O&M at the Mall

He looks thrilled.

Tom has vision therapy twice a week through Early Intervention services. We have a great vision therapist that does O&M (orientation and mobility) and pre-braille work. He is learning a lot and we are trying to squeeze as much knowledge and experience out of this opportunity as we can.

Last week we started O&M training at the Mall. The mall is fairly quiet during the day and it is filled with long hallways. It is a safe and climate controlled space to practice orientation and mobility skills. It's realistic because you can use side hallways that are quieter and then move on to the busier areas as the child's skill and confidence grow.

We started by having Tom and his teacher in one spot and me a couple meters away. I would call to Thomas and he would walk to my voice while trailing the wall with his hand. He also walks with his "bumpers up." You teach young children to walk with their hands up (bumpers up) in front of them so they don't run into objects face first. Tom is excellent at trailing. It just seems natural to him to feel whatever he can when in new environments.

Trailing with his hands.

We also started to use his cane during this therapy session. I have been wanting to teach Tommy to use a white cane for a while. The more blind your child is the more they need a white cane. And if your child can only see large objects then they need a cane too. Forget about looking blind - they are blind! And that is OK! The important thing is safety and independence. What do you see when you see a blind person being led by sighted guide? Passive, not in control. What do you see when a blind person is using a white cane. Independence, action!

Now of course, there are times when sighted guide is an appropriate way for blind people to travel. But I don't want that to be what Tom relies on. I want him to be in control of his destiny.

Let's go!

Tom uses a free white cane provided to us by the NFB (National Federation of the Blind). Think about signing up for the NFB's Early Explorer program. Early Explorers is a free program intended to introduce children and their parents to the long white cane. It offers you the tools to be your child's first O&M teacher, including educational information, newsletters, and a cane for your child. When you sign up for the program you measure your child so the proper size cane can be sent to you.

You will probably notice that Tom isn't smiling in these pictures. That's because this is very hard work for him. He is completely out of his comfort zone. But these are the skills he needs and before long he will we will be telling him to slow down and wait for us.

It wasn't all work. He did get to ride those silly machines at the mall that play music and move around for 75 cents as a treat!