Teaching the Use of a Long Cane Step by Step: Suggestions for Progressive, Methodical Instruction
By Sauerburger, Dona; Bourquin, Eugene; Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, Vol. 104, No. 4, pp. 203-214Publication Date: April 2010
Article presents ideas and information that may help facilitate instruction in and practice with using a long cane automatically and proficiently to detect and negotiate obstacles, drop-offs, and stairs. The article emphasizes that students with visual impairments need to reach a level of proficiency where their performance is independent of cognitive control, and that too much instructor feedback can impede learning. A model of 4 stages of cane skills learning is presented: (1) Beginner: the student is learning how to move the cane and requires feedback and correction; (2) Concentration: the student can maintain correct cane technique without correction, but only with concentration; (3) Consolidation: the student can maintain correct cane technique without conscious concentration but may not notice when the cane drops over an unexpected edge; and (4) Proficiency: the student moves the cane correctly without having to concentrate and notices when the cane contacts any unexpected edges or obstacles. Suggestions for practical exercises in negotiating obstacles and stairs are included.
Published by: AFB Press (Website:http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=46)
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) (Web Site: http://www.afb.org )
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number J58767
