New at All Deaf, too

I am HOH; I wear aids. I am also losing my sight; I usually walk with a white cane. My bro has been profoundly deaf since a small child. I did not begin to lose my sight or hearing until I was 65. He lives in a large town. I live in a very small rural farming community where I am one of one.

I have come to grips with my disabilities. Most people, even little kids get that grandpa doesn't hear very well without his hearing aids. What I will never quite understand is why? IF most every child and adult in America knows what a hearing aid is, why don't they also know what a white cane signifies?

I had a school superintendent tell me they could not instruct students about any disability. It made me sad and angry.

Hello. What instruction did you want them to receive? Have you had problems with someone due to your white cane?

Have you gone for training on how to use the cane?

Just another deaf/blind member here, who doesn't really rely on a white cane, just on everybody in my neighborhood knowing me.

To answer your question, yes and yes.

I would very much like to see all schools teach all students what a white cane means when they see it. When I was in school during the Ice Ages, there was a poster on a bulletin board that depicted a person walking with a dog in harness and a white cane. Every few weeks the poster was briefly discussed.

As to the other, I had a lady lay on her horn because I was nervy enough to walk across a parking lot. I was unfortunate enough to be wearing my aids. That kind of dumbness not only hurts physically, it also makes my hearing a little worse. I am approaching a 100% loss in my right ear as it is.

You are extremely fortunate. My 'hood is a mixed business/homes on a US highway. I have school property on two sides, a tree nursery on the third side, and a trio of duplex houses across the highway. It is not safe for me to walk across the street w/wo the cane.

I was trained to use both canes. It is a really good thing as I cannot walk downtown without an aide. The sidewalks might be level, but the streets are not. It is a challenge when the sidewalk on one side of the street is 6" above ground level. Now on the other side of the street the sidewalk is three or four inches higher. It is why the city installed wrought iron handrails on one side of every street downtown. It is why my instructor was at a completely loss. She had never tried to teach any one how to navigate city streets when there was such a difference in height. I am one of one.

Bottesini said:

Hello. What instruction did you want them to receive? Have you had problems with someone due to your white cane?

Have you gone for training on how to use the cane?

Just another deaf/blind member here, who doesn't really rely on a white cane, just on everybody in my neighborhood knowing me.

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welcome to all deaf

linicx said:

You are extremely fortunate. My 'hood is a mixed business/homes on a US highway. I have school property on two sides, a tree nursery on the third side, and a trio of duplex houses across the highway. It is not safe for me to walk across the street w/wo the cane.

I was trained to use both canes. It is a really good thing as I cannot walk downtown without an aide. The sidewalks might be level, but the streets are not. It is a challenge when the sidewalk on one side of the street is 6" above ground level. Now on the other side of the street the sidewalk is three or four inches higher. It is why the city installed wrought iron handrails on one side of every street downtown. It is why my instructor was at a completely loss. She had never tried to teach any one how to navigate city streets when there was such a difference in height. I am one of one.

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I am both extremely fortunate, and also careful. The reason I asked if you were trained in the use of the cane is you indicated you were walking out across a parking lot. You should have been trained better in safety.

In Iowa training occurs at the Commission for the Blind in Des Moines. Everybody is trained the same, not for what you are describing. You can navigate anything by the time you are done training here. (And also use a powersaw while completely blindfolded to make sure you don't use any residual vision.)

I would make a strong suggestion that you get more training , and you will both be and feel a lot safer.

another one of them here! (I'm pretty much nearsighted and have a scar in my right eye LOLOLOL)
real funny but I do rock purple glasses

Welcome to all deaf

o i c..mmmmm
Seeng doubles....ah well....

I forget that parking lots mean different things. The parking lot I referenced is familiar to me, it is very small and it was empty at the time. There is a rare few parking lots I walk into alone. Since I don't have near sight, too much can go wrong. Thank you for reminding me to be more careful when crossing unaided.
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I didn't know why I would ever need to know the type of aids I wear.

linicx said:

I forget that parking lots mean different things. The parking lot I referenced is familiar to me, it is very small and it was empty at the time. There is a rare few parking lots I walk into alone. Since I don't have near sight, too much can go wrong. Thank you for reminding me to be more careful when crossing unaided.
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I didn't know why I would ever need to know the type of aids I wear.

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Welcome. I looked up how things work in Illinois, and I was quite surprised about how the training works.

I feel it is insufficient, but I guess there isn't much I can do about it, aside from encouraging all blind people to move to Iowa. :P

There are a lot uneducated people around , you would be surprise by how many people thought I was blind when I had a hearing dog. He was on a leash and guide dog wear a harness with a handle but a lot people do not know this. We have to educate the public one person at a time. But I can relate to your frustration. HI !