WEBVTT

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(gentle music)

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Welcome to Hadley Presents.

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I'm your host, Ricky Enger,

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inviting you to sit back, relax,

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and enjoy a conversation with the experts.

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In this episode, we discuss orientation and mobility,

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with a focus on White Cane Safety Day,

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and our expert is certified orientation

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and mobility specialist Kellee Sanchez.

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Welcome to the show, Kellee.

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Good morning, Ricky.

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I'm so glad that you could join us today.

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It's always fun to talk to O&M specialists,

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and so, you know, why don't you just start out

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by telling us a little about who you are,

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and talk about how you became interested

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in doing what you do.

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I have been an O&M,

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an orientation and mobility specialist, for two years.

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I got my degree

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and certification from Stephen F. Austin University

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in Nacogdoches, Texas,

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and I became interested in O&M

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when my niece was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma.

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I think the fear,

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just, like, the overwhelming dark cloud of,

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"Well, what if this happens?

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What if she loses all of her sight?" becomes real,

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"What are we going to do as her family?"

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And I started doing some research,

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and this crazy idea of using a white cane

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came on to my Google,

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and I looked into it

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and saw that it was called orientation and mobility,

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and I thought, "Well, this is something cool."

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I had been a teacher for 10 years.

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I taught eighth grade science,

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and whenever the sails went up,

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that's where the wind took me.

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That's amazing,

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and I love that you actually have some direct experience

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with what it's like to have a family member

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who is going through that adjustment period

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and finding out about what it might be like

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to use a white cane,

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and there's a lot that goes into that.

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For some people, they're not quite ready for a white cane,

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or the need for a guide dog,

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or, you know, whatever mobility aid it is

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that they ultimately end up using.

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Perhaps they're in the beginning stages of vision loss,

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and they just feel like,

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"I don't really want this in my life.

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This isn't for me.

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Why do I have to do this?"

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Can you talk a little bit

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about why there might be that resistance,

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and what are some things that you can do

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as an O&M specialist just to help with that adjustment?

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That is something

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that I think most O&Ms deal with on a daily basis,

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with each of our new consumers, old consumers.

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I think a lot of it

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is just the stigma behind using a white cane.

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As a person with vision loss,

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there is nothing that tells you that you have a disability,

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and even our folks with low vision,

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because it's very difficult

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to promote a device that gives a statement, "I am blind,"

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and I think people are very afraid of that word, blindness,

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because to some, it just means my whole world is gone.

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And part of O&M and vision rehab teachers,

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our counselors, our advocates,

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I think our whole purpose is to ensure

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that with this disability, we are going to open more doors.

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And I think education

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is probably the most important piece of O&M,

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what the white cane does, what the white cane does not do,

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what our limitations are,

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but then how are those limitations,

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how are we going to change them to be opportunities?

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I think that's part of it, is being able to say,

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"Like, yeah, man, like, it stinks,

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but we will get through it together."

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Absolutely.

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I think that's so well put,

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just removing some of that stigma

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and removing some of the fear,

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because a lot of times it is the fear of the unknown

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and the fear of being seen as a weak or less than,

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and so having that support is just so important.

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What about families, though?

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You know, sometimes, thankfully,

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if you are experiencing vision loss,

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you're not alone, and perhaps you do have a support network,

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but sometimes families have ideas

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about things that may differ from yours

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or differ from what's ultimately best for you.

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Do families have resistance to cane use, you know?

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What does some of that look like?

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Absolutely.

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It's a very interesting dynamic

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because whenever someone is blind,

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"Well, they'll just move in with me,

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and I'll take care of them."

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"No, we don't need your help.

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We can do everything ourselves."

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"They don't need that white cane or that stick thing.

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I'm going to be with them.

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No matter where they go, I will be there."

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And part of overcoming that is listening, to listen first,

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because it's not only fear for the person who is blind

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or low vision, it's also fear for the family.

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What is the unknown?

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So listening to them and almost winning their confidence,

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because we see people who lose their sight.

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I work with adults,

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so they can be adventitiously blind as young as 22

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and as old as 88,

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but no matter what, the need for life hasn't died,

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and winning the family members' thoughts of,

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"Let's don't dampen their joy,

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let's try to make it better,"

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is probably the biggest battle.

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That makes a lot of sense,

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and I love what you said

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about you can still show them that you love them,

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it's just going to take a different form

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because there is that feeling

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of I want to take care of the person that I love,

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and sometimes taking care of them means being supportive

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in giving them the confidence to take care of themselves.

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So I think that it's important to keep those things in mind

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and just to be aware that you, as a family member,

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can still be very supportive

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of someone who is going through this,

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and you can do that in a way that benefits both of you.

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Is there more than one reason,

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we've talked about using a cane

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to keep from bumping into things,

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using a cane to remain safe,

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and show cars, for instance,

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that maybe you can't see them so they should watch for you.

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Are there other reasons that a person might carry a cane,

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even if they feel relatively confident

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in their remaining vision?

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With blindness or low vision,

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I think carrying a cane for different environments,

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different scenarios.

