Long stick
The White long cane is a cane and helps people who are blind or visually impaired are safe, independent and effective mobile and oriented to be. The handling of the stick is usually learned during orientation and mobility training. Guilly d'Herbemont is considered to be the inventor of the long stick . After Richard Edwin Hoover (1915–1986) the long stick was then called Hoover-Cane (English: cane = pipe, stick).
history
invention
Historians argue about the inventor:
- Officially, Guilly d'Herbemont is considered the inventor of the white cane. At that time, the increasing motorization of road traffic arrived in Paris and with it the endangerment of blind and visually impaired people. Inspired by the white signal sticks of the Paris police, which they used to regulate traffic, in 1931 they suggested to several French ministers the use of a white stick. In the same year she financed 5,000 white sticks out of her own pocket.
- At about the same time, the white cane was discovered in America. The previously black sticks have been painted white to make them easier to recognize. In 1931 the Lions Club initiated a program to promote the white cane.
- Ten years earlier, the English photographer James Biggs had lost his sight after an accident. Since he felt threatened by the increasing volume of traffic, he painted his walking stick white.
Further development
The then American sergeant and later ophthalmologist Richard Edwin Hoover worked at Valley Forge General Hospital in 1944 and looked after blind soldiers. Together with these people, he researched various locomotion techniques with the help of the white stick. He came to the realization that the previous stick was too short for this purpose. He also developed long pole training and the Hoover long pole technique, which is known today as the typing technique and is taught worldwide.
On October 15, 1964, US President Johnson gave long sticks to blind and visually impaired people in a symbolic act. The sticks should be made public with it. A year later the Japanese Seiichi Miyake developed a guidance system for the blind .
On October 15, 1969, the United Nations proclaimed "International White Cane Day", which has been celebrated on that day .
Legal position
Austria
Road users who are on the move with a white stick are excluded from the principle of trust according to the Austrian road traffic regulations . This is also the case in many other countries.
Germany
In Germany, the white long stick is a traffic protection sign in accordance with Section 2 (2) FeV as well as a general visual distinguishing feature that signals sighted people to be considerate.
variants
The long pole is mostly white or covered with reflective foil so that it can be better seen by other road users in the dark. The length of the sticks is individually adapted to the user, depending on the height and the length of the stride. Most of the time, the length of the stick is roughly equal to the height of the user's sternum. Recently, however, blind mobility trainers have been recommending sticks that reach up to the chin, especially for children and adolescents. There are different variants of the handles and the handle materials. You can also choose between different pole tips, which should be made of durable material. There are, for example, ceramic tips, hard PVC tips, rolling ball tips with a pivot bearing, marshmallow tips, tips with incorporated steel balls or glass marbles and much more. The tips are subject to wear and tear and can be replaced. The choice of tip depends on personal preferences and the nature of the walking routes.
There are also differences in construction. There are one-piece sticks made from aluminum tubing or carbon fiber reinforced plastic . The one-piece stick is the simplest and lightest variant, which also gives the best tactile feeling. Then there are multi-part telescopic and folding sticks (mostly made of aluminum alloys or other light metals ) that can be pushed together or folded. There are also sticks that can be folded up and have an extendable handle. Telescopic and folding sticks are preferred instead of the bulky one-piece stick when vehicles or public transport are used. Multi-part sticks do not “conduct” as well as single-part sticks. In developing countries, wood or bamboo sticks are used as readily available and cheap alternatives, but their function is inferior to the stiffer metal sticks.
Children's long stick
Often, one-piece, particularly light, full-height sticks with long, thin handles are recommended for children up to 6 years of age, and sticks that reach approximately to the nose from around 7 years of age. After puberty or for adults, sticks are usually used that reach to the chin or sternum . One goal can be to get children who are blind or visually impaired used to the stick as a tactile tool early on, even before they learn to walk, so that they can use the long stick more naturally later. There are several children's long sticks on the market in Europe, with one product in particular being promoted. Because of the tactile transmission capacity, children's long sticks should be made in one piece and particularly light to protect the joints (e.g. 90 g at 90 cm) and, because of the small hands, have a very light and thin grip. Furthermore, they should have a replaceable tip and, because of the risk of injury, no hand strap, and they should also be shatterproof and robust. Children's long sticks are often built by themselves, a procedure that enables further individual adaptation.
