Why do I get weird looks when I use my cane?

Question

I am blind, but I'm a partial (meaning I have partial sight). I've been this way since birth, but only recently started using a cane. I don't need it all the time, and a lot of the time when I use it I am seeing things at cane length just fine, and therefore avoiding obsticles without the cane coming in contact with them. There are still those times when it keeps me from tumbling down steps or walking into things I don't notice as quickly.like poles or open doors or people moving too fast to see. But still my family tries to tell me I shouldn't use it because I don't need it, and that it bothers them when they're out with me and people look at me because I'm using a cane and "look blind". I really don't understand it and was wondering if anyone else does. Isn't it better to "look blind" when you ARE blind than to look sighted when you're not and end up getting injured because of it?

I mean a long white cane. The kind a blind person holds out in front of them at an angle with the tip touching the ground and moving from side to side at about shoulder width (why do I feel like I'm quoting a mobility instructor?) Not a support cane. But your answer still helps.

I have too much usable vision for a seeing eye dog. The dog wouldn't get enough work.

Answer 1

Good morning! I'm sorry this is happening to you. Just try to ignore it, and keep using your cane. People will learn to get use to it. There are many people who have surgery and must walk with a cane temporarily. If I see someone with a cane, I'm very careful not to run into them. I make sure my child understands this, too. Wishing you the very best! :D

Answer 2

Personally, the only reason I look at people using a cane strangely is because I've seen it used as a scam in a lot of big cities. People who have full sight will wear sunglasses and use a cane, then get close to you and lift your wallet. A guy tried it on me in Germany. I saw someone employing this in New York. It seems pretty common, unfortunately.

Other than that, it doesn't bother me at all. I think you should use it, rather than risk being injured. People might glance, because it's something a bit out of the ordinary, but once they process the information they'll just conclude that you're blind and go about their business. Only a true jerk would continue to stare or hassle you about it.

As for your family, it sounds like they don't like any attention being drawn to them. Tell them to get over it - everybody has their own life and their own troubles they're worried about, and just because someone looks at you using a cane doesn't mean they could pick your family out of a lineup the next day.

Answer 3

I have a toddler that was born partially blind- right now we can not tell what her eyesight is exactly but she gets around pretty well (of course she occasionally runs into a wall/door) But I hope that in the future she will get around the way she feels the most comfortable, be that without a cane, with a cane, even a guide dog. As long as she is safe as can be.

So keep safe and do what feels right for you!

Answer 4

Many people who are able bodied think it is the worst possible thing in the world to be disabled. If you can pass as not being disabled that is better. People think (even people with disabilities) that you shouldn't use a wheelchair if you can still walk - forget about whether you are completely exhausted and don't enjoy yourself once you get where you walk to.)

So it is the same with people who are partially sighted. If you have a little sight - you should try ot get by.

It is really about stigma. Don't look disabled if you possibly can. I know when I first because disabled I delayed using a scooter for this very reason. I regret it now.

White canes, wheelchairs, scooters, hearing aids - are all tools of freedom. Be free to use them without apology.

Answer 5

I am slowing starting to use one myself, I have vertigo problems, frankly I don't care what other people think, if it keeps me from falling I am going to use it, I suggest you do the same, You are the one that has to deal with the blindness not them. just go about your business, and don't get hurt. As of right now I never head down any stairs without something to hold on to or to brace myself with. I am the one going to be hurting if I fall. Use your cane, let the weirdo's look, at least they are giving somebody else a rest.

Answer 6

Your family will need to learn to cope and you might get help from the National Federation of the Blind or the American Council of the Blind (note the word "of" not "for") each of whom has web sites. If you haven't had contact with your state library, do so.
A lot of people are terrified of blindness and even blindness professionals have gone along with suppressing Braille teaching and other blindness skills at times. That is where "visually impaired" comes from. Stick to your guns and increase your skill.

Answer 7

You need to use the cane for your own safety. My mother-in-law has retinitis pigmentosis and has very little peripheral vision, so I have had to help someone who was visually impaired. I also know a man who has been blind from birth. He walks all over our small town with his cane and is very well liked and respected. The fact is, your family should respect your need and get used to it. Love is stronger than embarrassment and they really need to give you as much space as you need to have.

Answer 8

Just ignore them. I sometimes wonder if people nowadays even know what that red-tipped white cane signifies.

I see someone with a white cane, I get out of the way so they don't bump into me. :) But I hardly see white canes anymore...mostly, if anything, I see seeing-eye dogs.

Answer 9

i have lupus and have good and some very bad days...when the bad days come I use a cane to support me when I walk. folks see me with the can and maybe a few days later without it and ask why....use your cane if needed...it helps make life easier for you. I am sorry folks are acting this way, but it is their problem, not yours

Answer 10

In addition to aiding your movement through the world, your cane provides an indication to the rest of the world that you are visually impaired. This in itself can be very useful as it alerts people to the fact that they should not expect YOU to move out of THEIR way, but that THEY should move out of YOUR way.

Keep using whatever aids you need to stay as independent as possible, and don't worry about other people's rudeness.