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Most people don't carry their white cane in their home,

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but they might carry their white cane

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in someone else's home,

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and for people with low vision,

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carrying an identification cane

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or a cane that has,

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that is not an ID cane but a regular red and white cane,

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for those circumstances.

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I think one of the important things,

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among other important things, of an O&M is knowing,

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understanding that we, as the O&M,

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are not the person with this disability.

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We are not the person who has to carry the cane

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or walk in their shoes.

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So being mindful that this is your journey,

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I'm just along for the ride.

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If you use your cane, great.

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If you don't use your cane, great.

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I'm gonna be here, no matter what.

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If they're on a Greyhound bus,

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then carrying their cane as identification

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so that the bus driver is aware

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that there is a person with low vision on the bus.

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The negative side of that is

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if you're carrying your cane when you get on the bus,

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but then you're not carrying your cane

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when you're off the bus,

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it gives people confusion and then asking questions,

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and then that becomes a whole nother podcast.

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You're absolutely right about that,

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and then, of course, there are times

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when carrying it can eliminate some of that confusion.

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Like, if you're looking for a restroom, for example,

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and you're having a hard time reading the sign,

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sometimes having that cane

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will eliminate some of the awkwardness

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of why are you, as a man, staring at the woman's restroom?

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Yes, I agree completely.

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So yes, there are pros and cons to everything.

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Pro, people know that you can't see things.

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That's awesome.

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We are actually, at the time of this recording,

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approaching White Cane Safety Day.

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It's the thing that happens every year on October 15th,

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and, you know,

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I think that canes are worth celebrating all the time,

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but we actually have a day set aside for that.

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Can you talk a little about kind of the history

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of White Cane Safety Day?

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What is it? What do people do to celebrate?

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That kind of thing.

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So there was a push by rehab state agencies

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and also organizations to really promote,

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and, like you said,

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give awareness to the white cane and its importance.

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In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a declaration

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saying that October 15th is White Cane Safety Day,

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and on this day, we are able to get together

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as blind and low vision white cane users,

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guide dog users, professionals, advocates,

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and before that, we do a talk of why it's so important

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to use a white cane as a person who is blind and low vision,

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and things like getting the right of way of crossing streets

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or making sure that other people who are driving cars

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or in the stores are aware that this person is walking.

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They can't see you, so be aware of them.

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The White Cane Safety Day just kind of refuels, I think,

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O&Ms to continue to do our work

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and continue to do it with passion,

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but also gives a great spotlight

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to people who use the white cane to say,

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"You're cool, keep doing that."

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And I know that, you know,

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I've participated in these sorts of celebrations

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in the past,

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and it's really a lot of fun because people get together,

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they're displaying their mobility aid of choice,

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if they have one,

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there is talk about the importance

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of using that mobility aid,

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and it's just a really good time and good fellowship.

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Of course, things have changed quite a bit with COVID,

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and so how are we doing White Cane Safety Day this year?

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How have things changed,

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and what are you doing in your area?

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I know you can't speak to everywhere,

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but I think you're doing something virtual.

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Yes, we have two actual virtual programs going on

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one with the National Federation of the Blind in Alabama,

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and also Alabama Institute of the Deaf and Blind

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are also doing a virtual White Cane Day.

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I just got two invitations from both of those organizations,

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and the Department of Rehab, my agency,

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our goal is to gather up as many people as we can to say,

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"Log in at this time and follow the instructions."

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So it's a lot of we're apart, but together.

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I think that's probably been the mantra of 2020, (laughs)

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so to login and be there and still get fueled,

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but also be safe.

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Exactly, and I think that really is,

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you're still capturing the most important part of this day,

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which is to come together and have that fellowship

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and be able to talk with and celebrate each other.

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Kellee, we've had a really great time with this interview,

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and I hate to wrap it up, but we are approaching the end,

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and so as we do that, do you have any final thoughts of,

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again, we're coming up on White Cane Safety Day,

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but just in general,

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do you have thoughts on what people can think about

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or reflect on as we approach October 15th every year

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and we start thinking about mobility aids?

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What should people just consider,

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for at least this one day a year?

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Be empowered.

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Be empowered using your white cane.

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Be empowered having a guide dog.

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Be empowered because you are different.

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Blindness doesn't mean your life is over.

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Blindness means find a different way.

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You're at a dead end on this sidewalk,

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but there's an intersecting sidewalk,

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find it with your cane.

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And don't be afraid to ask for assistance.

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Oh man, I could go on, Ricky.

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I could go on forever,

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but I think overall,

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just be empowered to know that you're not alone

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and that you have a huge support system behind you

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to use your white cane without shame.

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Excellent advice, Kellee.

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Thank you so very much for joining us.

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It's been a pleasure.
Thank you, Ricky.

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Have a great day.

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Thanks for listening.

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Got something to say?

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Share your thoughts about this episode of "Hadley Presents"

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or make suggestions for future episodes.

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We'd love to hear from you.

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Send us an email at podcast@hadley.edu,

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that's P-O-D-C-A-S-T@hadley.edu,

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or leave us a message at 847-784-2870.

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Thanks for listening.

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(gentle music)