Ear on Chicago; Long White Cane

This is the sound of a cane tapping along a corridor. We're at Heinz Veterans Hospital in the Blind section. Our story begins with the arrival of a new patient at Heinz Hospital. He will be interviewed. He will do many things. He will make the acquaintance of the long white cane. And in approximately 18 weeks, he will leave equipped to travel on his own in the busy world. Mr. Swanson? How did this, sir? I'm Russell Williams. I'm Chief of the Blind Rehabilitation Section here. And I just come in to discuss with you some of the parts of the program that you've come here to participate in. I see. I would say this, you are a young man and blindness scenes from your application to be the only real disabling factor in your makeup at this time. We've had a tremendous amount of success in the restoration of mobility for blinded people. It would appear to us at the start that

if you can stay with us during those times when it's discouraging, when there's so much repetition, practice, when there's discouragement that you will come up, Jack, and be quite a creditable independent traveler using the techniques for the blind. That's very encouraging, sir. I'm looking forward with great anticipation to this program. All right, Jack. Then I think that we're ready to get our program running. And I'll get in touch with one of our orientation therapists who will acquaint you with your room and the surroundings which you live. John? Yes. This is Mr. Swanson, Mr. Malmation. I'll do a Mr. Malmation. John and Jack. Glad to know you, Mr. Swanson. And I think John, the familiarization with the area is ready to begin. All right. Will you take my arm, Mr. Swanson? Like this? Yes. And just follow

me here. I'll take you over and familiarize you with the room that we're going to sign you, too. Where are you from, Mr. Swanson? I also have this California. All right. Now comes the most important day in the life of this patient. The all -important introduction of the Long White cane, which our patient, Jack, is about to meet for the first time. Mr. Williams and I will serve as bystanders as the therapist introduces the cane to Jack and Jack to the cane. We'll listen to see how the process goes. Jack, we're going to introduce you to the Long Cain. I know you've been waiting anxiously for this moment for the last few days. Do you know? You'll notice this is a cane approximately 46 inches long and about a half inch in diameter made of a lightweight metal. And I think if you'll notice at the bottom of the cane, we

have a wooden tip. Julius, now we're going to show you the swinging or the tapping cane technique in the proper position of the arm, wrist, and the grip of the cane. You hold it like this. Now the crooked cane should be well back in the palm of the hand. It should balance with the pressure points on the palm of the hand and on the middle finger, approximately at the second joint. And your index finger should parallel the cane, like this. The thumb should be on the underside of the cane to keep it from swinging out. Notice the last two fingers should be used in holding the cane. You got that? Got it. Now the arm should be placed in an outwardly

rotated movement, wrist slightly elevated. And the wrist directly in front of the body and just below the belt line. Let me just place you around in that position. We'll get it. Now you're going to pivot your wrist. That is swing it back and forth from side to side. That is describing an arc directly in front of you. That's a kind of a swinging motion. That's correct. And it will be the arc will be described from shoulder to shoulder. There was a clairs of path, presumably the width of my shoulders. That's correct. And now we're going to, your cane will strike a point directly in front of you, the foot which is about to move forward. So in other words, if you step out with your left foot, your cane will be tapping to the right. And vice versa. As

you swing back here, step out with your right, the tap will be the left. I see that clairs the way for each succeeding step. That's right. Now we're going to try a few practice runs here, Jack. And we'll make any corrections as you move along. Okay? Now as the therapist leaves Jack and these practice runs, Mr. Williams, let me ask you about this important moment in the life of this patient. Now is this probably the most crucial moment in his training? Would you say one of the most crucial? It certainly is one of the most crucial. Because he certainly has grave doubts about his ability to move by himself as a blinded person. And there's balance affected. Where he is going, bothers him, who's watching bothers him, lots of things like that. Are you able to tell something about the possible future progress of this patient in these first few months when he meets the long white cane? We can tell an awful lot about such things as how

far he might go. For example, we can tell about the ability he has of using his hearing to advantage. We can tell whether he's always say by nature a rather good coordinator. Whether he's very tense because of fear falling into things or bumping into things. We can tell a lot right in these first stages. You remember your own experience with the long white cane? Rather well, I presumed that you missed the waves. Very well. My first experience with this cane was out on the main street in a city just outside Philadelphia. So many things were thrown at me that I had a rather miserable time, the first time I tried it. Two weeks have now passed since we visited with our patient Jack. He is now ready for a most important step in his progress. He is moved to the point in his training for he can now tackle the job of moving up and down a staircase. Okay, Jay, we're going to try a decent in the stairs first. Now, when the cane picks up the stairs, then you end up in the

