White Cane Techniques

Larry Carlson - My retina detached and tore in multiple places. I've had issues with my eyes ever since. When they broached an ID cane initially and I said, no, I don't need a cane. Those are for blind people. I'm not blind, I'm just legally blind. I waffled a lot on that cane thing for a long time before I finally just said, I'm tired of falling. You know, I would use it, but I wouldn't fall. I wouldn't use it, you know, on a five mile walk. And I'd come back and my pants are ripped and the knees are bleeding scrapes on the hands, and my wife would be, what happened?

You know, you really should consider that cane. And I was like, I'm not ready for it, because I didn't want to carry the cane with me and use it. It was obvious that I've got a problem and you know I probably need some help.

Narrator - Once you've decided to get a white cane and you're ready to learn how to use it, your first step is to find an orientation and mobility or ONM instructor to work with. In the meantime, let's take a look at the four basic white cane techniques, the diagonal technique, two point touch, constant contact, and using an ID cane. The diagonal technique is a way to hold your cane in front of you diagonally to help you avoid bumping into obstacles you might not expect. It's not a method you're likely to use when you're out for a long walk or finding your way to a building, but it's useful when you're moving around a familiar location like your home. For the diagonal technique, you'll start by holding your cane as if you were shaking hands with it using your dominant hand. Then you'll extend your index finger to point straight down the handle.

Now you'll extend your grip hand about 10 to 12 inches forward from your hip at about waist height, and with a slight bend in your elbow, you'll point the cane downward at a diagonal across your body. As you walk forward, you'll keep the cane in this diagonal position with the tip lightly touching the ground. And if there's an obstacle in front of you, the cane will touch it before you do, giving you time to react by stopping or moving around it. Like most white cane techniques, this one helps you avoid bumps and bruises from walking into things. But this technique doesn't cover both sides of your body, and it's not always helpful for finding drop offs and steps. That's why the diagonal technique is best for familiar locations where you mostly know what to expect. Now let's take a look at the two point touch technique. This method is helpful when you're traveling somewhere new and you're checking for all kinds of obstacles and changes in your path.

For two point touch, you'll grip the cane in the same way you did for the diagonal technique, as if you're shaking hands with a cane, then pointing your index finger down the shaft. In fact, this is the most common way to hold the cane, and you'll find it's recommended for most techniques. But if you need to try something else, your o and m instructor will help you find a more comfortable grip that works better for you. Once you're holding your cane comfortably for two point touch, you'll extend that hand slightly in front of you, and this time you'll line up your hand with the middle of your body instead of your side. Again, you'll keep your elbows slightly bent and there's a good reason for this. When you come across an object like a curb or a wall, your cane might come to a sudden stop while you're still moving forward. When this happens, it's easy to walk straight into the handle and possibly jab yourself in the middle, but a slightly bent elbow can help you absorb the impact. Instead, once you're holding the cane in front of you for two point touch, you'll flex and bend your wrist to gently tap the cane on the ground left and right as you're walking, you'll tap the cane to the left when your right foot is forward and tap to the right when your left foot is forward. And as you move the cane from one tap to the next, you'll lift it just an inch or so off the ground.

Your stepping and tapping is in rhythm so that each time you step, you're tapping on the opposite side. This checks to make sure the ground is clear for your next footfall. Keep the distance between those taps only about as wide is your body. Next, let's take a look at the constant contact technique. This one is a lot like two point touch, but like the name suggests, you'll keep the tip of the cane constantly on the ground instead of lifting and tapping it. As you move your wrist to sweep the tip back and forth, you'll be drawing an arc along the ground. That's once again about as wide as your body. And again, you'll move the cane left when your right foot is forward and right when your left foot is forward. Because the tip of your cane stays on the ground with this technique, it can give you more feedback and information about the surface you're traveling on as well as any obstacles in your path. And because constant contact is more likely to find all those sidewalk cracks and bumps along the way, the best tip to use for this method is a marshmallow or roller. These tips are more likely to move over a slightly uneven surface, giving you feedback but not getting stuck. Constant contact makes walking a little slower than two point touch, but it's the best technique for helping you find drop offs and steps.

Finally, let's look at one more technique for traveling with a white cane. And this time we'll focus on the ID cane technique. When you're using a cane for identification only, you're simply holding the cane to help others understand you have a visual impairment. For this technique, you'll hold the cane in one hand, usually wrapping your hand around the shaft the same way you'd hold a glass of water. You'll keep your elbow at a right angle and your arm will be at your side with your hand out front. The handle of the cane will be pointing up and the tip will be pointing straight down.

With the ID cane technique, your cane won't touch the ground, so you may need to grip the shaft a few inches below the handle to hold it up comfortably. But you can still use the cane to reach out and check the ground in front of you, or to reach forward in probe for objects. These are the four basic techniques for using a white cane. Each of these methods is helpful at different times, and even if you find that you like one of them, in most situations, you might find that you actually use them all. Your o and M instructor will help you practice in different settings to get comfortable with each one, and they'll help you learn other skills too, like walking in a straight line, going up and down stairs with your cane and using your other senses to get information.

Larry Carlson - Having a cane just makes it so that you understand what you're walking on or what you're walking to and you know, that sort of thing. I decided this is just one of those things I'm gonna have to learn. I have to carry it with me. And you know, once, once I got that all dialed in, I was, I've been good with it ever since, but it's just getting used to it.

Without it, I'm gonna trip over things and I'm gonna fall. I was concerned about what other people said and I realized they can't live my life. You can't let pride dictate what you're going to do. Your health and wellbeing is far more important than your pride. It's adding to your routine, if you will. You know, it's like you hit the door and it's like, okay, keys, phone, wallet, you know, I gotta remember to make sure I have my cane.