Orientation and mobility refers to a set of skills which enable a blind person to travel safely and independently. It may be easier to understand what O&M is by breaking it down into two components.
Orientation refers to a person's awareness and understanding of the environment, the objects in it, the relationship of those objects to himself, and the relationship of those objects to each other. Understanding certain concepts is essential to building good orientation. These include object permanence; positional concepts such as left/right, on, in, under, beside, etc; shape; etc. Awareness of body position and an ability to notice things like texture, sounds, etc., are also important because these things provide information about the environment and objects in it. A change in texture may indicate that the blind traveler is walking from a tile floor onto a carpet. Depending on the environment, this information may indicate that if he turns in a certain direction he will be able to locate an elevator or other destination.
Mobility refers to the techniques which a blind person uses to aid him as he travels. These may include:
Human guide. In this technique, the blind person places his hand on the guide's arm just above the elbow with his fingers on the inside and his thumb on the outside. This allows the blind person to follow as the guide moves naturally through the environment. Typically, the guide is a sighted person, and this technique is often called sighted guide; however, another blind person may also serve as a guide in certain circumstances. It is not necessary for the guide to move more slowly than he normally would. Stopping briefly at a flight of stairs may be helpful, but it is not necessary to stop at each one. A guide should never take the arm of the blind person--doing so places the blind person in front of the guide, which poses opportunities for unsafe travel.
If the blind person is a small child and the guide is an adult, the child may feel more comfortable holding the guide's wrist. Holding the guide's hand is generally discouraged. Some parents prefer to hold the hands of young blind children, feeling that they can communicate on an emotional level and that they would do the same with a sighted child of the same age.
The white cane. The white cane enables a blind person to obtain information about the ground in front of him. By sweeping it in an arc in front of him, he can determine whether an obstacle is in his way or there is a step, curb, or other change in the surface of the ground he is walking on.
The white cane has another advantage. It is legally recognized as a symbol of blindness. Many people who can travel safely in most areas carry a cane so that people will understand that they are legally blind and may require assistance at times.
The techniques of using a cane have only been taught for the past fifty years or so. (Sauerberger) They were originally developed so that blinded veterans could be taught to travel safely and independently. Of course, what was useful for blinded veterans was just as useful for other blind people, and over the years the practice of teaching cane travel became a recognized profession. However, it is only in the past few years that O&M instructors have been very willing to teach young children to use the cane. (Cheadle) As recently as 1998, it was still the policy in some areas that blind people under the age of 14 were not given a cane unless the parents requested it.
Many parents have reported that use of a cane helped their children to become more confident in traveling. Several of the active participants on the BVI-Parents email list obtained canes for their infants and toddlers and introduced them before the children had begun receiving O&M instruction from a professional. Their children are now using their canes routinely and exploring the environment independently.
Dog guides. Dog guides allow a a blind person to experience a different kind of travel. The dog guides the person around obstacles in his path, including overhead objects such as low hanging tree branches and awnings. The dog responds to directional commands and hand signals. Dog guide users often report that they feel more confident in traveling and that they can travel much more quickly because they don't need to pick their way around objects in their paths.
Use of a dog guide requires that a person have adequate orientation skills so that he can be aware of his whereabouts using cues other than those which the cane would provide. Dog guides often learn to stop and indicate familiar landmarks or places where they have been before, but they do not locate specific buildings upon command.
Dog guides are generally not given to people under the age of 16.
Electronic travel aids. ETAs provide a blind person with a tactile or auditory signal when an obstacle or landmark is detected. ETAs are not widely used, but some are still being manufactured and updated in the hope of providing additional means of gaining information about the environment.
Vision. Many people who are classified as legally blind have some remaining vision which they can use when they travel. O&M instructors teach not only the use of alternative techniques such as the white cane but also the use of remaining vision when it is appropriate. Many people use their vision in combination with a cane or dog guide for independent travel.
References
Cheadle, Barbara. (1995). Canes and Preschoolers: The Eight-Year Revolution.
Sauerberger, Dona. History of O&M.. Other Visions.
This document is copyright 2003 by Sarah J. Blake. For permission to reprint, please email Sarah at sarah@growingstrong.org.
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