Text for video "Things that the Cane Might Not Detect"
There are 3 things that the cane will not detect even if you are using the cane exactly as it should be used.
I'm going to show you the 3 things and then how it might be mitigated.
One of the things is something as large as this pillow, 14-inch square pillow, the cane can go right around it.
Another thing that it can miss is something like a pole, or a corner, the cane can right around it and you walk into it.
The third thing is something hanging overhead like a sign or tree branch, etc.
So I'm going to show you each of those 3, starting with something hanging overhead
[picks up the cane, and the branch comes down in front of Dona]
And here we have a tree branch.
And you'll notice that as I go through, my cane goes under and I get caught in the branch with no warning from the cane [walks forward -- her face contacts the branch while the cane goes under it].
If you expect that you're going to be in an area that has a lot of signs or things sticking out or tree branches, a lot of people will hold their hand up in "upper hand and forearm" technique [arm is held shoulder-high with the elbow bent and the forearm horizontal in front of the face) -- they might move their arm so the tips of their fingers are just above the top of the head so that it can protect their face
(forearm is turned so it is almost vertical, with the elbow down and the hand up in front of the head, fingers extending as high as the forehead].
It's a good idea to wear a brimmed hat to be able to get some warning, some people use an umbrella.
And make sure to cover your eyes with glasses (sunglasses or regular glasses) so you don't get your eyes scratched.
So the second thing that I'm going to show is something as large as a pillow.
I've marked the ground where the cane will be moving, and I've put the pillow in such a place that as the cane moves from side to side, just before it gets to the pillow it - it covers the ground just before the pillow and then wraps around afterward.
So let's see how that goes [walks forward, the cane slides along the ground from left to right in front of the pillow and then slides back to the left behind the pillow and she steps on it].
It goes around the thing and then OH! I've stepped into it or stepped over it or kicked it or tripped on it.
Of course if it's a pillow it can be easily kicked out of the way but if it's something that's more solid, you may trip on it and fall.
The third thing that the cane may not find is something like a pole or a corner, like the corner of the "door" or something here [a large cardboard rectangle is placed in front of her, serving as a "door"] and I've placed it in such a way that I'm going to walk into it with my shoulder.
Let's see what happens and the cane goes right around it and I walk into it and bump into it with my shoulder [She is facing such that the edge of the door is directly in front of her left shoulder. As she walks forward, the cane slides along the ground from left to right in front of the "door" and then goes to the left again behind it, and she bumps her shoulder into the edge of the "door"].
If I was walking toward it in such a way that I'm going to hit it with my face -- that is, my center -- I am going to be able to catch it, the shaft of the cane will warn me about it but if it's toward the side, I may bump into it with my shoulder [She turns slightly so that the edge of the door is directly in front of her face. As she walks forward, the cane slides along the ground from left to right in front of the "door" and misses it but when the cane goes to the left again, the shaft contacts the side of the "door"].
So when I'm teaching people to use the cane, I make sure they know, they are not under any false expectations that it will protect them from everything if they just use it correctly, there are those 3 things that it could miss - the overhead, the corner or pole, and the small object.
If they're expecting that they're in an area that's going to have a lot of poles or corners or small objects, there are several ways to mitigate that.
One is to shorten the cane arc [SHOULD BE "shorten the stride" or "shorten the distance between sweeps of the cane"].
My normal cane arc extends so that I take each step about 2 feet apart [demonstrates and the cane goes around the door].
If I either move the cane twice for every step [demonstrates moving the cane to the left and then the right for each step she takes, and the shaft of the cane contacts the edge of the "door"] or I take shorter steps then I'm more likely to find the small objects [demonstrates taking steps about one foot apart and, again, the shaft of the cane contacts the "door"].
So, I'll put the pillow here [positions pillow to demonstrate] and see what happens.
If I take big steps, the cane goes right around it [demonstrates]; if I take smaller steps then it's more likely to hit it [the tip of the cane contacts the side of the pillow].
Another thing that can be done is to use what's called an Alternative Mobility Device [puts cane away and picks up the Alternative Mobility Device, which is a rectangular metal frame about 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide, with handles on the top and swivel wheels at the bottom] -
they have either one or two bars going vertically and at the bottom is a horizontal bar.
And so if it's pushed in front of you, it doesn't go around anything, it's going to contact small objects, contact any poles, corners, etc. and warn you about them [moves forward, pushing the Alternate Mobility Device in front of her, and the bar at the bottom contacts the pillow and the door].