cane resting on the first stair. And then you step to the cane. I'll just move forward. Which are toes projecting over the stairs. Then you take your cane in the right hand and check for clearance on the right side. That is the terminal of the stairs you're running the way or curve. Then take your cane in the left hand. Take a little left hand and check your stairway to the left. How many stairs are here? Well, we have five stairs here, Jay. Now, the next transfer of the cane back here right in the end. And here's where we will determine the depth and the width of the stairs. Then extending your cane tip diagonally and your cane diagonally. With the tip extending approximately over the second stair, that will probably very hit very easily to individual. Let me just try this one straight. Okay, there's the depth. First

one. That's where there's the second one. And that's where it just extended forward. And then step down the back. Well, that was a bad one. I don't know. I know it's a little tricky, but this doesn't seem like a pretty big job for me. Well, let's just try sending stairs now. As soon as you're clear, the cane picks up the first stair. Move right here to your cane and the stair. Check for clearance on the right. Check for clearance on the left. Then bring your arm. Stand at the elbow. With the elbow rigid, cane at the slight angle. Like that. That's correct. All right, now move right. When you hit the top stair, clear yourself. Move up. How does that feel,

Jack? Well, all of a sudden I'm going to be working, I think. Well, I'll let you slide once more. Let's take it easy. Now, okay, Jack. I don't know. I don't think I can go along with this. This is too rough for me. Can I see the counselor? I guess you can. Also, can I see him right down? Go ahead, Jack. We are now in the counselor's office, where Jack is about to visit with this counselor and discuss his problems with him. What's your trouble, Jack? Well, I'll tell you, Mr. Blanche, I'm having some difficulty here in my navigation. I was just out of working on the stairs, and I find that I'm not making the progress that I should.

And I actually, since with the lack of vision, I have no barometer of which to go, so that I know whether I'm doing the way I should be doing or not. I mean, to say that you're not keeping up with the rest of the fellows? Well, that's my feeling, yes. The other fellows seem to be getting along so much better than I, and they're just seem to be cruising right along, and I haven't a little bit discussed about the whole thing. How long have you been here now, Jack? Well, I've been here for approximately five weeks. Uh -huh, let's take four weeks to go. How much have you advanced since then? Well, I suppose I have done fairly well. I think that I've picked up a great deal of travel that is a level ground travel. But when it comes to obstacles and stairs, I just feel lost. What happened? Well, I just

had an hour working out there, and I thought I had it done pretty well, and I thought I had the techniques of the stairs worked down to a pretty good technique. And by golly, I just kind of faded and fell. And I just can't do... I don't know, I don't think I can go along with it. Jack, do you remember the time when you didn't think you could go down the mess hall by yourself? Oh, I remember that day. I'll never forget it. I'll never forget it. No, you go down now. I get down there well. I do, I get down there fairly well. I very seldom hit a wall. But I don't know, I just feel as though I'm not making the progress. I'd like to go ahead and perhaps try a different way to get these techniques down. And I thought perhaps you might have some suggestions. As, for example, what do you have in mind,

Jack? You think there's a nice easy way that you can go ahead? Well, while the counselor and Jack continue to discuss Jack's problem, or the problem he thinks he has in his course of training, we'll move out and talk to Mr. Williams and ask him whether or not this is typical in the life of the average patient. Oh, very much so. I think what they're into right now is the fact that Jack doesn't have any yardstick by which to measure his progress and the level of skill he has now come to. And it bothers him. And our counselor's business there is to help Jack get back a little more on track and find out that his level of progress is consistent with that of other patients who have been here and who are here now. In other words, the desire of the patient is not only to match his progress against what experience he was able to participate in a few weeks ago but against the experience of fellow patients. Oh, yes, we don't encourage patients to compete one against another, but they do it

anyway. They are trying to eye up the other fellow all the time and trying to measure up to the level of skill that he has acquired. Now, because it's difficult to do, because the patients are admitted when they're ready to come. We may have a patient who's been here 14 weeks, another who's been here 8, another 2, another 17. They're all stages of progress in their program. What do you suggest we do next in our tour, Mr. Williams? I should like to have us look at some of the other activities which make up our program around here. His physical mobility and orientation is one part but there are other equally important parts that have the same sort of challenge. What about the braille room? Yes, I'd like very much to have us visit there. We are now standing at the entrance to the braille room. We are five weeks along in the course of our patient Jack. He is now learning braille writing.

