Whether you’re waiting to be matched with your guide dog or are already working in a partnership, it is important to make sure you’re making the most of your mobility skills to get out and about. Keeping active and maintaining your fitness before you get a dog will help you feel confident getting out regularly and benefit you and your dog when mastering routes together.
Here are some skills you might want to practice.
Not only does having good cane skills mean that you’ll be ready to start training once there's a dog matched with you, but a cane can be helpful for those times it might be more appropriate to leave your guide dog at home, or if your guide dog is ever unable to work.
The videos below are a refresher for people who have already received in-person rehabilitation support. If you are looking to learn and use these techniques for the first time, please contact your local authority for cane training from a Vision Rehabilitation Specialist.
The touch technique can help you locate different changes in the floor surface by keeping the cane tip on the ground and letting it slide slightly forward.
This technique can be broken down into seven elements. These are: Grip, hand position, arm position, wrist action, arc width, arc height and step.
If you’re moving around indoors, or just want some extra protection, you may need to use the diagonal technique with your long cane.
Navigating stairs and steps can be a little tricky. Here’s a refresher on how to use your cane to get up and down stairs safely and comfortably.
Using protective upper and lower body techniques can help you move around safely when you’re looking to locate different objects.
They are most useful when used in a familiar indoor space and can help provide information about the environment you’re navigating. You can combine both of these techniques for maximum protection, using one arm to protect your lower body and the other for your upper body.
This technique can help you protect the mid-section of your body and can be used with either your left or right arm depending on your preference.
Practicing the trailing technique can help you feel more confident getting around hallways and rooms safely. It can help you keep a straight line and understand what is around you by keeping in contact with walls, countertops, desks or tables.
When walking across open spaces, large or small, there a number of useful techniques that can help orient yourself.
It can be challenging walking into a room you’ve never been in before but there are ways to familiarise yourself with your surroundings.
If you are with other people, ask someone to describe the room’s layout, location within the building and key objects which could act as landmarks.
You can also stand by the handle side of the door (not the hinged side) and give yourself time to take in all the sensory information like sounds, smells, light sources.
Search the perimeter of the area immediately around you by using the trailing technique to explore one side of the room. Once you’ve found the corner, return to the start point by the door.
If you drop something, there are a couple of different techniques you can use to find it.
Systematic search patterns can also be used to find dropped items or prove helpful when you’re cleaning and tidying. These help you familiarise yourself with your surroundings and understand what objects are on tables and desks.
The first pattern is the spiral technique where you’ll start with yourself at the centre of the table or surface you want to search.
Alternatively, use the grid pattern.
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The cane training was really positive. It gave me the ability to progress again and I feel like I can take things on, explore and find out where I go next.
There are two techniques that can be used with the long cane, two-point touch and constant contact. Constant contact is where the cane rolls across the ground within your arc width, keeping in constant contact with the ground whereas two-point touch is where the cane is lifted within the same arc width, just off the ground slightly.
Two-point touch is for confident, proficient travellers and enables a person to move quickly throughout the environment. It can be found to be a good balance between getting safe feedback through the cane whilst also moving quickly. Constant contact can give people a bit more confidence due to the consistent feedback from the cane, it may be slightly slower method of travel. It is important to learn both, so you can adapt as and when you need, within your environment. For example a person may be using two-point touch to travel a straight path however could switch to constant contact when looking for a landmark, like tactile paving or a kerb.
This is an alternate way of holding the cane diagonally across your body, in a locked position, which can be used to locate a specific landmark that may otherwise be missed by the touch techniques.
For example a person may use diagonal cane when walking along a corridor looking for a hard to locate landmark that could be missed when scanning with a cane.
It is important to hold the cane using the pencil grip so that the cane can swing freely to give you the feedback to know when you are ascending and when you have reached the top. You will feel when the cane has reached the top as it will no longer meet the riser and will swing away from you. Always remember to scan with your cane once you have reached the top before continuing.
As there are no risers on the descent, by gently relaxing your arm and resting your cane in the palm of your hand, you are using your cane for the maximum preview. This allows your cane to glide over the stairs and reaching the floor below before you. Always remember to scan with your cane once you have reached the bottom before continuing.
Yes, of course. If there is a handrail it would be encouraged to use it as it gives extra support and safety. The cane will need to be used in the opposite hand to the handrail which may mean you need to adapt which hand you usually use with your cane.
This is a technique to use as and when you need it, indoors or outdoors. For example, a person may use upper body protection when walking outdoors with a long cane, approaching overhanging branches. An indoor example could be to protect yourself in the kitchen if you are unsure if a cupboard door has been left open.
Systematic search patterns are a thorough way of searching for a dropped item, to make sure an area has been fully exploring, before moving on.
Trailing can be used to help you walk safely through hallways and rooms, walk in a straight line or to learn more about what is around you.
By squaring off, it ensures you are setting yourself up ready to walk forwards in a straight line. If you do not square off, you run the risk of veering. This is a good time to consider using upper and/or lower body protection whilst walking across an open space.
This means if someone were to open the door, you will be away from the hinge side and therefore won’t be in any danger of being hit by the door.