White cane

From ArticleWorld

The white cane is an international sign of blind or visually impaired people. Besides its obvious use as a tool, to aid in mobility and support, it is associated with blind or visually impaired people all over the world, an used as a sign of recognition.

Types

There are four generally-recognized variations of the white cane:

• The long cane. This is the original white cane, which is used mostly as a mobility tool. Disabled people use it to "feel" obstacles in their path. The length of the cane itself depends on the user's height.

• The "kiddie" cane. This has the same purpose as the long cane, but it is specially designed for children.

• The identification cane. This is a shorter cane used only for identification purposes.

• Support cane. This is a cane designed mainly for physical support of the user. However, it also has identification purposes.

Materials vary and are often subject to personal preferences. Wood, aluminum and carbon fibers are the most common.

History

Historically, the cane has been used by blind people for hundreds of years, but only after the first World War was the white cane promoted to the state of a logo. James Biggs, an ex-photographer from Bristol, was the first to paint his cane white, annoyed by the traffic around his house. Guilly d'Herbemont later launched a national campaign in 1931, and several similar campaigns were launched later. The first white-cane-related law was passed in 1930, in Illinois, and granted protection and right-of-way to blind pedestrians carrying a white cane.

Nowadays, most countries introduced regulations about the white canes, which are distinctively used as a recognition sign for blind people. Additional marks are used to identify deafblind people.