We'll enter the room and observe the course of this lesson between Jack and his instructor Bob. We'll act as bystanders as usual. Well, Jack, I see you finished up those word signs now, haven't you? Yes, Bob, I've been kind of running through some of the word signs here and working them into sentences. How about if I dictate one to you and try to work in as many of them as we've covered? All right. Okay. The students were not at their usual meeting place. The embossing head, stop Jack, you want

to reach up? How do you push it back? I think it'd be better if you released it and took it over. What has happened is your paper is slipped and it's not moving freely back to the beginning of the line here. Yes. I think probably we'd be better off taking it out and reinserting it, huh? Okay. I'll just move this here. Open up this. There we go. As Jack reinserts the heavy paper in the braille typewriter, we'll move the boy out of the scene of the lesson back to our guide, Mr. Williams. You mentioned the shop work in which Jack has engaged this stage of his training. Would it be possible for us to visit the shop and observe him at work? Yes, I'd like very much to show you the shop where Jack's working. By the way, we could get down there right now because as soon as Jack's finished here, that's where he'll be going. Thomas to Williams, we are in the loom room and we're in what

phase of activity what you call this. Well, he's in some of the basic activities that involve, say, work habits, that kind of activity where he learns to use his fingers, his hands, and some of the work habits and his pattern of responses are developing. Now that he doesn't have any eyesight that will aid him in making these responses or directing his hands and so on, we're in the kind of activity where he can get some practice at that. If I may, I'd like to move over a little closer to this loom and listen in as Jack and the loom instructor to discuss what's going on. You're ready to start your pattern of 434, 434. I see, I got 4M. You need two more fours on that and three rows of three and three rows of four. And don't forget the shuttle with the tape on is on its mark. Okay, go up right there. And this is going to show you through here. That's right. That's right.

Okay, now you're binder. Oh, would you take a check here, Charlie, and see what the... Well, you left for a large loop back there. Jack and two four, but just over here on this side. You want to keep your sides parallel. Now, we lock that spreader there. Back up just a minute. Now, let's put it over and repeat it here. That's better. That's good. Okay, start your threes now. This would seem to be the production of what looks to me like a rather attractive rug that's being made on this loom. Now, this is a pattern. It's a diamond within a diamond pattern of green and a bay. Now, each patient makes one about four feet long and involves the use of the hand of feet and the hand foot coordination and

bimonial coordination. It's a wrong treadle, Jack. I guess I did. I don't know if I like this making rugs or not. Is this what we come here for to learn how to make rugs and weave baskets and things? Well, Jack, we feel that this fits well into the picture or the theme of orientation and everything else we have to offer here. Well, this is a good exercise and hand foot coordination bimonial coordination to help you in your basic use of your hands to further whatever you might do later on. You know, I thought I'd come here to learn how to travel with a cane because that's what I want to do. I had to learn how to travel with a cane because when I get out of here, I'm in the back zone insurance again. Hey, I didn't know what to take. This is going to help me do that. But

we feel this is very important and the use of training and use of your hands and I think I feel that you probably greatly buy it. Well, I suppose that you have your pattern to work by. This is strictly a pre -vocational training in that respect but you have a pattern to work toward there and it's an accomplishment you can do it. Well, how's that, Charlie? Well, that's better. How's that look? That's fine. Another two weeks have passed and it's time we had a conversation with our friend, Jack. Jack, what experience are you about to begin today? Well, Mr. Flynn, as I understand it, this particular phase is going to deal with the outdoor travel This will be your first experience at traveling outdoors since you've become acquainted with the king. Indeed it will. This will be quite an experience for me and I've been looking forward to it with great anticipation since actually this is going to be dealing with the majority of the travel which I'll be doing later on. Well, we have a wonderful day for it. Beautiful out here, isn't it?

