a sidewalk. These are the bumpy things most people have no idea what they are for. I have had many interesting times with my cane. Many times I was walking down the hallway in school and got my cane caught in between someones legs while they are walking and my cane snaps in half. I have also had times that a mobility specialist is trying to show me something on the ground I may come across at times and I completely miss it. I have also gotten a graphite cane stuck straight which I was told is nearly impossible with a crack along the side. I have dropped my cane many times while walking around because I catch cracks and my cane gets caught and I let go. Other times I have someone accidentally kick it out of my hand. Some funny moments are when I am trying to get on the bus and while the doors are opening I get my cane caught on the opening door.. I have also gotten my cane caught in bushes when they are really close to the sidewalk. The most fun is when I am walking close to another person with a white cane and their cane hits mine over and over it seems like we are having a sword/cane fight.I am willing to answer any questions about the white cane or otherwise.