Laser long pole
The laser long pole is a variant with a range finder built into the handle. This works with an infrared laser fan, which monitors the chest and head area of the user and shows obstacles by vibrating the handle.
Procurement and training
The costs for two long sticks as initial equipment and for orientation and mobility training (O&M for short), in which one learns the correct use of this aid, is usually borne by the health insurance in Germany after prior approval.
Working method
If the long stick is handled correctly, differences in level with the tip of the stick can be recognized in good time when walking. This protects the "long stick walker" from (falling) falls and collisions with obstacles. In buildings these are above all individual steps or stairs, outside curbs, bricked bases of fences or houses and also "obstacles" such as A-stands, barriers, traffic light masts, construction site scaffolding, trees, bistro tables, mailboxes, hydrants, lamp posts, Advertising pillars, masts for traffic signs, parking ticket machines , bollards, clumps , benches, switch boxes and telephone boxes.
In addition, areas of attention and guidance systems for the blind can be recognized and used for orientation. The user can also get a three-dimensional picture of the surrounding world by scanning objects with the stick. In this way, for example, the width and height of a passage can be estimated and an impression of the height of inclines and declines can be obtained. A plastic sheath on the tip is designed to minimize damage to the stick and the objects it touches, and to soften any hard impact. Several user techniques are taught; The most common are the three variants of the pendulum technique , in which the pavement is scanned in a fan-like pattern for obstacles and potholes. Each pendulum movement correlates with a step, with each step coming to a point that was previously touched by the tip of the stick. The width of the pendulum swing should be a little over shoulder width.
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Pendulum techniques :
- Typing technique : The stick is moved back and forth in step rhythm, whereby the tip of the stick only taps on the floor. This method allows quick and large steps, but smaller objects or obstacles and holes may not be recognized. This technique is best used when the flooring is of uniform quality and cannot provide any important information.
- Grinding technology : it is handled like the tip technology, while the pole tip remains on the ground and grinds back and forth. This technique also enables fine transitions such as floor joints or transitions between two asphalt surfaces to be found. With small strides, the method can also be used as a search technique to find small objects on the ground.
- Combined technique : The tip of the stick is thrown loosely and briefly rubs left and right on the ground, in the middle it swings back and forth in an arc without touching the ground. It is a combination of typing and grinding technique and is only practiced by experienced long-pole walkers.
- The so-called diagonal technique is more or less a search technique in which the user carries the stick diagonally in front of him and the stick tip z. B. can be dragged along a wall until a landing or a doorway is noticeable. In this way, doors and passages can be found. This technique is also combined with the trailing technique , in which the user slides his hand along the wall and uses a certain finger position to protect the fingertips from overuse and injuries.
- Techniques for using stairs, stairwells, escalators and passenger elevators are also taught, then for going through doors, finding doorknobs and so on.
See also
Web links
- Dona Sauerburger: O&M Living History - Where Did Our O&M Techniques Come From? (History of the long stick; English)
- Professional association of rehabilitation workers for people with visual impairment or blindness (Austria)
- Federal Association of Rehabilitation Teachers for the Blind and Visually Impaired e. V. (Germany)
- Another vision: white cane training for children
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Christiane Steiner: The invention of the long stick. Aid Community for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Austria, October 15, 2019, p. 1 , accessed on October 15, 2019 .
- ^ Daniel Kish: A Perception Basis for Cane Length Considerations . ( Memento from January 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) World Access for the Blind (English).
- ↑ Anderessehen eV: Everything about children's long sticks - why, when and how .
- ↑ Another seeing eV: Children's long stick .
- ↑ Seeing differently e. V .: Instructions for children's full long pole .
- ↑ Laser long stick. Stiftung Warentest , October 21, 2004.
- ↑ Description of the laser long stick
- ↑ cost carrier in rehalehrer.de; Retrieved January 2, 2013.