Nice warm sun and some birds. So I'll call your instructor over and again, we'll be bystanders as you undergo this new experience. Go right ahead, man. Jack, now that you've completed your indoor training, we're going to move you outdoors and we're still going to work on the hospital grounds. This is going to be kind of a new experience for you, Jack. You didn't have experience too much difficulty in tapping indoors. You're going to find the tap is going to be a little more, you're going to have to develop a little lighter touch times and maybe come a little aggravating and irritating to you. If you move along, the canals stick, your sidewalk is rather narrow here but it does serve us adequately for our training purposes so that in time you will be straining from side to side if your canals stick in the grass. And

as I said before, it may become a little aggravating and irritating but we do want you to stay with it and in time you'll see that you'll learn a development of the lighter touch, a little different indoor travel. So we're going to try it out now, Jack. Okay. We'll just step off in the same... Step off in a minute. Oh yeah, are you serious? You notice that? Yeah, it's big. I don't know. Just keeping that arm centered, keep pivoting that wrist. Mr. Williams has been observing Jack's progress in this first outdoor experience. Are you satisfied with the progress Jack is making, Mr. Williams? Oh yes, we're quite satisfied with Jack's progress. He's doing very well. He's not so satisfied with it but that's something that we expect and we in our program depend upon that. I'll tell you in that respect, if you could possibly find a way of returning in several

weeks from now, I'll bet that we can show you at Jack operating at certain levels that would be very surprising to you. And the important thing is they will also be surprising to him. If you find it your way clear to do that. We'll make a point of being here. It is now the 17th of May and we have returned to Heinz Hospital to check on the progress of our patient Jack. We're in the woodworking shop where Jack is operating a lay that I'm going to call his instructor over to wait in the sound of the lay that I may to ask you, sir, what Jack is accomplishing in this work? Jack is doing woodturning at present time. He's making a series of pancake cuts on the practice piece in the woodlay. He's learning to use the chisels, the measuring instruments, and general and safety principles on the machine. Hey, John, would you take a look at this contour or this concave cut here? I've got the caliper set for two and three sixteenths.

I don't know whether that's a major duck right or not. Well, that seems to be right, Jack. You can sweep that curve out a little bit more if you roll that handle as you cut. All right, roll it to the right. Do the right. Well, Mr. Williams, obviously our patient Jack is very competent on the lay, but how's he been doing outside? Well, Jack's a level of activities and the confidence it goes along. They're up very much in all activities. Now, I'd like very much to have you go with us this afternoon. Jack will be traveling outside in some pretty congested area this afternoon. You see he's been traveling in suburban areas adjacent to the hospital now, and has gradually gotten into more complex routes until this afternoon he's going to run in the area of Lake and Harlem in Oak Park with the traffic lights in the light. We'll go along and watch.

We're now standing on the corner of Lake and Harlem, one of Chicago's busiest intersections. In the background, you can hear the noise of the high level of traffic volume at this particular intersection. Our patient Jack and his instructor are on the opposite curb waiting for a light change. When the light changes, Jack will cross using his cane to guide him with the instructor there, of course, as a safety factor only. This then will demonstrate Jack's progress in his ability to maneuver in high traffic. The light should change any second now. Here it goes, and here comes our patient. Up to the curbing, to the sidewalk. Very nicely done. Very nice, Jack, and it's good to see you again. It was wonderful to watch your progress and watch your ability to cross this very busy intersection. Thank you, Mr. Flam. How do you feel now that you've reached this step in your progress? Oh, listen, this indeed. I

tell you, it's a great feeling of self -satisfaction to be able to cross these streets and be able to continue a study based on a residential area or a business area. And with all the confidence in the world, it's a really great feeling. Here we are, Jack. We're now in Mr. Williams' office. We've reached the end of the long weeks of training. Mr. Williams and Jack are having a final conversation. Let's listen in. I really feel like a new man. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to be able to walk down the street by myself. Well, Jack, listen, we have been able to observe you all the way along. Now, you've conducted yourself through our program. Changed many of the attitudes about blindness which you formerly held. We could see the confidence springing in you as you've gone along. And it seems to me that both of us have realized the objective of having you see things about your future a lot differently than the first day we talked right here. Don't you see that? I'm not sure you're back. When you

get back into Los Angeles, Jack, keep this in mind that many of those adjustments that you'll be called them on to make it first, will be made on the basis of those folks who have observed other blind people over a long period of time. But once they find that they're now meeting and dealing with Jack Swanson, a fellow who has a high level of activity, they will make their adjustments, expect things of you on the basis of what they see in you, not in what they expect of any other blind person that they might have been acquainted with. That will take time, Jack. The same is every stage of your development here. But that now that you have perhaps 40, 50 years of constructive living lying on down ahead, it seems to me that you're well -started on the pattern of adjustments that will make that a pretty full life for you.